Director, Clinical Research Division, INIM, KPCOM
Nova Southeastern University
I hold an Assistant Professor appointment with the Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine (INIM) at Dr. Kiran Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (KPCOM), Nova Southeastern University (NSU). At INIM, I have a dual role, Director, Division of Clinical Research, and as a Research Faculty. I also hold adjunct Assistant Professor Position with Department of Nutrition Science at NSU’s KPCOM as well as Department of Biological Sciences at Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography where I teach, and mentor undergraduate students in research.
In my early career research, I evaluated factors involved in aging related disorders with a focus on minority health and disparities. My study identified polymorphisms in the PPARGC1A gene and its association with type 2 diabetes (T2D) risk in adults of African origins: African Americans and Haitian Americans. More recently, my interest has piqued in the identification of diet, natural bioactive products, and nutraceuticals as potential therapeutic agents for complex illnesses, most often which are age associated. With that interest, I have a healthy mix of pilot studies, Phase I and Phase II studies, and laboratory-based studies, several of which are federally funded. A randomized phase II remote study to assess Bacopa for Gulf War Illness (GWI) associated cognitive dysfunction evaluates the efficacy of a novel low-risk therapeutic agent, Bacopa monnieri, for cognitive function in Veterans with GWI in a completely decentralized trial. The aim also was to evaluate the utility of a remote patient-centric study design developed to promote recruitment and minimize participant burden in this population making it the very first CDMRP funded trial under IND to test out the decentralized design. Another CDMRP study is utilizing low glutamate diet to identify potential nutrient effects, biomarkers, and underlying metabolic differences between responders and non-responders. Additionally, another study is evaluating nicotinamide riboside as a therapeutic intervention to study and correct the mitochondrial function. In addition to these federally funded studies, ongoing pilot studies are evaluating immunological, metabolic and cognition related biological and functional parameters of ageing, and post viral syndromes as it relates to diet. My long-term research goal is to create nutrition/metabolic and disease symptomology-based profiling of these complex illnesses, which will enable sub-grouping of patients, and identify targets of disease activity. By targeting these abnormalities with supplementation and functional nutrition strategies, we expect to see improved function of organ systems alone and in concert to allow the body to reset homeostasis and in certain illnesses, respond to treatment more effectively.