Experts Guide

Sharma is director of the Division of Interventional Sleep Surgery and co-director of the USF ENT Sleep and Snoring Center. He is an expert in otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat), interventional sleep surgery, sleep and snoring disorders and sleep medicine.

Beard is an expert in breast surgical oncology and can discuss benign and malignant disorders of the breast, high risk breast cancer screening. and breast conservation and oncoplastic surgery.

Smith is director of clinical research at the USF Health Byrd Alzheimer’s Institute and an expert in Alzheimer’s Disease, neuroscience and psychiatry.

Tritsch studies how physical traits that can be improved through training — such as strength, balance and movement patterns — affect the way adolescents land from jumps, a key factor in ACL injury risk. Other work focuses on identifying which traits predict high-risk knee movement in adolescent girls, both before and after exercise.

Kaimal's NIH-funded work focuses on maternal-fetal medicine, including mode of delivery and interventions such as induction of labor, prenatal testing and medications for management of medical complications. She can also discuss systems level assessment of practice patterns and metrics that impact the obstetric population.

Oxner's research focuses on allergy, immunology and infectious disease. She has designed and implemented quality improvement projects at USF and globally in Africa for malaria, measles, HIV, TB, burns and malnutrition. She can also discuss measuring the impact of working with under-served patients to create more resourceful and empathetic doctors after training.

Mohanty is an expert in cardiology, heart disease and coronary artery disease. He can break down complex cardiac-related topics for non-expert audiences.

Hoffman's work focuses on molecular and cellular immunology, immune tolerance, gene therapy and multiple sclerosis.

Thelin is director of the Women’s GI Health Program and an expert in gastroenterology, lower GI motility disorders, functional GI disorders and women’s GI health issues.

Somboonwit is an expert in allergy, immunology and infectious disease. Her recent research focuses on comorbidities among individuals living with HIV, hepatitis among HIV-positive individuals and blood cell deficiencies as a consequence of severe COVID-19 infection.

Bréchot is an internationally recognized expert in virology, allergy, immunology and infectious disease. He can discuss global health topics, microbiomes and cellular and molecular biology.

DuCoin is director of the GERD & Esophageal Program and an expert in bariatric surgery, gastrointestinal minimally invasive surgery, esophageal disease, general surgery, minimally invasive general surgery, foregut (esophageal and stomach) surgery, advanced surgical endoscopy, GERD (Gastro-Esophageal Reflux Disease), robotic surgery, and obesity and esophageal cancer.

Crousillat's research focuses on cardiovascular disease in women, cardio-obstetrics, echocardiography and pregnancy and heart disease.

Hernandez is co-director of the USF Kidney Stone Center of Excellence whose work focuses on urologic oncology, prostate and renal malignancies, kidney stones and benign prostatic hypertrophy, as well as minimally invasive surgical treatments.

Rose is Neurology Medical Director and an expert in vascular and interventional neurology and stroke.

Russ' research focuses on skeletal muscle physiology with an emphasis on healthy aging and muscle fatigue in clinical populations, ranging from HIV to low-back pain. His lab uses methods ranging from function testing to molecular biology to evaluate muscle function at the organism, organ, tissue, cell and molecular levels in human and animal models.

Roberts' research interests are in multiple sclerosis -- in particular, clinical trials assessing novel treatments for both relapsing-remitting and secondary-progressive multiple sclerosis. He can also discuss general neurology and neuroimmunology.

D'Agostino is a research scientist in the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition and an expert in neuroscience, nutrition physiology, cancer, ketogenic diet supplementation and environmental physiology. Through multiple Department of Defense and Office of Naval Research grants, he developed and patented unique technologies, including hyperbaric atomic force microscopy and exogenous ketone formulations for inducing and sustaining therapeutic ketosis for a wide range of applications, including CNS oxygen toxicity, Angelman's syndrome and cancer.

Haladay's research focuses on the examination and management of individuals with low back pain. He is specifically interested in the measurement of patient outcome and how patient preferences and values are incorporated into clinical decisions regarding the management of their low back pain.

Hardwick research focuses on upper extremity biomechanics and function, motor Control and motor learning, spinal cord injury, movement disorders and post-stroke pain.

Gonzalez is Co-Medical Director of the USF Health BRIDGE Clinic, a student driven free clinic for uninsured patients living in Tampa’s University Community. He is an expert in family medicine and community health programs.

Perez-Colon can discuss medical education, global health, disaster relief and health disparities. She has led efforts to provide free clinics and disaster relief to underserved populations in Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Panama, Colombia, Peru, Guatemala, El Salvador and Jamaica. She co-founded USF's COVID-19 virtual clinic, the CoCo Clinic, during the pandemic.

Al Sawah can discuss clinically managing obesity, menopausal problems, abnormal uterine bleeding, fibroids, endometriosis, birth control and minimally invasive surgery, including laparoscopic and vaginal procedures.

Coris is director of Director Primary Care Sports Medicine and an expert in sports medicine, heat illness, sudden cardiac death, concussion and dehydration in athletes.

Matar can discuss interventional cardiology, cardiovascular disease, cardiac catheterization and heart disease treatment. He can also discuss how the use of 3D-printed models of a patient’s heart can help determine whether additional protective steps are needed before surgery.

Tabatabaian is an expert in allergy, immunology and infectious disease and can discuss asthma and other heat-related allergies as well as respiratory responses from algal blooms such as red tide.

