Member Group: Research Education Core Leadership


Hardik Marfatia


ChicagoCHEC Role: Core Co-Leader, Research Education Core
Organization: Northeastern Illinois University
Title: Associate Professor

Dr. Hardik Marfatia, an Associate Professor at Northeastern Illinois University’s Economics Department, possesses extensive experience and knowledge in applied macroeconomics and beyond. His interdisciplinary focus encompasses pivotal areas such as international asset market dynamics, monetary policy modeling, risk spillover, housing economics, forecasting, and geospatial modeling. Dedicated to conducting impactful research that transcends traditional boundaries, Dr. Marfatia actively collaborates with medical experts across institutions and community partners. Leveraging his expertise as a domain expert and data scientist, he makes significant contributions to projects aimed at advancing health equity. With over a decade of teaching and research experience, Dr. Marfatia has a remarkable portfolio comprising more than 50 peer-reviewed publications, extensive conference engagements, and editorial positions.


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Emma Turian


ChicagoCHEC Role: Research Education Core Co-Leader
Organization: Northeast Illinois University

Dr. Emma Turian is a Senior Instructor in the Mathematics Department at Northeastern Illinois University (NEIU). Dr. Turian participated in the 2022 and 2023 Summer Data Camp, offered by the NEIU Center of Health, as an organizer and speaker. As of 2022, Dr. Turian is a Co-Leader in the Research Education Core. Her collaboration with ChicagoCHEC fellows resulted in having some of the fellows from the cohort 2023 participate in her interdisciplinary course Math 371, Mathematical Modeling for Cancer Risk Assessment, which she created and is teaching at NEIU. Dr. Emma Turian’s goals are to expand knowledge related to cancer modeling and cancer prevention among the young generations of students, especially those from underrepresented minority groups and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, and encourage them to embrace the field of mathematical oncology.


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Sage Kim


ChicagoCHEC Role: Research Education Core Co-Leader
Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago

Dr. Kim has extensive experience examining racial disparities in health, particularly in relation to neighborhood context. More broadly, Dr. Kim has been exploring structural social factors affecting health. For example, she was the PI on an NIA funded R21 that examined social networks, social capital, and treatment adherence among older adults with HIV who have a history of incarceration. Similarly, Dr. Kim was a Co-I on NIDA funded R01 research to design, implement and examines the effectiveness of jail-based opt-out HIV testing, and subsequent continuity of care in and out of a large urban jail. Dr. Kim was PI on an NIMHD funded supplemental grant, examining spatial clusters of environmental hazards in Chicago by neighborhood level racial composition, social capital, and political participation. In addition, she was a Co-I on NIMHD funded grants including the Center of Excellence in Eliminating Disparities (CEED) which focused on patient navigation and mammogram in Chicago.

Dr. Kim is currently exploring the effects of violence exposure contributing to inflammatory responses that are linked to lung cancer with an NIMHD funded R01. Furthermore, she is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Interdisciplinary Research Leaders (IRL) fellow, examining the effects of hyper-surveillance on minority communities. Dr. Kim is also a Co-I of a grant funded by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which aims to estimate risk exposure and high blood lead level among children in Illinois. Dr. Kim’s research primarily focuses on equity and health. Currently, she leads the Investigator Development Core (IDC) of an NIMHD funded Center for Health Equity Research (CHER). She has mentored multiple early-stage investigators (ESIs) through CHER. Additionally, she has strong experience working with large data. Currently, Dr. Kim is a Co-Director of the Population Health Analytics, Metrics and Evaluation Center (PHAME) that aims to democratize data. She has an excellent track record of mentorship and working with transdisciplinary research teams on multiple projects that address neighborhood context and health disparity.

 


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Gregory Calip


ChicagoCHEC Role: Research Education Core Co-Leader
Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago

Dr. Gregory Calip is the Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacy Systems, Outcomes and Policy and Center for Pharmacoepidemiology and Pharmacoeconomic Research at the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy. In addition to his clinical experience as a pharmacist, Dr. Calip’s research training and background are in epidemiology and biostatistics with a particular emphasis on cancer epidemiology and prevention. His research includes extensive use of large administrative datasets including linked usage of the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) registries to perform research in cancer epidemiology, treatment outcomes, drug safety and pharmacovigilance. Through his collaboration with investigators from The University of Chicago, Northwestern University and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, he had laid the groundwork for his research that will examine strategies to prevent cancer and treatment-related venous thromboembolism in patients with multiple myeloma.His research is focused on comorbidity and treatment-related sequelae among cancer survivors.


