Research Interest

I am a Research Associate Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Illinois at Chicago. I work on a variety of research projects and clinical trials in gastroenterology, oncology, immunology, psychiatry, sleep, neurosurgery, vaccination as well as HIV-risk prevention. I am well versed in the design and analysis in the areas of longitudinal data, multilevel clustered-data, zero-inflated count data, mixed-effects model, and structural equation model. I have successfully applied my statistical knowledge, modeling and programming skills to study designs, data analysis and results interpretation in biomedical, psychosocial research and clinical trials, such as, multiple childhood vaccinations trials, and community-based intervention studies. I served as the primary investigator or co-investigator in 80 publications, of which 30 were in the fields of gastroenterology, and other medicines. For over 10 years, I have been closely collaborated with the academic faculty and clinical collaborators in NIH and CDC funded institutes and pharmaceutical company for their grant applications, study designs, data analysis, writing method section of manuscripts for peer view, and consulting on methodological and statistical issues. In the past years, I have been developed statistical skills to analyze microbiome data. Several co-authored manuscripts on gut microbiome have been published. Recurrently, two grants I designed on microbiome studies were funded by NIH and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association, respectively.

Research Interest

Analysis and modelling using GI data, such as the design, Analysis in the areas of longitudinal data, Multilevel clustered-data, Zero-inflated count data, Mixed-effects model, Structural equation model and Microbiome data analysis in gut.

Larry Good has been a practicing gastroenterologist since 1978. He graduated Colgate University Magna Cum Laude in 1969 and received his M.D. with Alpha Omega Alpha status from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, SC in 1973. He served a medical residency from 1973-76 and was Chief Medical Resident in 1976. He was fellowship trained in gastroenterology from 1976-78. He has served as the Director of Liver Diseases at Nassau County Medical Center and was for many years Chief, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine at South Nassau Communities Hospital. He is an assistant clinical professor of medicine at SUNY Stony Brook. He has given hundreds of lectures in his field and has authored numerous papers and abstracts. Recently, He presented the ACG Theater lecture at the American College of Gastroenterology annual meeting in Chicago, Illinois in October, 2014. He was Chief Medical Officer at Ritter Pharmaceuticals in Los Angeles, California, where he expanded his research interest in the intestinal microbiome. His current clinical research activities involve the microbiome, inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome and the application of orally administered gamma globulin to patients with acute and chronic gastro-intestinal disorders. He founded Good Pharmaceutical Development Co., LLC, in 2014. He is their CEO and is developing a topical product for treating neuropathic pain. He was recently appointed CEO of Compassionate Care Center of New York, a company founded to provide medical marijuana product safely and affordably to residents of New York State adhering to the evolving NYS regulations and producing a pharmaceutical grade treatment option for specific diagnosis designated use. He was appointed as an editor of BMC Gastroenterology, a prestigious on line peer reviewed medical journal. He is a member of the Speakers Bureau for Entera Health, Abbvie and Cubist Pharmaceuticals. He currently receives research grants from Entera Health and Medicus Biosciences. He is the former C.E.O. of Compassionate Care Center of NY and has had a long interest in research application of the physiology of natural molecules to multiple disease states.

Research Interest

Research application of the physiology of natural molecules to multiple disease states

Dr. Luis Rodrigo MD is actually Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the University of Oviedo (Spain). He has been the Chief of Gastroenterology Service at the HUCA Hospital in Oviedo, for more than 40 years. He obtained the PhD at 1975 and has developed a long teaching and research career. He has published a total of 552scientific papers, 260 written in English and the rest in Spanish. He has participated as main investigator in a total of 45 clinical trials. He has contributed actively to the formation of one hundred specialist in Gastroenterology working in his Hospital. He has written around 35 chapters in book of several subjects and has been the editor of 10 books in his speciality.

Research Interest

Colonic cancer, Helicobacter pylori infection, Chronic Hepatitis C, Hepatocellular carcinoma, Liver Cirrhosis, Celiac Disease, Autoimmune related diseases, Neurologic Diseases Gluten-related Sepsis, Infectious Diseases

Research Interest

Giuseppe S Sica is a respected clinician with a passion for improving the quality, visibility and overall success of patient-focused healthcare systems. Distinguished career as an academic surgeon, with large experience in the management of Gastro-Intestinal Surgical Patients. Logbook and clinical experiences highlight a CV of a highly specialized surgeon with a strong background of general surgery and in deep knowledge of latest updates in surgery. Proven success managing the new technologies and using it to produce clinical innovation. International education and experience in Europe (clinical fellowship and former Consultant Surgeon for the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals, U.K.) and North America (research fellowship Harvard and New York University).

