Oceanographic Center Researchers Begin Study on Human Skin

You wouldn’t think that researchers and students at NSU’s Oceanographic Center would be interested in studying human skin – after all, they are marine biologists and scientists. But that’s not the case at all. Researchers believe that certain knowledge may be skin deep, and they’ve used that old adage for…

NSU Research Spotlight: Dental Ceramics

Synthetic ceramic zirconia is an important material in dental and orthopedic restorative treatments because of its excellent biocompatibility and durability.  Jeffrey Y. Thompson, Ph.D., director of the Biosciences Research Center at NSU College of Dental Medicine, is developing novel surface treatments to enhance the adhesion, efficacy and reliability of zirconia…

NSU Research Spotlight: Severe Behavioral Disorders and Autism

Researchers at NSU’s Center for Psychological Studies (CPS) and the Mailman Segal Center for Human Development, led by CPS professor F. Charles Mace, Ph.D., who is the Unicorn Children’s Foundation Endowed Chair, are conducting research to understand why successful treatment of severe behavior disorders sometimes results in treatment relapse and recurrence…

NSU Research Spotlight: Cancer Research

During his graduate studies nearly 30 years ago, Appu Rathinavelu, now a Ph.D., visited a cancer research institute in India where he witnessed patients facing serious side effects from chemotherapy drugs. This experience inspired him to pursue a field that allowed him to develop new therapeutic approaches that are less…

NSU Research Spotlight: Cardiovascular Disease

Anastasios (Tassos) Lymperopoulos, Ph.D., seeks to discover new treatments for cardiovascular disease, which kills more people than cancer. Right now, his “patients” are mice and rats. But Lymperopoulos has dedicated his professional life to the premise that cutting-edge gene therapy techniques will produce important benefits for humans. “I have always…

NSU Research Spotlight: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

An internationally recognized expert in immune disorders, Nancy Klimas, M.D., established the NSU College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine in December 2012. Operating from a research center and clinic on the main campus, a clinic in Miami’s Kendall neighborhood, and the Veterans Hospital in Miami, Klimas seeks to…

NSU Research Spotlight: Psychology Research

Jaime Tartar, Ph.D., is passionate about what she does—studying how sleep impacts daytime emotions toward the goal of improving emotional health. Because studies indicate that most Americans are chronically sleep deprived and that some function poorly with even as much as seven hours of sleep a night, Tartar considers sleep…

NSU Research Spotlight: American and Chinese Relation Conflict

Christine Ajayi, Ph.D., assistant professor of Family Therapy at SHSS, is conducting a study to compare the experiences of American and Chinese college students’ perceptions and experiences of relational conflict in light of their perceptions of their parents’ relationships. Previous research has made links to subsequent relationship conflict and family…

NSU Research Spotlight: Cancer Research

Losing a friend to leukemia in high school was a life changing event for  Jean Latimer, Ph.D. Always interested in science, Latimer initially considered becoming a doctor. Then she began thinking about the unchartered territory in which doctors didn’t have all the answers. Her epiphany came at age 16 when…

NSU Research Spotlight: Cybersecurity

Driven by a sense of patriotism, Yair Levy, Ph.D., helps the intelligence community address cybersecurity threats. At the same time, he gives ordinary people who are not computer geeks the skills to protect themselves from online predators who are after personal information. An aeronautical engineer by training, Levy found himself…

NSU Research Spotlight: Outbreaks and Viral Infections

Paula Waziry, Ph.D., finds it fascinating to know that each cell in the body holds secrets that either allow it to get sick or recover from an insult. By better understanding how a cell’s nucleus controls cellular activities, Waziry seeks to develop novel antiviral and anticancer therapies. She is pursuing…

NSU Research Spotlight: Eye Health

Heidi Wagner, O.D., has dedicated her professional life to identifying and disseminating best practices to promote safe and healthy contact lens wear. As co-chair of a group of cornea and contact lens researchers in academic health centers across North America, Wagner is exploring the extent to which youth is a…

NSU Research Spotlight: Coral Reefs

Bernhard Riegl, Ph.D., is a man on a mission. An internationally acclaimed coral reef scientist, Riegl understands that without the proper interventions, time is running out for the world’s coral reefs. “Just as one would not destroy the Mona Lisa or burn down the nation’s capital, one should not destroy…

NSU Research Spotlight: Substance Abuse

Steven P. Kurtz, Ph.D., and Hilary L. Surratt, Ph.D., co-directors of NSU’s Center for Applied Research on Substance Use and Health Disparities, and professors at NSU’s Institute for the Study of Human Service, Health & Justice, are currently conducting four large research projects involving prescription drug abuse and diversion. Some…

NSU Research Spotlight: Oral Hygiene

As a third-generation dentist, Cristina Garcia- Godoy, D.D.S., certainly didn’t have to look far for career inspiration. Her grandfather, Federico Garcia-Godoy, was the first pediatric dentist in the Dominican Republic. And her father, who has the same name, is also a dentist there. Garcia-Godoy remembers helping out around her grandfather’s…

NSU Research Spotlight: Pharmaceutical Sciences

While taking his first college psychology course, Bob Speth, now a Ph.D., decided that he wanted to figure out how the brain works. “At that time, I had no idea that the brain had 100 billion cells, all making connections with each other. I’m still working at my goal, though…

NSU Research Spotlight: Shark Research

Mahmood Shivji, Ph.D., has made national and international news repeatedly for his revealing research disclosures about shark biology, the shark fin trade, and its impact on shark populations. Shivji first developed an interest in the natural environment, and especially wildlife, in grade school. Later, as a college junior, he lucked…