RESEARCH & INNOVATION

Meharry - Medical College
Innovation Centers / Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research

Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research

The Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research conducts research and other scholarly activities designed to identify, understand, and eliminate factors responsible for the profoundly disproportionate burden of AIDS and HIV infection among minority populations in the United States.

The CAHDR has three major areas of focus: biology, behavior, and community outreach. Researchers at the CAHDR study new mechanisms of HIV infections, pathogenesis, immunity, and develop novel means for intervention. The Center is reducing the burden of AIDS in local minority communities through basic, clinical, and translational research.

Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research Administration Team

Fernando Villalta, PhD

Chair, Dept. of Microbiology & Immunology, Interim Director CAHDR, & Professor
School of Medicine

(615) 327-6510
fvillalta@mmc.edu

Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research Research Team

Anthony Archibong, BSc, MS, PhD, TS (ABB)

Associate Professor
School of Medicine
Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, Center for Women's Health Research, Sickle Cell Center

(615) 327-5714
aarchibong@mmc.edu

Bindong Liu, PhD

Professor
School of Medicine
Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research

(615) 327-6877
bliu@mmc.edu

Byeongwoon Song, PhD

Associate Professor
School of Medicine
Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research

(615) 327-6698
bsong@mmc.edu

Chandravanu Dash, PhD, MSc

Associate Professor
School of Medicine
Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, Center for Molecular & Behavioral Neuroscience

(615) 327-6996
cdash@mmc.edu

Donald Alcendor, MS, PhD

Associate Professor
School of Medicine
Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, Center for Women's Health Research, Health Disparities Research Center of Excellence, Tennessee Area Health Education Centers Program

(615) 327-6449
dalcendor@mmc.edu

Keisha Ashmeade, FNP-BC, EdD

Nurse Practitioner
School of Graduate Studies and Research
Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research, Center for Health Policy

(615) 327-5773
kashmeade@mmc.edu

Waldemar Popik, PhD

Associate Professor
School of Medicine
Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research

(615) 327-6734
wpopik@mmc.edu

Xinhong Dong, PhD

Associate Professor
School of Medicine
Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research

(615) 327-6464
xdong@mmc.edu

Center for AIDS Health Disparities Research Team Publications

piRNAs as Modulators of Disease Pathogenesis.
Rayford KJ, Cooley A, Rumph JT, Arun A, Rachakonda G, Villalta F, Lima MF, Pratap S, Misra S, Nde PN

Bortezomib Sustains T Cell Function by Inducing miR-155-Mediated Downregulation of SOCS1 and SHIP1.
Renrick AN, Thounaojam MC, de Aquino MTP, Chaudhuri E, Pandhare J, Dash C, Shanker A

Building a Diverse Workforce and Thinkforce to Reduce Health Disparities.
Yanagihara R, Berry MJ, Carson MJ, Chang SP, Corliss H, Cox MB, Haddad G, Hohmann C, Kelley ST, Lee ESY, Link BG, Noel RJ Jr, Pickrel J, Porter JT, Quirk GJ, Samuel T, Stiles JK, Sy AU, Taira DA, Trepka MJ, Villalta F, Wiese TE

Activation of proline biosynthesis is critical to maintain glutamate homeostasis during acute methamphetamine exposure.
Jones B, Balasubramaniam M, Lebowitz JJ, Taylor A, Villalta F, Khoshbouei H, Grueter C, Grueter B, Dash C, Pandhare J

Trypanosoma cruzi Modulates PIWI-Interacting RNA Expression in Primary Human Cardiac Myocytes during the Early Phase of Infection.
Rayford KJ, Cooley A, Arun A, Rachakonda G, Kleschenko Y, Villalta F, Pratap S, Lima MF, Nde PN

Unique method for human villous trophoblasts isolation from placental tissue explants.
Serjilus A, Alcendor DJ