What is your professional background?
I completed my PhD at Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia, PA, in molecular biology and genetics. During my final year of graduate school, I received a National Cancer Institute (NCI) Scholars grant. In 2005, after five years at the NCI in Frederick, MD, I joined Emory as an assistant professor.
In what division do you work, and who is your mentor?
I am currently an associate professor in the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, and Lipids, and a research biologist at the Atlanta Veterans Administration Medical Center. I am affiliated with the Winship Cancer Institute, and I am a member of the Cancer Biology and Nutritional Health Sciences graduate programs. I have been fortunate to have a number of mentors who also became collaborators, including Mark Nanes, Roberto Pacifici, and Neale Weitzmann.
Briefly describe your research. Why is it important?
I currently have two projects ongoing. The first involves the use of spherical, silica-based nanoparticles as a potential novel treatment of bone disease. Our cell-based studies have determined that these particles are capable of stimulating bone forming osteoblasts while inhibiting bone resorbing osteoclasts resulting in a potential dual therapeutic agent for osteoporosis. A second project investigates the systemic effects of dietary phosphate consumption on health and disease with endpoints including bone disease, cancer, and inflammation. Americans consume excessive amounts of phosphates, which are high in convenience foods, and a better understanding of the physiological consequences of phosphate consumption will provide novel strategies for disease prevention as well as promoting long-term health gains.
What do you like most about Emory?
Emory has a wide range of biomedical research being performed that I appreciate, and the willingness of those engaged in it to collaborate is impressive.
What is your favorite book, movie, or TV show?
I have always liked the movie This is Spinal Tap, because instead of stopping at 10 it goes to 11.
What do you like to do in your spare time?
I seem to spend most of my free time these days helping my two kids (9 & 11) build camps, forts, and bunkers in the woods behind our house. In what time is left, my wife and I try to get out and see live music.
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