Research Interest

Dr. Anthony Lopez is currently Associate Professor in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatologyof Nancy University Hospital, Lorraine University, France. He is also a member of the U954 Inserm research unity in Lorraine University, where he is doing a PhD degree on genetic factors and modifications of gut microbiota in inflammatory bowel diseases patients developing colorectal neoplasia.He owns a Specialized Complementary Degree of Oncology an, a Master 2 of Public Health and Environment (option ‘Epidemiology, clinic research and evaluation’) and three University Degrees(‘Medical Imaging in Abdominal Pathology’, ‘Viral Hepatitis, Cytokines and Anti-Viral Drugs’, and ‘Inflammatory Bowel Diseases Study’). He was Visiting Assistant Professor in the GI Medical Oncology Department, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA. He is a member of the scientific committee of the French Federation of Digestive Oncology (FFCD), the French National Society of Gastroenterology (SNFGE), the redaction committee of the ‘GI letter’ and the editorial board of Gastroenterology: Medicine & Research. He is a reviewer for several journals (Gastroenterology, Digestive and Liver Diseases, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Current Drug Targets, Drugs, ACG Case Reports) and he published as first author in high-impact factor journals including The Lancet, Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology, or Journal of Autoimmunity. Dr. Anthony Lopez’s work is focused on digestive oncology, especially supportive care and cancer in inflammatory bowel diseases patients.

Research Interest

Dr. Bert was born in 1969. He graduated in Medicine in 1997 and specialized in Gastroenterology and Hepatology as well as in Internal Oncology and Hematology. Dr. Bert is Chief Senior Physician and permanent deputy to the director of the Clinic and Outpatient Department of Internal Medicine at the educational hospital, Krankenhaus Nordwest, for the university He is also substitute of the Colon Cancer Centrum. Dr. Bert has considerable experience in research of tumor antigens in general and hepatologic disorders. His work has been published in a variety of prominent peer-reviewed scientific journals, and he has presented at numerous national and international conferences. His research experience included studies in New York and Boston. As fellow of the european board of gastroenterology and hepatology (FEBGH) Dr. Bert has also considerable experience in endoscopic diagnostic of the gastrointestinal tract.

Research Interest

Hepatologic disorders in general, Hepatitis C and NASH, Endoscopy of the gastrointestinal tract, Ultrasound diagnostic, including liver elastography, Cancer research

Research Interest

Research Interest

Internal Medicine, Gastroenterology, Liver Disease Studies

Research Interest

Maimaiti Yisireyili, MD, PhD. Dr Maimaiti earned his BSc in Clinical Medicine at Xinjiang Medical University. He Completed Masters and PhD degree in Cardiovascular Medicine at Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan. He is now working as Medical Doctor and associate researcher and post doctoral study at Research Institute of General and Minimally Invasive Surgery, People’s Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Urumqi, Xinjiang, P.R. China. His specialized research fields includes: Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD); Chronic Kidney Diseases (CKD); Uremic Toxins; Gastroesophageal reflux diseases (GERD) & Gastrointestinal Disorders; Metabolic Syndromes (Obesity, Diabetes and Stress Related Disorders).

Research Interest

Gastroesophageal reflux diseases (GERD) & Gastrointestinal Disorders; Metabolic Syndromes (Obesity, Diabetes and Stress Related Disorders);Cardiovascular Diseases (CVD); Chronic Kidney Diseases (CKD); Uremic Toxins

Miklós Bély qualified as a doctor of medicine (MD) at Semmelweis Medical University (SOTE), Budapest in 1972. He passed the Board Examination in Anatomic Pathology at the Postgraduate Medical School (HIETE), Budapest in 1976 and obtained a PhD from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1981. In 1994 the Semmelweis Medical University acknowledged him as Dr.med.habil. and in 2000 promoted him to Professor of Pathology. He obtained the degree of DSc from the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in 1999. Dr. Bély spent one year (1975-76) as a General Pathologist in the Pathology Laboratory of the Majella Ziekenhuis in Bussum, the Netherlands. Since 1972 he has been working in the Department of Pathology of the National Institute of Rheumatology (since 1993 as Chairman). In 2001 the hospital of this institute has regained its former name, Hospital of the Order of the Brothers of Saint John of God. Dr. Bély has been interested in autoimmune disorders (organ involvement by autoimmune diseases, complications and disease modifying effects of associated conditions, etc.). He has regularly attended scientific congresses and meetings since 1973, occasionally as a guest lecturer, throughout Europe as well as in Japan, China and the United States. He gave close to 700 lectures in three languages and has been a visiting professor of the German and English courses at Semmelweis Medical University. He has been an author of more than 400 publications and of 39 chapters in Hungarian and international journals and monographs, resp. He is a member or board member of numerous scientific societies (Society of Hungarian Pathologists, Hungarian Association of Rheumatologists, Committee of Pathology of European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR), International Society for Fluoride Research, etc).

