Annual Meeting Moderators
Jennifer Alexander-Brett, MD, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Washington University School of Medicine
Jen Alexander-Brett MD PhD is an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pathology and Immunology at Washington University in St. Louis. She is a physician-scientist in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and her areas of clinical interest include lung transplantation, critical care and regenerative medicine. Her basic-translational research lab integrates mucosal immunology, epithelial stem cell biology and protein biochemistry to understand the mechanistic basis of airway disease pathogenesis. Of particular interest in the lab is the role of intercellular signaling via cytokines and extracellular vesicles in COPD, asthma, cystic fibrosis and chronic lung transplant rejection. Her work has been supported by NHLBI, American Thoracic Society, Burroughs Wellcome Fund and the Doris Duke Foundation.
Syed Bukhari, MD
T32 Cardiology Fellow
Johns Hopkins University
Dr. Bukhari is a physician, researcher, and educator. After completing his internal medicine residency, Dr. Bukhari pursued specialized fellowships in cardiac amyloidosis and vascular medicine. He is currently undertaking an NIH-funded T32 Cardiology Fellowship at Johns Hopkins University and holds board certifications in internal medicine, obesity medicine, and vascular/venous and lymphatic medicine. His clinical expertise is complemented by numerous national and international recognitions in research, including the Outstanding Young Investigator Award from American Heart Association, the Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, and the Early Career Physician Award from the American College of Physicians (ACP).
In addition to his clinical and research activities, Dr. Bukhari is deeply committed to advancing medical education. He has held leadership roles in several prestigious medical organizations and regularly delivers lectures at scientific meetings and grand rounds. Passionate about mentorship, he believes in passing on knowledge to future generations of physicians. Dr. Bukhari serves as a member of the ACP Clinical Skills Committee, co-chairs the ACP Maryland Chapter's Early Career Physicians Committee, and is the President of the Midwest American Federation for Medical Research. He is also member of the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM)’s Item-writing Task Force. He has also been honored with Mentor Award from the ACP and received honorary fellow designations from several scientific organizations, including ACP, the Heart Failure Society of America, the Society of Vascular Medicine, and the College of Physicians of Philadelphia. He has been recognized as Top 40 Physicians under 40 by Philadelphia Medical Society, and has also been Pittsburgh Magazine’s 40 under 40 awardee.
Steven Dudek, MD
Professor of Medicine
University of Illinois Chicago
Dr. Dudek is the Dean E. Schraufnagel Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care, Sleep and Allergy in the Department of Medicine at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). He is a research-intensive, physician-scientist and an established leader in the fields of ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome) and pulmonary vascular biology. He has published extensively in these areas and has been funded continuously by the NIH for over 20 years. He emphasizes training the next generation of clinicians and researchers and has successfully mentored multiple early-stage investigators on T32 and other training grants and career development awards. He currently serves as the lead Principal Investigator for the Division’s T32 Postdoctoral Research Training in Lung Injury and Inflammation funded by the NHLBI. He has substantial leadership experience in multiple academic and professional society roles, including for the American Thoracic Society (ATS), which is the leading international professional society for his specialty. Dr. Dudek has been an active member of the Central Society for Clinical and Translational Research (CSCTR) for over 20 years and recently served as President of the Society.
Jonnelle Edwards-Glenn, PhD
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Jonnelle Edwards-Glenn, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Scholar in the Cardiovascular Research Institute at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Her current research investigates how environmental pollutants drive vascular dysfunction and atherosclerosis, with a focus on mechanisms of endothelial injury and cardiovascular risk.
Alison Ha, PhD
University of Illinois Chicago
Alison Ha is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Steven Dudek's laboratory at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC), where her research focuses on pulmonary vascular barrier function in the context of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). She earned her PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics from UIC in 2023.
David J. Kennedy, PhD
University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences
David Kennedy, Ph.D. is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences and Senior Director of Medical Student Research Program Development. He earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Sciences from the Medical College of Ohio and completed the David and Lindsay Morgenthaler Endowed Fellowship in Cell Biology at the Cleveland Clinic. He co-directs the NIH- and NSF-funded Great Lakes Center for Fresh Waters and Human Health and the Women & Philanthropy Instrumentation Center within the Department of Medicine’s Environmental, Occupational, and Community Medicine Program.
Dr. Kennedy’s research focuses on how environmental and metabolic stressors drive inflammation, fibrosis, and organ dysfunction, particularly in chronic conditions such as heart failure, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and chronic kidney disease. His lab investigates the interplay between cardiovascular, renal, and hepatic systems in regulating cellular injury and repair, with a focus on identifying novel biomarkers, therapeutic targets, and counter-regulatory pathways. Given the region’s reliance on the Great Lakes for clean water and food security, his team also examines how environmental toxins impair the land-water-food nexus, aiming to develop diagnostics and interventions that improve public and environmental health. He has published more than 90 peer-reviewed papers and was the first Ph.D. scientist elected President of the Central Society for Clinical and Translational Research in its 95-year history.