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Jing Su


ChicagoCHEC Role: Core Co-Leader, Research Education Core
Organization: Northeastern Illinois University
Title: Associate Professor

Dr. Jing Su is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry at NEIU.  She has a multidisciplinary background in chemistry, pharmaceutical science and materials engineering with specific training and expertise in spectrometric analysis of biomolecular interactions and engineering of polymers for cell and drug delivery. At Northeastern Illinois University, she laid the groundwork of medicinal chemistry research training for undergraduate and graduate students through several projects, which include design and synthesis of peptide drugs for treatment of diabetes, study of protease and phosphatase activities as biomarkers in cancer, and development of new chemical tools for drug metabolism study. She is passionate about building interdisciplinary collaborations that benefit students’ academic and career development in biomedical science and STEM in general. Her contribution to the Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative is to serve as co-lead in the Research Education Core.  In this role, she will have the opportunity to participate as a guest lecturer in the summer fellows program wherein undergraduates, from UIC, NU, NEIU, and CCC, will focus on the development of academic, technical, and professional skills in preparation for careers in social, behavioral, and biomedical research and in healthcare.


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Nabil Kahouadji


ChicagoCHEC Role: Core Co-Leader, Research Education Core
Organization: Northeastern Illinois University
Title: Associate Professor

Dr. Nabil Kahouadji is an Associate Professor and a tenured faculty member in the Mathematics Department in the College of Arts and Sciences at Northeastern Illinois University. Dr. Kahouadji served also as a member of the planning committee for the September 2017 Inaugural Women in Science Conference, where he participated as a session organizer/presenter, a session chair, and was instrumental in recruiting one of the conference’s featured cancer researchers, Dr. Cheri Shakiban, from the Mathematics Department at St. Thomas University. Moreover, Dr. Kahouadji served as organizing committee chair of the second and third annual Women in Science held in October 2018 and November 2019, respectively. As of September 2018, Dr. Kahouadji is a Co-Leader in the Research Education Core. Dr. Nabil Kahouadji’s involvement in ChicagoCHEC includes his goals to ​(1)​ make scientific contributions in the area of cancer and MRI modeling, (2) make scientific contributions in the area of colorectal cancer health disparities from a social and environmental perspective, (3) eliminate cancer disparities among minority and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations, (4) develop the skills and abilities to become an independent investigator with competitively funded, peer-reviewed support in the area of cancer research, (5) enhance the opportunities for minority students to become trained and experienced in cancer research, and (6) establish new collaboration with epidemiological, social and behavioral experts.


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Paul Grippo


ChicagoCHEC Role: Research Education Core Leadership
Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago

Dr. Grippo has been focused on the design and utility of mouse models of cancer for over 20 years as he continues to generate new mouse models, employing them in order to understand disease progression and the underlying molecular and cellular mechanisms of those events.  Dr. Grippo was one of the first to target mutant KRAS to mouse pancreas, demonstrating that KRAS expression in acinar cells results in acinar-to-ductal metaplasia together with pre-invasive lesions. Dr. Grippo’s laboratory research is focused on identifying defects in signal transduction pathways in GI cancers that affect mutant KRAS-induced neoplasia and cancer in genetically engineered mouse models. His particular research focus within that umbrella would be the effects of high fat diets on mutant Kras-induced neoplasia and cancer. To that end, he successfully garnished a NIH R01 grant (2012-2017) aimed at evaluating the effects of high fat diets on the development of pancreatic cancer. Dr. Grippo also has a focus on the effects of altered TGF signals in the context of mutant Kras expression and additional effects from a TGF signal-deficient environment. This latter report demonstrates reduced fibrosis and a robust tumor-specific immune response following suppression of TGF signals in the hematopoietic compartment. His interest in mechanistic interplays between TGF and KRAS signals as it relates to cell cycle players has been showcased in both pancreas and colon. All of these findings likely will have clinical ramifications particularly as mechanisms involved become fully appreciated and exploited. With his expertise at employing mutant Kras to induce pancreatic neoplasia and cancer, Dr. Grippo can provide a variety of animal models and consultation on their use and findings generated thereof.

Dr. Paul Grippo has developed LEAP (Laboratory Experience and Program) to provide dry or wet lab experiences and community internship opportunities for graduated ChicagoCHEC fellows.


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Jonathan Moreira


ChicagoCHEC Role: Research Education Core Co-Leader
Organization: Northwestern University

Dr. Jonathan Moreira is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology at Northwestern Univesity. Dr. Moreira’s clinical interests involve the treatment of head and neck cancers as well as lymphomas. He has been actively developing clinical trials at the University of Illinois with the goal of developing novel therapeutic approaches to these diseases. Additionally, he is interested in better understanding the biologic underpinnings of health disparities, and the intersectionality of genetic, environmental and socio-economic factors. Dr. Moreira received his medical degree from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, completed his residency at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and completed a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.


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Jonathan Moreira


ChicagoCHEC Role: Research Education Core Co-Leader
Organization: Northwestern University

Dr. Jonathan Moreira is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology at Northwestern Univesity. Dr. Moreira’s clinical interests involve the treatment of head and neck cancers as well as lymphomas. He has been actively developing clinical trials at the University of Illinois with the goal of developing novel therapeutic approaches to these diseases. Additionally, he is interested in better understanding the biologic underpinnings of health disparities, and the intersectionality of genetic, environmental and socio-economic factors. Dr. Moreira received his medical degree from Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, completed his residency at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and completed a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.


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Francisco Iacobelli


ChicagoCHEC Role: Research Education Core Co-Leader; Pilot Project PI
Organization: Northeastern Illinois University

Francisco Iacobelli has been at NEIU for four years. He is also the graduate advisor for the Masters program in Computer Science. He has mentored students in research for two years, actively participating in summer research, interdisciplinary research communities and collaborating with people in the Computer Science department. Dr. Iacobelli’s research explores intelligent and scalable strategies of information retrieval and presentations that result in information that is both distinct and functionally clear to users. Dr. Iacobelli obtained his undergraduate degree at Universidad Diego Portales in Santiago, Chile and a Masters in Computer Science at DePaul University. He obtained his PhD in Computer Science at Northwestern University.


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Yamile Molina


ChicagoCHEC Role: Research Education Core Co-Leader
Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago

Yamile Molina is Assistant Professor of Community Health Sciences at the UIC School of Public Health, Faculty Affiliate within the Center for Research on Women and Gender, and Academic Partner with the UI Cancer Center’s Office of Community Engagement, Research, and Implementation Science. The majority of her research has relied on community based participatory research, mixed method, and transdisciplinary team science approaches to test the roles of community and individual-level protective factors to promote health among Latina and African American populations. Within the realm of education, she has developed undergraduate and graduate level courses focused on health equity across multiple institutions (University of Washington; Western Washington University; Seattle Central College; University of Illinois at Chicago). She has also mentored undergraduates, graduate/medical students, health practitioners, and community advocates in the context of research skills, with a focus on cancer disparities.


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Alicia Matthews


ChicagoCHEC Role: Research Education Core Co-Leader, Research Project PI
Organization: University of Illinois at Chicago

Alicia Matthews is Associate Professor at UIC College of Nursing. Dr. Matthews is nationally known for health disparities research with underserved populations primarily focused on the development and evaluation of culturally targeted cancer risk reduction interventions. Dr. Matthews is a clinical psychologist with more than 15 years of experience in examining determinants of cancer-related health disparities with a particular focus on African American and LGBT populations. Alicia is the director of the Recruitment and Retention Core of the University of Illinois at Chicago Center for Clinical and Translational Science. At UIC, Alicia has successfully worked with underrepresented Hispanic students through the Hispanic Center of Excellence in Medicine, exposing them to cancer disparities research. Dr. Matthews was recognized with the Research Mentor of the Year Award by the Hispanic Center of Excellence in Medicine for leadership in mentorship and health disparities research.



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Tracy Luedke


ChicagoCHEC Role: Research Education Core Co-Leader
Organization: Northeastern Illinois University

Tracy Luedke is Associate Professor of Anthropology at NEIU. Since 2005, she has contributed to developing and expanding the undergraduate anthropology program at NEIU as well as contributing to several interdisciplinary programs on campus. She has trained NEIU students in research methods and provided them with research opportunities, both within their major coursework and through individuated projects. Tracy has developed mechanisms whereby student trainees both contribute substantively to research on cancer disparities and attempts to address them while also identifying and preparing for their own career trajectories. Within ChicagoCHEC, she also serves as a NEIU-based mentor to students as they work with NU faculty on their individual research projects. Tracy received her PhD in Cultural Anthropology from Indiana University.


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