Research Interest

Autoimmune Disorders

Dmitry Victorovich Garbuzenko was born in the Pereyaslavka village of Khabarovsky kray, Russia in 1962. In 1985, he graduated from the Medical Faculty of Chelyabinsk State Medical Institute. From 1985 to 1987, he was a clinical intern. From 1987 to 1990, he was a post-graduate student of the Hospital Surgery Department in Chelyabinsk State Medical Academy. In 1991 he defended his Ph.D. thesis on the topic "The influence of the small bowel resection on portal hypertension." He was a senior laboratory assistant since 1990 and an assistant of the Department of Hospital Surgery from 1991 to 1996. Since 1996, he became an assistant, then an Associate Professor (2003), and the Professor of the Department of Faculty Surgery, South Ural State Medical University (2006). His current research interests include clinicopathological problems associated with liver cirrhosis and portal hypertension. In 2008, he defended his doctoral thesis (M.D.) called "The influence of laser revascularization of the liver on the development of portal hypertension in patients with cirrhosis." Professor Dmitry Victorovich Garbuzenko is the member of Russian Society of Surgeons, Russian Gastroenterological Association, International Association of Surgeons-Hepatologists. Member of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences. He is an author of 139 publications including 3 inventions, 2 monographs (Gastroesophageal variceal hemorrhage in cirrhotic patients: pathogenesis, prophylactic, treatment. - Chelyabinsk, Russia: "Eastern Gate", 2004 (in Russian); Selected lectures in emergency abdominal surgery. - Saarbrücken, Germany: LAP LAMBERT Academic Publishing GmbH& Co., 2012 (in Russian)), the editor of the books (Portal Hypertension - Causes and Complications. Ed. D. Garbuzenko. - Rijeka, Croatia: InTech, 2012; Actual Problems of Emergency Abdominal Surgery. Ed. D. Garbuzenko. - Rijeka, Croatia: InTech, 2016). He is also a co-author of the Clinical Guidelines of the Russian Society on Studying of Liver diseases "Treatment of complications of liver cirrhosis", an editorial board member of 13 journals.

Research Interest

Clinicopathological problems associated with Liver cirrhosis and Portal hypertension

Research Interest

Solonitsyn Evgeny is a Head of the endoscopic department of the Almazovs National Medical Research Centre, Associate Professor of the Department of Faculty Surgery of St. Petersburg State University.

Research Interest

Spilios Manolakopoulos received his medical degree in 1986 at University of Ioannina, Ioannina, Greece. After serving his duties at Army for 25 months he started his specialty in Gastroenterology at Evangelismos General Hospital of Athens. He received his PhD in 1995 at Athens Medical School. From 1995-1997 he was a research fellow at Royal Free Hospital, London. He focused his interests on the pathogenesis of chronic hepatitis C and GBVirus. He studied the significance of viral concentrations in patients with different fibrosis levels and also explored the role of GBV viremia as a possible cause of hepatitis. After his return to Greece in 1995 he served for the National Health System until 2006 when he started his Academic carrier at University of Athens. Spilios Manolakopoulos continued to work on viral hepatitis and portal hypertension and published several articles in peer review journal mainly on natural history and treatment of chronic hepatitis B. He has published approximately 100 articles in peer review journals, while his contribution has offered more than 2500 citations until Dec 2016. He trained pre and postgraduate students while at the same time he paid special attention as Head of the Academic GI-Endoscopy Unit at Hippocration General Hospital of Athens. He has participated as principal investigator in several phase II,III and IV clinical studiesin the field of viral hepatitis and IBD. He has given more than 250 lectures at National and International meetings and is a member of numerous editorial boards and scientific societies. Longstanding clinical research has been a permanent feature in his academic career.

Research Interest

Carlos Marcelo S Figueredo graduated as a PhD in Periodontology at the Karolinska Institutet (Stockholm, Sweden) in 1999 and I have a strong experience with predoctoral and doctoral educations. I work as an undergraduate professor since 1999, and as a master and PhD professor since 2000, both at the Rio de Janeiro State University. From the last 5 years, I have been the Dean of Research of the Faculty of Odontology at the Rio de Janeiro State University, which gave me a strong experience in administration and grant application. Nowadays I have 2 main research projects. In the Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) project, we found that the activity of IBD seems to influence the cytokine expression in gingival tissue (Figueredo et al. 2017). Therefore, our current investigations aim to elucidate how activity of IBD influences the expression of inflammatory biomarkers in gingival tissue. In the project regarding autoimmune diseases and periodontitis, we have been investigating the possible role of Porphyromonas gingivalis-derived peptidylarginine deiminase (PPAD) in the association between periodontal disease and rheumatic diseases (JIA and SLE), and how PPAD antibodies could relate to classical markers of the diseases.

Research Interest

My research focuses on the neutrophil activity and cytokines signalling in the pathogenesis of periodontal disease. I work with the autoimmune disease model to understand the influence of chronic disease profile, and consequently their medication, on the cytokine behavior in the periodontium. I have focused on patients with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and inflammatory bowel disease, and their relationship with periodontal disease. My group developed a small device to collect gingival biopsies with 1.5 mm2 diameter. Such very small biopsies can be macerated and analysed in our Luminex and/or flow cytometry. Recently, we were also able to detect microparticles in gingival crevicular fluid (around 0.5-1 micrometers). All together opened a great amount of new opportunities.

Research Interest