Meet the Team

Micheala Aldred, PhD, is an international expert in the application of medical genetics and genomics to examine disease pathogenesis. Specifically, she has made sentinel discoveries regarding the genetic basis for pulmonary hypertension and the functional implications of the genetic disruptions. 

David Aronoff, PhD, conducts research centered on reproductive immunology and bacterial infections complicating pregnancy. Since 2020, his efforts have focused on responding to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Malaz Boustani, MD, MPH, aims to reduce the burden of acute critical illnesses on brain health. He developed a combined human and computer-based decision support to detect cognitive impairment including delirium among hospitalized elders, reduce exposure to potentially harmful medications and procedures, and enhance the recovery of brain health after critical illness. He is an internationally respected expert in implementation science. 

Khadija Breathett, MD, MS, is committed to improving national cardiovascular health outcomes focused on populations with the greatest disparities: women and minoritized racial and ethnic groups. Her research group has developed mixed-method studies, randomized controlled trials, observational population studies, community interventions, and implementation science studies focused on reducing cardiovascular disparities.

Mattias Clauss, PhD, leads research to elucidate the role of aging, viral infections, and chronic inflammation in cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases. He holds several patents and co-founded biomedical start-up companies. 

The Clapp Laboratory is focused on understanding the pathological mechanisms underlying genetic disorders that present with a predisposition to malignancies in infants and children. Clapp is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation and has a long track record of successfully training physician-scientists at the undergraduate, graduate, post-doctoral and junior faculty levels. 

Ankit Desai, MD, examines the mechanisms and genetic causes for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and sickle cell disease. His expertise encompasses the utilization of functional genomic applications to define new pathways in the pathogenesis of PAH. His laboratory also investigates the causes and potential treatments for sickle cell associated cardiomyopathy. 

Carmella Evans-Molina, MD, PhD, researches the prevention, treatment and cure of diabetes. She serves as director of the NIH P30-funded Indiana Diabetes Research Center (IDRC) and director of the IDRC Islet and Physiology Core.

Thomas Everett, PhD, investigates the mechanisms of arrhythmias by performing cardiac mapping with optical mapping and contact mapping with high density epicardial plaques in animal models of cardiovascular disease.

Nicole Fowler, PhD, is a health services researcher and implementation scientist whose overarching focus is on behavioral and other nonpharmacologic approaches to support dementia care and family caregiving.

Benjamin Gaston, MD, has extensive experience in the study of apnea cystic fibrosis, asthma, bronchopulmonary dysplasia and ciliary dyskinesias. His work led to the discovery of several new pathways and drug targets for these diseases. 

David Haas, MD, focuses on pharmacogenetics and genomics applied to pregnancy and complications of pregnancy. He is a principal investigator on the nuMoM2b Study: A multicenter cohort study of 10,000 expectant mothers funded by the NHLBI investigating risk markers and sleep outcomes. 

Roland Herzog, PhD, researches gene therapy and immune tolerance for hemophilia and in AAV vectors. He directs the Gene and Cell Therapy Program. 

Chandy John, MD, is the director of the Ryan White Center for Pediatric Infectious Diseases and Global Health. He is an internationally recognized researcher in malaria pathogenesis. Much of his work involves collaborations with Uganda and Kenya. In addition, a special area of interest is in lung inflammation and the interaction of malaria pathogenesis with sickle cell disease patients.

Mark Kaplan, PhD, is an expert in T helper cell differentiation and has been studying transcription factors that regulate cytokine responses and Th gene programming over the last 17 years. His laboratory has recently published on the importance of IL-9- secreting Th9 cells in the development of allergic inflammation and defined transcriptional networks involved in the development of IL-9-secreting T cells. 

Yen-Chun (Charly) Lai, PhD, is an expert in mechanisms of pulmonary vascular remodeling in pulmonary hypertension. She has pioneered studies understanding mechanisms of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction associated PH. 

Lisa Landrum, MD,  is a physician scientist with a clinical and research focus on improving outcomes among people with gynecologic malignancies using nobel therapeutic agents through clinical trials. 

Roberto Machado, MD, is an internationally recognized expert in PAH and sickle cell disease translational research. His group examines vascular endothelial function and carbon monoxide biology. He has made sentinel discoveries in PAH associated with sickle cell disease.

Sharon Moe, MD, has expertise in vascular biology. She examines the role of disordered mineral metabolism and the impact on muscle abnormalities and cardiovascular diseases. 

Kola Okuyemi, MD, MPH, is focused on research and training programs to improve the health of underserved populations and to advance health outcomes using medical and culturally tailored behavioral interventions as well as community-engaged research approaches.

Catherine Sears, MD, is a physician scientist with a focus on lung cancer, particularly the impact of DNA damage and repair on the development of smoking related lung cancers and to treatment response.

Patricia Silveyra, PhD, focuses on sex differences in inflammatory lung disease. Her lab studies the role of sex hormones and steroid hormone receptor signaling in mechanisms of lung inflammation, with an emphasis of asthma.

Brownsyne Tucker Edmonds, MD, MPH, is nationally recognized for her research in health disparities, shared decision making and periviable care. She is the inaugural chief health equity officer for IU Health and previously served as co-director for workforce development for the CTSI. 

Homer Twigg, MD, researches pulmonary host defense in HIV infections and the impact of antiretroviral therapy on lung immunology and inflammation. 

Stephanie Ware, MD, PhD, has expertise in pediatrics and medical and molecular genetics. Her research focuses on pediatric developmental disorders, including cardiomyopathies and structural heard diseases. Her work employs cutting-edge genomic approaches as well as sophisticated murine modeling.