March 14, 2022 | Midwestern University

According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 1.9 million new cancer cases will be diagnosed and there will be an estimated 609,360 cancer deaths this year in the United States. In light of these statistics, the National Cancer Moonshot Initiative has recently gained new interest and new goals are being set to cut or reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years and to improve the lives of people impacted by cancer.

As a University committed to providing healthcare education and excellent care to the community, Midwestern University values the contributions our faculty and students make to the advancement of scientific knowledge through clinical research. The University has a long tradition of investing in facilities, internal grants, and other academic and financial supports to create an environment that encourages scientific inquiry. As a result, researchers at Midwestern University are working on unraveling some of the biggest questions surrounding cancer, while also providing excellent research-based educational experiences for students.

Midwestern University faculty conducting cancer-related research and their area of expertise include:

• Farshad Agahi, M.D., FACOG, Chair, Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine – ovarian carcinoma, Glassy cell carcinoma of the cervix
• Hilal Arnouk, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Precision Medicine – cancer biomarkers, cancer immunotherapy
• Thomas M. Bodenstine, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics – breast cancer, gap junctions, cancer cell metabolism
• Kimberly J. Bussey, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Precision Medicine – cancer cytogenetics
• Mae Josephine Ciancio, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Biomedical Sciences – oral squamous cell carcinoma
• Nalini Chandar, Ph.D., Chair, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics – tumor suppressor genes and osteosarcoma
• Maria Cuevas-Nunez, D.M.D., D.M.Sc., Associate Professor, College of Dental Medicine – Illinois – oral epithelial dysplasia and oral squamous cell carcinoma
• Joshua Gasiorowski, Ph.D, Associate Director, Office of Research and Sponsored Programs –role of the extracellular matrix in cancer progression
• Jacalyn M. Green, Ph.D., Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics – folic acid nutrition and histopathological changes in tongue, liver, and kidney in a model of oral cancer
• Joanna Goral, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Immunology – cancer biology, histology
• Elizabeth E. Hull, Ph.D. Professor, Biomedical Sciences – epithelial to mesenchymal transition, epigenetic regulation of cancer, chromatin remodeling        
• Bruno C. Jham, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D., Associate Dean, College of Dental Medicine-Illinois – cancer research, head and neck cancer, angiogenesis
• Kolla Kristjansdottir, Ph.D., Associate Director, Precision Medicine – cancer biomarkers, precision medicine, genomics, and proteomics
• Shaleen Korch, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Pharmacology – metabolic response of cancer cells to energy stress
• Michael Kozlowski, O.D., Ph.D., Professor, Arizona College of Optometry – intraocular cancer, pancreatic, and ovarian cancers
• Kathryn J. Leyva, Ph.D., Chair, Microbiology & Immunology – role of miRNA in cancer progression
• Jeffrey Norris, D.V.M., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Pharmacology– dietary promotion of lung cancer, metabolic response of cancer cells to energy stress
• Mark Olsen, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Pharmaceutical Sciences – inhibitors to suppress cancer metastasis
• Cai Morgan Roberts, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Pharmacology – DNA repair, epithelial to mesenchymal transition and drug responses
• Luigi Strizzi, M.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor, Pathology – cancer biology, biomarkers, therapeutic targets
• Renier Velez-Cruz, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics – DNA double strand break repair, cancer therapy, transcription regulation and epigenetics
• Rosa Ventrella, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Precision Medicine – cancer biology, regeneration
• Mary Evelyn White, D.V.M., Assistant Professor, Pathology – epigenetics in inflammation and cancer

The faculty at Midwestern University are knowledge experts in many fields of scientific inquiry. A full list of researchers available to speak on cancer-related research or a variety of other topics can be found on our faculty expert page at https://www.midwestern.edu/community-and-media/media-guide.