Our faculty experts

  • Diane Adamo
    Chair of Health Care Sciences & Associate Professor

    Diane Adamo studies human sensorimotor control systems and performance, in particular the extent to which changes in cognition contribute to human performance in older individuals.

  • Dominick Astorino
    Instructor

    Dominick Astorino is bringing embalming techniques and equipment to Kenya in an effort to improve health conditions for death care workers and communities. 

  • Kimberly Banfill
    Assistant Professor & Academic Fieldwork Coordinator

    Kimberly Banfill focuses on the effects of sensory intervention with trauma affected children, as well as pediatric occupational therapy.

  • Helen Berlie
    Associate Professor (Clinical)

    Dr. Berlie is an expert in diabetes and pharmacy education.

  • Andrew Berti
    Assistant Professor

    Andrew Berti investigates how combining antibiotics in a deliberate and rational manner can improve outcomes for patients with challenging bacterial infections. 

  • Lauren Budrow
    Assistant Professor (Clinical)

     Lauren Budrow is an expert in funeral traditions and beliefs about death across cultures and religions.

  • Kyle Burghardt
    Associate Professor

     Kyle Burghardt has done extensive research on insulin resistance. 

  • Randall Commissaris
    Associate Professor

    Randall Commissaris is working with a driving simulator to determine the impact of marijuana use on reaction time, research that might inform lawmakers as they establish guidelines for driving under the substance's influence. He also studies distracted driving.

  • Susan Davis
    Associate Dean for Pharmacy,
    Clinical Professor of Pharmacy Practice

    Susan Davis is an expert on antimicrobial stewardship practice, education and research, and the clinical and economic consequences of antimicrobial resistance.

  • Rosanne DiZazzo-Miller
    Associate Professor

    Rosanne DiZazzo-Miller is researching ways to improve quality of life for dementia patients and their caregivers.

  • Aloke Dutta
    Professor

    Aloke Dutta is working toward discovery of novel central nervous system drugs to explore their potential therapeutic application in several neuro-disorders like Parkinson’s disease (PD), depression and drug addiction.

  • Joseph Fava
    Assistant Professor (Clinical)

    Joe Fava focuses on community pharmacy-based clinical services, including vaccine therapeutics.

  • Steven Firestine
    Chair and Professor

    Steven Firestine focuses on anti-infective drug discovery.

  • Nora Fritz
    Director of Research & Associate Professor

    Nora Fritz is examining the influence of cognition on mobility and exploring exercise interventions to improve function in individuals with neurologic conditions. She is particularly interested in linking clinically observable function to structural imaging and predicting the outcomes of exercise interventions using neuroimaging.

  • Candice Garwood
    Professor (Clinical)

     Candice Garwood is an expert in geriatric pharmacotherapy.

  • Navnath Gavande
    Assistant Professor

    Navnath Gavande's research applies structure based drug design, novel synthetic nanotechnologies and immunotherapy to a wide range of diseases including lung, ovarian and colon cancers.

  • Justine Gortney
    Associate Professor (Clinical), Director of Assessment

    Justine Gortney provides direction in program and student assessment for the Pharm.D. and graduate programs. She has expertise in the scholarship of teaching and learning and internal medicine. She also is interested in serving the community and is a faculty leader in WSU's Community Homeless Interprofessional Program (CHIP).

  • Arun Iyer
    Associate Professor

     Arun Iyer is working with micro and nanoparticles for cancer, infection and neurodegenerative disease targeting.

  • Linda Jaber
    Professor

    Linda Jaber is a clinical diabetes researcher with expertise in diabetes management, epidemiology, and risk factors for diabetes in Arab Americans.

  • Pramodini Kale-Pradhan
    Professor (Clinical)

    Pram Kale-Pradhan is an expert on the impact of pharmaceuticals and other interventions on infectious diseases, as well as gastroenterology.

  • Paul Kilgore
    Professor & Director of Research

    Paul Kilgore leads a research program in vaccines, infectious disease epidemiology and health disparities that aims to reduce the disease burden associated with bacterial and viral infections among infants, children and adults, particularly among underserved populations. He is also actively engaged in global health research overseas in Asia and other regions, developing novel interventions to improve prevention and control of globally important infectious diseases. He has also been active in research and teaching at the intersection of public health and environmental health in Michigan and other locations.

  • Christine Kivlen
    Assistant Professor (Clinical)

    Christine Kivlen is studying animal assisted interventions (AAI) with the help of her Leonberger, Stella. Her current focus is the affects of AAI on mental health and learning outcomes in the graduate student population.

  • Anjaneyulu Kowluru
    Associate Dean for Research and Distinguished Professor

    Anjan Kowluru has been conducting diabetes research for over two decades. He is prepared to discuss the mechanisms underlying the onset of diabetes and diabetic complications.

  • Lou Kramer
    Director, Clinical Coordinator, Assistant Professor (Clinical)

    Lou Kramer is an expert in surgical and forensic pathology, autopsy, and has worked as a medical examiner investigator. Her research focuses on gross pathology and forensic assessment of suicide.

