Roles at http://pharmaceuticalintelligence.com
GUEST Author and Guest Category OWNER of an Investigator Initiated Research Category: Cerebrovascular and Neurodegenerative Diseases
Zohi Sternberg, PhD
zs2@buffalo.edu
Personal BIO
A creative scientist with 14 years of experience, 9 years of clinical/translational research, and 5 years of basic research, both in the USA and abroad. Broad expertise in CNS and cardiovascular disorders. An in-depth knowledge of the cellular and molecular pathology of these diseases, as well as the knowledge of current treatment strategies to manage them.
Ability to create and deliver original research, from conception of the idea to the publication of results in peer-reviewed journals. Extensive knowledge in conducting clinical trials, including the design, implementation, analysis, and interpretation. Demonstrated team leadership and collaborative talent. Extensive knowledge of grant writing. Contributing author and reporter to http://www.pharmaceuticalintelligence.com – an online scientific intellectual exchange, responsible for weekly creation of recent topics in field of expertise.
THERAPEUTIC AREA & DISEASE STATE EXPERIENCE
CNS diseases:
- including multiple sclerosis,
- Alzheimer’s disease,
- ischemic stroke,
Cardiovascular and Metabolic diseases
ZOHI STERNBERG, PHD
Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Baird MS Center, University at Buffalo,
School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Buffalo, NY, 14223,
zs2@buffalo.edu
ZOHI STERNBERG, PHD
CURRENT POSITION
Assistant Professor of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University at Buffalo, School of Medicine, zs2@buffalo.edu
SUMMARY
A creative scientist with 15 years of experience, 10 years of clinical/translational research, and 5 years of basic research, both in the USA and abroad. Broad expertise in CNS and cardiovascular disorders. An in-depth knowledge of the cellular and molecular pathology of these diseases, as well as the knowledge of current treatment strategies to manage them.
Ability to create and deliver original research, from conception of the idea to the publication of results in peer-reviewed journals. Extensive knowledge in conducting clinical trials, including the design, implementation, analysis, and interpretation. Demonstrated team leadership and collaborative talent. Extensive knowledge of grant writing. Contributing author and reporter to “Pharmaceutical Intelligence”, an online scientific intellectual exchange, responsible for weekly creation of recent topics in field of expertise.
THERAPEUTIC AREA EXPERIENCE/DISEASE STATE EXPERIENCE
CNS diseases, including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s disease, ischemic stroke, and cardiovascular and metabolic diseases
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR FOR THE FOLLOWING STUDIES
- Developed biomarkers for the diagnosis and prognosis of multiple sclerosis, ischemic stroke, and more recently for Alzheimer’s disease.
- Conducted in vitro studies in animal model of multiple sclerosis for drug discovery/validation of anti-inflammatory drugs for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. Two such drugs were submitted for provisional patent applications to the University of Buffalo.
- Evaluated gene expression in chronic inflammatory and thrombotic vascular diseases.
- Principal investigator on post-marketing clinical studies aiming to better understand the mechanism of actions of drugs used to treat neurodegenerative diseases and vascular diseases.
CLINICAL EXPERTISE
- Extensive hands-on trial management experience in all aspects of clinical studies including protocol design, development, and logistics, patient enrollment-randomization, and study budget forecast and management according to a specific time table.
- Experienced in Investigator-Initiated clinical studies.
- Extensive communication with Medical Science Liaisons, and knowledge of their function within pharmaceutical industries.
- Data storage, statistics, data summary and interpretation.
- Data presentation: oral, abstract and peer-reviewed publications.
- Writing experience: clinical protocols, study reports, subject’s informed consent, amendments to the IRB, and clinical progress reports.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Creativity in the conception of new ideas.
- Preparation of documents for Continuous Medical Education (CME).
- Knowledge of data management, data analysis and interpretation.
- Leadership, training and mentoring graduate students and research staff.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, Power Point, Adobe Acrobat, and EndNote.
- Expertise in web search skills, Pubmed, Medline, ability to identify key references, and synthesize disparate information.
- Presentation skills (abstract and oral) in scientific meetings.
- Expertise in clinical and experimental protocol design and validation through laboratory research techniques, such as ELISA, RT-PCR, mass spectrometry, flow cytometry and cell culturing techniques.
- Drafting and submission of manuscripts for a peer review publication
- Grant writing, both academic and non-academic (Investigator initiated clinical studies).
- Knowledge of IRB, GCP, HIPPA, ICMJE, and CONSORT.
- Collaboration with scientist across broad scientific discipline, both nationally and internationally.
- Executing multiple projects simultaneously, both independently and collaboratively.
- Fulfilled a role as a reviewer for a number of manuscripts.
- Multilingual
This is very insightful. There is no doubt that there is the bias you refer to. 42 years ago, when I was postdocing in biochemistry/enzymology before completing my residency in pathology, I knew that there were very influential mambers of the faculty, who also had large programs, and attracted exceptional students. My mentor, it was said (although he was a great writer), could draft a project on toilet paper and call the NIH. It can’t be true, but it was a time in our history preceding a great explosion. It is bizarre for me to read now about eNOS and iNOS, and about CaMKII-á, â, ã, ä – isoenzymes. They were overlooked during the search for the genome, so intermediary metabolism took a back seat. But the work on protein conformation, and on the mechanism of action of enzymes and ligand and coenzyme was just out there, and became more important with the research on signaling pathways. The work on the mechanism of pyridine nucleotide isoenzymes preceded the work by Burton Sobel on the MB isoenzyme in heart. The Vietnam War cut into the funding, and it has actually declined linearly since.
A few years later, I was an Associate Professor at a new Medical School and I submitted a proposal that was reviewed by the Chairman of Pharmacology, who was a former Director of NSF. He thought it was good enough. I was a pathologist and it went to a Biochemistry Review Committee. It was approved, but not funded. The verdict was that I would not be able to carry out the studies needed, and they would have approached it differently. A thousand young investigators are out there now with similar letters. I was told that the Department Chairmen have to build up their faculty. It’s harder now than then. So I filed for and received 3 patents based on my work at the suggestion of my brother-in-law. When I took it to Boehringer-Mannheim, they were actually clueless.