UCF faculty members from the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences (BSBS), the Department of Biology, and the Department of Chemistry have sponsored projects for PURE students. Any faculty member who utilizes techniques in molecular biology can host a PURE student. The diverse research interests of the participating faculty create a unique environment for cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research. Burnett School faculty members have expertise in a wide range of biomedical science disciplines which encompass the broad research areas of infectious disease, neurobiology, cancer biology, and molecular cardiology. Other UCF faculty members have additional expertise in nanoscience, forensic science, biophysics, biological chemistry, developmental biology, and genetics.
Below is a list of UCF faculty members who have previously sponsored a PURE student. To identify other potential faculty mentors, students should consult the following websites:
As noted on the BSBS website, Burnett School faculty members are located at one of three sites: the Biomedical Sciences Building (BMS, main campus), the Biomedical Research Annex (BRA, research park), and the Burnett Building (BBS, Lake Nona).
Debopam Chakrabarti, Ph.D.
Molecular mechanisms of the intraerythrocytic life cycle of the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum
Saleh A. Naser, Ph.D.
Role of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in Crohn’s disease pathogenesis
William T. Self, Ph.D.
Elucidating the antioxidant mechanism of ceria nanoparticles
Determining the impact of arsenicals on selenium metabolism
Ken Teter, Ph.D.
Cell biology of host-toxin interactions
Henry Daniell, Ph.D.
The use of plant molecular biotechnology to develop expression systems for human therapeutic proteins, monoclonal antibodies, vaccines and biopharmaceuticals
Sean D. Moore, Ph.D.
Genetic analysis to elucidate the function of essential bacterial ribosomal proteins
Kyle Rohde, Ph.D.
Mycobacterium tuberculosis genomic diversity and survival in macrophages
Herve Roy, Ph.D.
Bacterial remodeling of the cellular envelope to withstand antimicrobial agents, host defenses, and other environmental stressors
Alexander M. Cole, Ph.D.
Innate immunity to bacterial and viral pathogens
Kiminobu Sugaya, Ph.D.
Stem cell therapies for neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and ALS
Yoon-Seong Kim, Ph.D.
The molecular mechanism underlying selective degeneration of the specific neuronal population in neurodegenerative disorders, especially Parkinson’s disease
Karl X. Chai, Ph.D.
Role of prostasin in tumor invasion and metastasis
Mark, T. Muller, Ph.D.
DNA topoisomerases and cancer therapy
Antonis S. Zervos, Ph.D.
Induction of apoptosis by the protein Omi/HtrA2
Deborah A. Altomare, Ph.D.
Role of AKT kinase activation in tumor progression
Steven Ebert, Ph.D.
Molecular signals that control cardiovascular development
Dinender Singla, Ph.D.
Embryonic stem cell biology and cardiac regeneration
Otto Phanstiel, Ph.D.
Synthesis of new drugs and drug-delivery agents to aid in the treatment of human diseases
Jingdong Ye, Ph.D.
Structure/function analysis of riobswitches by synthetic organic, bioorganic, biochemical, and structural biological techniques
Jack Ballantyne, Ph.D.
Forensic molecular genetics/biochemistry
Laurie von Kalm, Ph.D.
Hormonal control of epithelial development and polyamine transporter biology in Drosophila