Jerry A. Krishnan, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology
Associate Vice Chancellor for Population Sciences
Executive Director of the Institute for Healthcare Delivery Design
University of Illinois Chicago
Jerry A. Krishnan, MD, PhD, is Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology at the University of Illinois Chicago and serves as Associate Vice Chancellor for Population Health Sciences and Executive Director of the Institute for Healthcare Delivery Design. A pulmonologist and clinical investigator, he received his MD from Baylor College of Medicine and completed residency and fellowship training in Internal Medicine and Pulmonary/Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins, where he also earned a PhD in Clinical Investigation. Dr. Krishnan’s research focuses on pragmatic clinical trials, real-world evidence, implementation science, and stakeholder-engaged research to improve outcomes in asthma, COPD, and Long COVID. His scholarship has informed clinical guidelines and policy through leadership roles with the American Thoracic Society, NHLBI Clinical Trials Review Committee, and the Global Initiative for Asthma Board of Directors. A Past President of the Central Society for Clinical and Translational Research, Dr. Krishnan is committed to advancing translational science across the Midwest through rigorous methods, inclusive stakeholder engagement, and cross-institutional collaboration.
Suthat Liangpunsakul, MD, MPH
Professor of Medicine
Indiana University
Dr. Liangpunsakul is a Professor of Medicine, Biochemistry, and Molecular Biology in the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology at Indiana University. His research focuses on: (i) identifying non-invasive biomarkers to detect excessive alcohol use, (ii) elucidating the basic mechanisms and conducting translational studies on the pathogenesis of alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), and (iii) developing novel therapies for ALD. He is the principal investigator of multiple research projects funded by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (Merit Review) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH/NIAAA). Dr. Liangpunsakul has authored or co-authored over 300 peer-reviewed publications. He served as a standing member of the NIH HBPP study section from 2017 to 2021 and currently serves as an Associate Editor of HEPATOLOGY. He currently serves as a councilor and is a former president of the CSCTR.
Jeffrey Salomon, MD, MBA
Associate Professor
University of Nebraska Medical Center
Dr. Jeffrey Salomon is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Department of Physiology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. He is a pediatric cardiac critical care physician at Children’s Nebraska. Dr. Salomon is the Director of Research for the Criss Heart Center and Champion within the Child Health Research Institute at UNMC. His research focuses on gut health in congenital heart disease where he runs a lab evaluating the microbiome, gut milieu and its influence on post-surgical inflammatory activation. He also runs clinical trials aimed at improving gut health in this population.
Mark E. Schweitzer, MD, FACR, FRCP, FISMRM, FACCR
Editor in Chief, Journal of Investigative Medicine
Vice President for Health Affairs
Special Associate to the President
Provost for Public Health Planning
Dean Emeritus, Wayne State University School of Medicine
Wayne State University School of Medicine
Mark Schweitzer is the Dean Emeritus of the School of Medicine at Wayne State and the current Planning Dean of their School of Public Health. He is an experienced researcher with a focus on diabetic pedal disease with more 400 peer reviewed publications. He is the recently appointed Editor in Chief of Journal of Investigative Medicine.
Attaya Suvannasankha, MD
Professor of Clinical Medicine
Indiana University School of Medicine
Dr. Attaya Suvannasankha is Professor of Clinical Medicine and Gladstein Professor of Cancer Research in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Indiana University School of Medicine, with clinical appointments at the IU Simon Cancer Center and the Richard L. Roudebush Veterans Affairs Medical Center . She is a physician–scientist specializing in multiple myeloma, with a career focused on translational research, immunotherapy, and clinical trial innovation.
Her academic career was launched through a VA Career Development Award (CDA-2), which enabled her to build an independent translational research program investigating drug resistance and myeloma bone disease. That early investment matured into sustained VA Merit funding, supporting over a decade of continuous laboratory and translational research. Her work bridges mechanistic discovery with clinical application, including investigator-initiated trials and first-in-human immunotherapy studies.
More than a decade ago, as a K awardee, Dr. Suvannasankha was introduced to the Central Society for Clinical and Translational Research (CSCTR) and the American Federation for Medical Research (AFMR), an opportunity she considers formative in her career development. Through these organizations, she found a national community committed to nurturing physician–scientists and advancing rigorous clinical investigation.
She has since served as Midwest Chair of AFMR, followed by national President of AFMR, where she championed trainee development, interdisciplinary collaboration, and pathways for early-career investigators. She remains deeply engaged in advancing translational science nationally and is especially proud to serve as the upcoming President of CSCTR, continuing her commitment to fostering the next generation of clinical and translational researchers.
Laneshia Karee Tague, MD, MSCI
Assistant Professor of Medicine
Washington University School of Medicine
Laneshia K. Tague, MD, MSCI is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis. She completed her medical degree at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Internal Medicine residency at Loyola University Medical Center, and fellowship in Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, during which time she also completed her MSCI degree. Following fellowship, she completed postdoctoral research in the lab of Dr. Andrew Gelman investigating genetic influence on the development of neutropenia after lung transplantation and genetic factors associated with intolerance of the immunosuppressant mycophenolic acid (MPA). She joined the faculty of Washington University in St. Louis in 2021.
Dr. Tague’s clinical focus includes the evaluation and care of lung transplant candidates and recipients as well as the intensive care management of critically ill bone marrow transplant candidates and recipients. Her research program focuses on these same patient groups with investigation of 1) the pharmacogenetics and immunogenetics of lung transplantation, specifically how genetic differences effect response to immunosuppression agents and the subsequent influence on lung transplant outcomes as well as how these agents influence and alter the immune system after transplantation, and 2) hematologic complications after lung transplantation, particularly immunosuppression-driven changes and clonal hematopoiesis. The aims are to advance the understanding of how genotoxic stress drives aberrant immune responses with a goal of identifying novel targets for immunosuppression and developing precision approaches to immunosuppression management. Dr. Tague has received national and international recognition for her work and is the recipient of numerous awards and grants including from the NIH, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the American Federation for Medical Research, the American Thoracic Society, and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation.