Chair

Mohammad Newaz MD, Ph.D., FAHA is a Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology and Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP). Before joining CSU Dr. Newaz was Associate Professor / Senior Scientist and Head of Hypertension Unit in the Center for Cardiovascular Diseases, Texas Southern University, Houston, Texas. Dr. Newaz received his MD from the University of Chittagong, Bangladesh (1992) and Ph.D. from the National University of Malaysia (1998). He has held faculty positions at the University of Science and Technology Chittagong, Bangladesh, National University of Malaysia and International Islamic University Malaysia before joining the Center for Cardiovascular Diseases in 2000. His research focus is primarily on hypertension and vascular physiology using an integrated investigative approach with special emphasis on understanding molecular events contributing to the pathogenesis of hypertension and its complications

Dr. Newaz is a member of many professional societies, including the American Heart Association, the American Physiological Society. He has received numerous honors and awards, including the Young Investigator Award from High Blood Pressure Council of American Heart Association, Young Investigator Award from the renal section of The American Physiological Society, Caroline Tun Suden professional opportunity award from The American Physiological Society, Young Investigator Award from The International Society of Hypertension, FASEB MARC fellowship and Grant-in-Aid from American Heart Association. He has published more than 40 peer-reviewed research paper in high impact journals, book chapters and invited reviews in the field of hypertension and vascular biology. Dr. Newaz presented his research works extensively at conferences locally and internationally and was also an invited speaker in several Universities in the US.

Michael Danquah, M.S., Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP). He obtained his Bachelors in Chemical Engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. Dr. Danquah has a Master’s Degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Kentucky, and a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics and Drug Delivery from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center.

Dr. Danquah’s research interests include: (i) Design and synthesis of novel biodegradable polymers for controlled drug and nucleic acid delivery, (ii) Nano-based combination therapy for treating cancer, (iii) Design and construction of novel bipartite shRNA expressing plasmids for cancer therapy, (iv) Formulation, delivery, in vitro and in vivo characterization of siRNA and shRNA for treating cancer and (v) Application of stem cells and biomaterials for tissue regeneration and repair. His research accomplishments in these areas are documented in several published peer-reviewed journal articles. He is the recipient of the AACR Minority-Serving Institution Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research Award, creator of the NAPLEX® calculations prep app and author/editor of the books “Pharmaceutical Calculations: 1001 questions with answers” and “Emerging Trends in Cell and Gene Therapy”.

Dr. Danquah is a Consulting Editor of the International Journal of Nanomedicine and editorial board member of nine scientific journals. He is a regular reviewer of several journals including Pharmaceutical Research and Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews. He is a member of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS), and the Controlled Release Society (CRS). 

Ahmed Abu Fayyad, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP). He obtained his Bachelor Degree in Pharmacy from Isra University College of Pharmacy, Amman-Jordan. He worked as a Community Pharmacist and Formulation Development Scientist at TQ Pharma and Petra University College of Pharmacy, Amman-Jordan. Dr. Abu Fayyad received his Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics from the University Of Louisiana College Of Pharmacy. After, he joined Modavar Pharmaceuticals, A Cadila Pharmaceuticals Group Company in Washington, DC area working as a Scientist, Product Development. 

Dr. Abu Fayyad’s research interests include the design and development of novel drug delivery systems for cancer therapy. In addition to that, he is interested in the development of new pharmaceutical products (bench and pilot scale) for existing small FDA-approved molecules via 505(b) (2) FDA regulatory approval pathway. He is also interested in pilot pharmaceutical manufacturing process development, technical transfer, and pilot cGMP settings establishment. Dr. Abu Fayyad has authored several peer-reviewed journal articles in the area of pharmaceutics and drug delivery. He is a member of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS). 

Nadeem Fazal, M.D, Ph.D. is a Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP). He received his MD from King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan, and Ph.D. in Immunology from The University of Birmingham, England, United Kingdom.  He is a member of the American Association for Immunologists (AAI) and American Society for Microbiology (ASM). He completed his Post-doctoral training, Fellowship and later served as faculty at Stritch School of Medicine Loyola University Chicago. Dr. Fazal began his teaching career at the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Rawalpindi Medical College, The University of Punjab, Lahore. He also served as faculty at Chicago State University Department of Biological Sciences.  He has received President’s and Young Scientist Award from Societies of General Microbiology (SGM), American Society for Microbiology (ASM) and British Society for Immunology (BSI). He was also a recipient of Rowtham Bequest Award from The University of Birmingham, England, United Kingdom. His research interests include investigating mechanisms of cellular immune responses to acute injury/infection and pharmacological agents modulating such host responses. He has published more than 30 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals. Dr. Fazal is a member of numerous scientific and professional organizations, including, The American Physiological Society (APS), The American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG), and The American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP). 

Elmer J. Gentry, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP).  Dr. Gentry received his B.S. from Missouri Western State College (1993 in Chemistry) and M.S. (1996) and Ph.D. (1999) in Medicinal Chemistry from the University of Kansas.  He served on the faculty at Midwestern University, College of Pharmacy-Glendale from 1999-2007.

He was named the 2007 Teacher of the Year for both the first and second-year pharmacy classes at the College of Pharmacy-Glendale.  Additionally, he has received the Edgar C. Little Outstanding Chemistry Graduate Award from Missouri Western State College, the Pharmacy Graduate Student Honors Symposium Award from the University of Kansas, and an American Foundation for Pharmaceutical Education Pre-doctoral fellowship from 1997-1999.  He was honored as the National Advisor of the Year runner-up by the Phi Delta Chi pharmacy fraternity.

Dr. Gentry is a member of numerous scientific and professional organizations and has served as the Chair of the Section of Teachers of Chemistry of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.  His research interests include synthetic manipulation of antimicrobial agents to modulate potency and spectrum of activity, use of combinatorial chemistry for drug discovery and development, and improving delivery of science courses for professional and pre-professional students. 

Edward Ofori, B.Pharm, M.S., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences  at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP). He obtained his Bachelors in Pharmacy from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana. He worked as a pharmacist at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Kumasi, Ghana. Dr. Ofori has a Master’s Degree in Pharmaceutical Analysis and Quality Control from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana and a Ph.D. in Medicinal Chemistry from Florida A & M University, Tallahassee, FL. After, he worked with the Southern Research Institute in Birmingham, Alabama as a postdoctoral researcher.

Dr. Ofori’s research interests include but not limited to the design and synthesis of small molecules that target the clinically relevant GPCRs as potential treatment options for several psychiatric illnesses. He also focusses on using highly selective dopamine ligands as molecular probes for diagnosis and treatment of glioblastoma multiforme. One research area that really interests him is the identification of natural products or derivatives thereof that may be useful in treating neuropathic pain. Dr. Ofori has authored several peer-reviewed journal articles in the area of medicinal chemistry. He is a member of the Rho Chi Society of the Academic Honor Society in Pharmacy. Also, he is a member of the American Chemical Society and the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS). 

Melany P. Puglisi, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP).  She received her B.A. in chemistry from Southampton College, now part of Long Island University, in 1991.  Her graduate studies were carried out at the University of Guam where she received her M.S. in Biology in 1995 and the University of Mississippi, School of Pharmacy where she received her Ph.D. in pharmacognosy.  She received grants from the American Museum of Natural History and the Australian Museum of Natural History to conduct her research on Guam and the Great Barrier Reef (Lizard Island).

Prior to joining CSU, she conducted post-doctoral research at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California at San Diego, the Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce, and Shannon Point Marine Station at Western Washington University.  Dr. Puglisi’s research interests include marine natural products and chemical ecology of algae and marine invertebrates. She has participated in numerous research expeditions in the tropical Atlantic and Pacific including the 2005 NOAA Florida Coast Deep Corals research cruise.

Dr. Puglisi is a member of several scientific and professional organizations including the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) and the American Society of Pharmacognosy.  She has served as chair of the Younger Members Committee of the ASP. Dr. Puglisi has received awards throughout her academic career that not only recognize her research achievements but also highlight her service to the community. 

Mohammad Tauseef, M. Pharm., Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP). He completed his Pharmacy School from Faculty of Pharmacy, Jamia Hamdard (Hamdard University), New Delhi, India; and Ph.D., in Cardiovascular Pharmacology from Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Delhi, India. Later, he joined the Department of Pharmacology,

College of Medicine, The University of Illinois, Chicago, U.S., as a postdoctoral research associate. After completing his postdoctoral training in cardiopulmonary pharmacology, he was appointed as a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology, The University of Illinois, Chicago, IL.

Dr. Tauseef performs his biomedical research to investigate the role of calcium signaling in the regulation of vascular endothelial hyperpermeability and inflammation. Increase in endothelial permeability is the earliest sign of the initiation of serious cardiopulmonary disorders during septic conditions, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and diabetes mellitus. Dr. Tauseef is trying to identify molecular signaling mechanisms, activated during endothelial dysfunction to develop potential therapeutics against vascular inflammatory diseases. He utilizes an array of techniques such as gene silencing technology in endothelial cells and genetic knockout mice models to answer his research questions. He regularly presents his research findings in various national and international scientific meetings such as Federations of America Society of Experimental Biology (FASEB), American Thoracic Society (ATS), American Heart Association (AHA), etc. He is the recipient of several awards for his research presentations including Research Recognition Award from American Physiological Society (APS), Young Investigator Award by American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET) and Gold Medal Prize, College of

Medicine (COM) Research, University of Illinois Chicago. He is an active member of the American Association of College of Pharmacy (AACP), American Association of Immunologists (AAI), American Association of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. He is a member, Editorial Board, The Journal of Clinical Research. Dr. Tauseef has published his research work in top-tier, peer-reviewed international journals, such as Circulation Research, Journal of Experimental Medicine, The FASEB Journal. Dr. Tauseef is also an Adjunct Research Assistant Professor at the Center for and Vascular Biology, Department of Pharmacology, College of Medicine, The University of Illinois of Chicago, IL. 

Hafeez Faridi, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP). He earned his M.Phil and Ph.D. degrees in life sciences from Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi, India. Prior to joining CSU, he served as an assistant professor at the department of internal medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago IL. Dr. Faridi completed his postdoctoral training from The University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, Miami. FL. His postdoctoral work focused on the discovery of novel small molecules targeting integrin CD11b. His research led to the discovery of novel integrin CD11b targeting small molecules with anti-inflammatory properties. He has presented his findings at various international meetings.

His research interests are (1) Screening and characterization of small molecules with anti-inflammatory properties. (2) Understanding the physiological mechanisms in chronic kidney disease and identifying the therapeutic targets. Dr. Faridi has published his research work in well known, peer-reviewed journals, such as Science Signaling, and Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI). He is involved in multidisciplinary and collaborative research in the area of drug discovery including inflammation, cancer and chronic kidney diseases.

Dr. Faridi is a member of several scientific and professional organizations, including the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) and the American Society of Nephrology (ASN). Dr. Faridialso serves as an active member on various institutional committees including curriculum committee and self-study committee. Dr. Faridi is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine, Rush University Medical Center. Chicago, IL. 

Mohd Shahid, M.Pharm., Ph.D., is a pharmacologist/cardiovascular physiologist and an Assistant Professor of Pharmacology at the Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP). He obtained his Bachelor in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Hamdard University, New Delhi India. He then went on to complete his Master’s in Pharmacology with the scholarship from Government of India. In 2008, he earned his Ph.D., in Pharmacology from the University of Delhi. Prior to coming to CSU, Dr. Shahid was an Instructor and Assistant in Pharmacology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston. He completed two post-doctoral fellowships in renal and cardiovascular diseases at the Tulane University and subsequently at Harvard Medical School (Massachusetts General Hospital).

Dr. Shahid’s primary research interests consist of understanding the role of macrophages in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular and metabolic disorders and exploring its translational significance. In July 2017, Dr. Shahid joined the CSU-COP as a tenure-track Assistant Professor, where he established an active research program in the field of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. His lab employs several unique mouse models such as tissue-specific conditional knockout, double mutant, and transgenic mice, as well as various state-of-the-art techniques including in situ imaging system, fluorescent microscope, siRNA-mediated gene silencing etc. The ongoing research in his lab is particularly investigating the role of macrophage-specific Immediate Early Response Gene X-1 (IEX-1) in the development of obesity, atherosclerosis, and osteoporosis. Dr. Shahid is the author of several scholarly articles, viewpoint, abstracts, and online media texts. He has also delivered a number of lectures on the role of IEX-1 in hypertension and obesity, nationally and internationally. His research activities have been supported by the funding from the National Institute of Diabetes, Digestive, and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Shahid is a member of several professional organizations including the American Heart Association (AHA), the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), and the American Association of College of Pharmacy (AACP). He serves as a peer reviewer for many scientific journals such as Scientific Reports, Cardiovascular Research, British Journal of Pharmacology etc. He regularly presents his scientific findings at the annual scientific sessions organized by the AHA and the American Diabetes Association (ADA). He has received several awards for his scientific contributions including the Young Investigator Award from the American Federation of Medical Research (AFMR), the Young Investigator Travel Award from the AHA, the Outstanding Research Award from the MGH, and the Shore’s fellowship from the Harvard University. Dr. Shahid is also a visiting research scientist at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. 

 Staff

Daniel W. Pietryla is the Research Laboratory Technician Specialist for Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP). Mr. Pietryla received his Bachelors Degree in Biology from The University of Chicago (1983). Mr. Pietryla is the Lab Manager for the Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Facility.

Before joining the College of Pharmacy at CSU in 2012, Mr. Pietryla was a Research Assistant in the Departments of Biochemistry and Orthopedics at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. In a career in basic research spanning 27 years, Mr. Pietryla has contributed to, as Co-Author, 6 major publications and 29 scientific abstracts on topics ranging from joint inflammation to intervertebral disc degradation and repair. Mr. Pietryla brings diverse technical skills in biochemical, histological, immunological, surgical, and clinical protocols and methodologies to the Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Lab. Additional information click here  

Edith Godinez is the Customer Services Representative II  for the Chicago State University College of Pharmacy (CSU-COP). Mrs. Godinez holds Bachelors in psychology from Chicago State University in 2008.  Mrs. Godinez began her career at Chicago State University Customer Services Representative II in the office of Student Financial Aid.  She served in that position for  6 years.  Mrs. Godinez Joined the College of Pharmacy in 2013.