  • Melissa Lipari
    Associate Professor (Clinical)

    An ambulatory care pharmacist, Melissa Lipari is an expert on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

  • Wanqing Liu
    Professor

    Wanqing Liu concentrates on genetics and genomics of human liver disease and cancer, as well as pharmacogenomics and precision medicine.

  • Sara Lolar
    Assistant Professor - Clinical

    In addition to her role on the Wayne State faculty, Sara Lolar serves as a physician assistant in the Detroit Medical Center Emergency Department. Her current research is focused on faculty development, point of care ultrasound in the classroom, and academic admissions predictors.

  • Sara Maher
    Associate Dean for Health Sciences, Clinical Professor of Physical Therapy

    Sara Maher studies interventions to enhance student learning and methods to improve student success.

     
  • Moh Malek
    Professor

    Dr. Malek broadly studies muscular fatigue. To this end, he examines neuromuscular fatigue using human model studies and rodent models to examine muscle energy production in response to different perturbations such as training, genetic deletion, or environmental toxins.

  • Amber Lanae Martirosov
    Associate Professor (Clinical)

    Amber Martirosov emphasizes the pharmacist’s role in ambulatory care clinics.

  • Insaf Mohammad
    Assistant Professor (Clinical)

    Insaf Mohammad focuses on chronic care management through pharmaceuticals. 

  • Lynette Moser
    Chair & Associate Professor (Clinical)
  • Anna Moszczynska
    Associate Professor

    Anna Moszczynska is an expert in in the field of methamphetamine neurotoxicity, working toward a treatment to prevent, inhibit or reverse the toxic effects of methamphetamine on the brain. She is also searching for new drug target candidates for Methamphetamine Use Disorder.

  • Mary Beth O'Connell
    Professor

     Mary Beth O’Connell focuses on geriatrics, osteoporosis, and cultural competence in health care.

  • Victoria Pardo
    Associate Professor (Clinical)

    Victoria Pardo is examining outcome measures in stroke and other neurological diagnoses.

  • Dennis Parker
    Associate Professor (Clinical)

     Dennis Parker focuses on pharmacokinetics in central nervous system disorders.

  • Regina Parnell
    Assistant Professor

    Regina Parnell researches health symptoms and inequalities of single African American mothers. 

  • Marie Eve Pepin
    Assistant Professor (Clinical)

    Marie Eve Pepin is an expert in therapeutic exercises and the treatment of orthopedic conditions with physical therapy.

  • David Pitts
    Associate Professor

    David Pitts focuses on the fields of environmental toxicology and neurotoxicology with particular emphasis on contaminants of emerging concern, endocrine disrupting chemicals, and water quality.

  • Fredrick Pociask
    Clinical Associate Professor

     Fredrick Pociask studies cognitive load theory, especially as it relates to instructional learning.

  • Christine Rabinak
    Associate Professor

    Christine Rabinak is researching cannabinoid involvement during fear extinction, learning and retention, with a focus on THC’s potential role in the alleviation of PTSD symptoms. 

  • Joseph Roche
    Associate Professor

    Joseph Roche is an expert in muscle regeneration therapies and physical rehabilitation after injury or illness. 

  • Michael Rybak
    Professor

    Michael Rybak maintains a primary research focus on antimicrobial pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and the assessment of infectious diseases health outcomes, including their relationship to bacterial resistance.

  • Francine Salinitri
    Professor (Clinical), Director of Experiential Education

    Francine Salinitri is an expert on treatment of patients with diabetes and chronic kidney disease.

  • Preethy Samuel
    Associate Professor

    Preethy Samuel focuses on improving quality of life of adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including autism, and their families/caregivers.

  • Martha Schiller
    Assistant Professor (Clinical) & Director of Clinical Education

    Martha Schiller leads the pro-bono SAY PT Clinic in the Detroit community.

  • Fabrice Smieliauskas
    Assistant Professor
  • Timothy Stemmler
    Professor

    Tim Stemmler is examining the role proteins play in regulating cellular iron homeostasis, the disruption of which can cause human neurodegenerative disorders including Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s and Friedreichs Ataxia.

  • Brittany Stewart
    Assistant Professor (Clinical)

    Brittany Stewart is interested in pharmacist-led hypertension management and community pharmacy practice advancement.

  • MaryAnne Stewart
    Assistant Professor (Clinical)

    MaryAnne Stewart is currently working on three lines of research, which include hematology/hemostasis work in relation to clinical laboratory science by providing data on testing initiatives; scholarship of teaching and learning enhancing student success including interprofessional practice; and scholarship of teaching and learning faculty support.

  • Wassim Tarraf
    Associate Professor

     Wassim Tarraf focuses on minority health and aging, as well as public health.

  • Victoria Tutag Lehr
    Professor (Clinical)

    Victoria Tutag Lehr is an expert in pain management and opioid misuse with a focus on the pediatric population. She works to train pharmacists to prevent, identify and intervene in opioid misuse.

  • Jiemei Wang
    Associate Professor

    Jiemei Wang is an expert in cardiovascular disorders under metabolic stress. She is particularly interested in wound repair in diabetes and vascular dysfunction in hypertension.

  • Zhengping Yi
    Professor & Director, Graduate Program

    Zhengping Yi is an expert in insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes, studying the disease both clinically and with mass spectrometry and proteomics.