Collaborators

George S. Abela, MD

Dr. Abela is a clinician scientist and is currently Professor of Medicine, Chief of the Cardiology Division and Director of the Fellowship Training Program at Michigan State University. While at Harvard Medical School he established an atherosclerotic model to evaluate plaque disruption and thrombosis and since then has focused his work on investigations related to unstable plaque causing heart attacks, strokes and other acute vascular events. His current research demonstrates that cholesterol expands in volume when forming crystals leading to rupture of fibrous membranes and atherosclerotic plaques. This has lead to an enhanced understanding of the mechanism of how cholesterol causes heart attacks and strokes. These studies have broad ramifications with respect to potential novel therapeutic approaches to treat atherosclerotic disease. 

Stephan A. Carey, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM

Dr. Carey’s research interests involve the effects of environmental toxicants, drugs, and respiratory diseases on the morphology and structure of the respiratory system. He has extensive experience using state of the art methods in toxicology, digital histopathology, and stereology, to quantify the morphologic effects of diseases, toxicant exposures, and therapeutic interventions on nasal and pulmonary structure. His laboratory is particularly interested in experimental design and morphometric techniques to characterize and quantify nasal and upper airway injury induced by inhaled toxicants, drugs, or pollutants.

Mike Dority, MS

Mr. Dority is a collaborator with extensive expertise in infectious disease modeling and antimicrobial testing. He earned his B.S. in Biology from Michigan State University and his M.S. in Microbiology from the University of Maine. He helped develop novel antibacterial chemotherapeutics targeting gram positive and gram negative bacterial infections while working at a large pharmaceutical company. Subsequently, Mr. Dority established a CRO specializing in antimicrobial testing, serving as its Chief Scientific Officer. He now serves as the Program Administrator for the Host Microbiome Initiative at the University of Michigan Medical School.

Anne Dorrance, PhD

Dr. Dorrance’s research interests focus primarily on hypertension and stroke. Her lab uses a wide variety of in vivo and in vitro techniques to correlate the damage caused by an ischemic stroke with the structure of cerebral vessels.

Gregory Fink, PhD

Dr. Fink is an expert in experimental design and statistical analysis of research data. He has nearly 35 years of research experience in the fields of cardiovascular physiology, pharmacology, and disease. His laboratory has conducted numerous efficacy and safety tests on drugs under contract arrangements with a variety of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.

James Galligan, PhD

Dr. Galligan’s research interests focus primarily on neural control of gastrointestinal motility and blood flow. He has consulted for a number of pharmaceutical companies with interests in gastrointestinal drugs.

John Goudreau, DO, PhD

Dr. Goudreau’s research interests involve neuroprotective treatments in Parkinson’s disease. He has extensive experience with cutting edge basic neuroscience research, in vivo efficacy and safety screening of candidate neuroprotective compounds, and clinical trials focused on neuroprotective therapies for patients with Parkinson’s disease.

Darrin M. Karcher, PhD

Dr. Karcher is the poultry extension specialist at the University. He obtained his PhD in Animal Science from Purdue University. His research is targeted toward the turkey and layer industry focusing on nutrition, management practices, and skeletal issues. He is a member of numerous professional organizations including the Poultry Science Association, and the World Poultry Science Association, where he served on the Board of Directors.

Karen Liby, PhD

Dr. Liby is interested in the role of inflammation in chronic disease. She uses a variety of animal models to study inflammation and to evaluate new drugs and drug combinations for cancer.

J. Justin McCormick, PhD

Dr. McCormick’s major research interests and experience include cellular and molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis, chemical and radiation carcinogenesis, mutagenesis and malignant transformation of human cells, anti-cancer effects of chemical agents, environmental toxicology, and DNA repair.

Bari Olivier, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM

Dr. Olivier is a board certified Associate Professor of Veterinary Cardiology. He has over 25 years of experience as a clinical cardiologist, over 20 years experience as a scientific investigator, and over 10 years of experience in clinical and experimental cardiac electrophysiology.

Stephanie Watts, PhD

Dr. Watts work involves understanding the mechanisms by which arteries and veins contribute to hypertension, investigating ‘nonclassical’ pathways of signal transduction mechanisms for smooth muscle contraction.

Robert Wiseman, PhD

Dr. Wiseman’s research interests focus on metabolism and metabolic dysfunction in skeletal muscle. He has applied non-invasive imaging techniques to investigate genetic diseases including type 2 diabetes in experimental models ranging from transgenic mice and rat disease models to human subjects. For over 20 years he has applied magnetic resonance, fluorescence, and near infrared optical techniques to the study of structural anatomy, metabolic flux, blood flow, and perfusion in response to both disease and exercise in peripheral muscle beds.