Allie Karshenas, CLDir (ASCP), SS/BB, PhD  -  Associate Professor at the Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy Department of West Virginia University, Associate Vice President of Clinical Research Operations and Institutional Advancement,  and Director of the West Virginia Clinical and Pharmacologic Research Center (CPRC), a Contract Research Organization (CRO) nested within the WVU-Research Corporation.  Dr. Karshenas leads a large organization of clinical researchers deploying a variety of services to Pharma companies for their Phase I-IV of clinical trials.   Additionally he is responsible for the technology and innovation assessments for the Health Sciences Center where he engages with internal and external innovators on their product discoveries and impact to WVU systems and the State of WV.  

 Dr. Farideh Z. Bischoff, Ph. D., has been the Chief Clinical Development Officer of North America at Silicon Biosystems, S.p.A. since September 15, 2016. Dr. Bischoff served as an Executive Director of Scientific Affairs at Silicon Biosystems, S.p.A. since September 2014 September 15, 2016. Dr. Bischoff served as Vice President of Translational Research & Clinical Development at Biocept, Inc. from 2011 to August 12, 2014 and also served as its Vice President of Translational Research. She served as a Director of Translational Research & Development at Biocept, Inc. since 2007. She served as a full-time Faculty Member in the Department of OB/Gyn at Baylor College of Medicine from 1994 to 2007. She is an expert in clinical and molecular human cytogenetics and is well known in the field of rare fetal cell and fetal DNA recovery in maternal blood for non-invasive prenatal genetic diagnosis. Dr. Bischoff's research has been predominantly translational to clinical testing for non-invasive prenatal genetic testing and more recently cancer screening and surveillance. For over fourteen years, She has focused on the recovery of fetal cells from maternal blood and is a key investigator in the multi-center NIH/NICHD funded study focused on establishment of protocols and investigations into the clinical utility of circulating rare fetal cells. Dr. Bischoff holds a PhD in Cancer Biology from University of Texas Graduate School for Biomedical Sciences (Houston, Texas), with postdoctoral training at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

 Academic Qualifications :

metalloproteins. X-ray crystallography of cytochrome c oxidase.

2002-2007. Research associate at Department of Chemistry, Keio University, Japan (Prof. Yasuaki Einaga) Photo-magnetic metal complexes and their application for nano-scaled functional materials. Prussian blue analogues and other metal complexes.

2007-2008. Assistant Professor at the same university <because of changing the name of positions in Japanese, not promotion>

2007-2008 Visiting Scholar at Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Humanities and Sciences, Stanford University, USA (Prof. Edward I. Solomon) Bioinorganic spectroscopy of multicopper oxidase

2008-2012. Junior Associate Professor at Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, Japan (Principal Investigator). Physical inorganic chemistry (preparation, structure, and properties) of inorganic coordination compounds and related nano-materials and metalloproteins.

2009-2010 Visiting Professor at Department of Chemistry, Chaudhary Charan Singh University, India

2012-present Associate Professor at Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Tokyo University of Science, Japan (Principal Investigator).

 Raffaella Mastrocola has completed her PhD in Molecular and Experimental Pathology in the 2005 at the University of Torino, Italy. She experienced 10 years of research activity holding different positions in several departments of the University of Torino. Her research activity has been focused on the role of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) in the development of chronic complications of diabetes and diet-induced metabolic syndrome, contributing to evaluate the potential efficacy of innovative therapeutic strategies. She has published 37 full-length research articles in peer reviewed international journals and has attended as presenter at several international conferences. She is serving as reviewer and as editorial board member for reputed journals.

Eqbal Qaddour, a Syrian passionate researcher with BSc in Pharmaceutical Sciences. She has completed her MSc in Clinical Pharmacy with an honor degree, her thesis was about pharmacokinetics of Tacrolimus in liver transplant patients. She continued working on the same project till she become one of the authors of “Tacrolimus Pharmacokinetics in Living-Donor and Deceased-Donor Liver Transplant in Saudi Arabia”. She is a lecturer at Riyadh Elm University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, a member of the quality assurance committee of pharmacy department. She is interested in Data Science in general and Pharmacokinetics in particular.     

Raffaele Pilla, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Doctor Europaeus, received his Master’s degree in Pharmacy at G. d’Annunzio University in Chieti-Pescara, Italy in 2005, where he also served internships at the Cell Physiology Laboratory and Molecular Biology Laboratory. Prior to his degree, he was an Erasmus Student at Faculté de Pharmacie de Reims in Reims, France. He received his Doctor Europaeus in 2010 from Pitié-Salpétrière Institute in Paris, France. Also in 2010, he received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Physiology, and Pathology of Muscle at G. d’Annunzio University in Chieti-Pescara, Italy. He was hired as a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Pharmacology and Physiology at the University of South Florida in Tampa, on two research grants respectively funded by the Office of Naval Research (US Navy) and Divers’ Alert Network. He has written and lectured widely on his experiences. Dr. Pilla has been involved in ongoing research at the University of South Florida with the use of ketone esters. The initial work, funded by the Office of Naval Research, focused on using ketone esters to prevent CNS oxygen toxicity. Dr. Pilla is working to coordinate efforts in the United States and Italy to expand the ketone ester research to other conditions such as epilepsy and cancer and its use as an alternative metabolic fuel. Dr. Pilla has also served extensively in various international medical missions, orphan and homeless programs, emergency medicine rescue and training, and animal rescue and fostering. He is fluent in Italian, English, French, and Spanish. He has a special interest in journalism and photography, and he enjoys sailing, SCUBA diving, ultralight airplane piloting, soccer, volleyball, jogging, and motorcycles. 

 Dr. Chuanshan Xu (Master degree and PhD, Third Military Medical University, China) is a registered Doctor in China Mainland, and a Research Assistant Professor in the School of Chinese Medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He obtained PhD from Third Military Medical University, China. He continued his research career in China Mainland and Hong Kong. Dr. Xu’s research interests are in the areas of nanotechnology, photodynamic therapy, sonodynamic therapy, anti-cancer and anti-infectious medicines, functional food and food safety.
For years, Dr Xu has not only contributed to the education sector, but also professional bodies in China. He has been awarded many grants (including 863 program, NSFC, RGF of Hong Kong, HRMF of Hong Kong) as PI. He is also a member of Chongqing Photonic Association Laser Medicine Professional Committee and the Chongqing Medical Association Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Professional Committee. He serves as Editorial Board Member and Reviewer for a number of international and national journals, and Reviewer for national grants, including National Nature Science Foundation of China.