Halade's research focuses on how unresolved chronic inflammation and immune responsive metabolic dysregulation contributes to ischemic and non-ischemic heart failure. He aims to translate those findings for use in human therapy, considering risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, aging and oncological drugs.

Calloway is a research audiologist in USF’s Auditory Rehabilitation & Clinical Trials Laboratory and an expert in audiology, hearing rehabilitation, amplification, cognition and hearing and clinical drug trials.

Yadav is director of the USF Center for Microbiome Research. He is a leading expert in microbiome, gut health, probiotics and cognition and neurosurgery. His research focuses on the relationship between leaky gut caused by disturbances in the gut microbiome and the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease and other age-related chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Van Loveren is director of the USF Health Neuroscience Institute and an expert in neurosurgery and hyperbaric oxygen therapy. His clinical and research interests include pain, functional neurosurgery, trauma, vascular neurosurgery and skull base surgery.

Rodriguez's primary research studies the development, management and prevention of diabetes. He can discuss pediatric diabetes, Type 1 diabetes, diabetes prevention, adolescent transition and new technologies in diabetes.

Bezerra's NIH-funded clinical and research focuses on minimally invasive cardiac surgery procedures and advanced coronary disease.

Davis is an expert in running mechanics and injury and military medicine. She can discuss the relationship between lower extremity mechanics and overuse injuries and studies this using marker-based movement analysis in her clinic to help runners train pain-free.

Wilson's research focuses on clinical emergency medicine, critical medical anthropology and social determinants of healthcare. He can discuss health services research, hospital operations, emergency medicine clinical trials, acute care research, medical education and sports medicine.

Bismuth is an expert in vascular surgery, aortic dissection, peripheral arterial disease and central venous pathology.

Stephenson's research focuses on quantitative analysis of gait and balance in individuals with neurodegenerative movement disorders, particularly Cerebellar Ataxia, Multiple Sclerosis and Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus.

Krischer researches diabetes and understanding the mechanisms of autoimmunity and disease progression. His office is an international resource to study factors associated with type 1 diabetes. He serves as the principal investigator of a $69.9 million NIH grant to continue the follow-up of study participants in The Environmental Determinants of Diabetes in The Young (TEDDY) consortium. TEDDY is the largest multicenter prospective study of young children with genetic susceptibility to type 1 diabetes.

Dominguez Rieg is an expert in molecular pharmacology and physiology, translational physiology, diabetes and obesity research and intestinal health and disease.

Richter is the recipient of several awards for his work in digestive diseases and can discuss swallowing disorders, heartburn and Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD), G.I. motility problems, Barret's Esophagus and Cancer and eosinophilic esophagitis.

Agi is an expert in oculoplastics, orbital surgery and ocular oncology. He can discuss related topics including eyelid and tear duct surgery, eye cancer treatment and cosmetic and functional eye surgery. He can also discuss eye injuries and fireworks, including the most common causes of eye injury during the July 4 holiday, why males ages 18–55 are at highest risk, simple, practical steps for reducing risk — like keeping your distance, wearing protective eyewear and supervising children closely, and hat to do when an eye injury occurs and how to know when it’s an emergency.

Herazo-Maya can discuss pulmonary topics including lung fibrosis, respiratory diseases, gene-risk profiles and monocyte and macrophage biology.

Kim is director of the Division of Infectious Disease & Internal Medicine and can discuss virology, infectious diseases, global health, malaria and parasitic diseases.

Nallamshetty is an expert in cardiothoracic and cardiovascular imaging. He is experienced in clinical, operations, finance and management of large medical practices, health systems, academic medical centers and outpatient imaging companies.

Collins is an expert in concussion, athletic medicine, sports-related trauma and injuries, overuse injuries and aging athletes.

Sanders can discuss pediatric infectious diseases, HIV prevention and care, sexually transmitted infections and sexual health. She is executive director of the Ybor Youth Clinic, a medical student run after hours clinic to expand STI/HIV testing services for youth ages 13 to 24.

Menezes can discuss HIV research, sexually transmitted infections, HPV and cancer prevention and international health topics. She has collaborated with other scholars to investigate HPV infection among HIV-positive women in India.

Mokin is Director of the Center of Excellence for Aging & Brain Repair and an expert in stroke and low contrast imaging for minimally invasive surgeries to treat brain and spinal cord conditions.

Teng is an expert in virology and viral replication; allergy, immunology and infectious disease and biomedical engineering and nano medicine. He studies the role of host-virus interactions in viral pathogenesis.

Khattab specializes in treating patients with brain and spine tumors, including treatment of benign neuropsychiatric diseases and complex pain syndromes using stereotactic radiosurgery.

Qureshi can discuss extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO), lung transplantation, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension and other advanced lung diseases.

Shames can discuss vascular surgery, aortic aneurysm treatment, endovascular interventions and medical simulation and education.

Panetta is an expert in plastic surgery and surgery oncology, including breast reconstruction.

Patel is a dermatologist and an expert in artificial intelligence in healthcare. He can discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped healthcare delivery and the potential and challenges of AI in health care, emphasizing its transformative role and ethical significance.

Emmanuel is an expert in pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases whose research has included the study of HIV-infected children and adolescents.

Teran-Wodzinski's research focuses on the influence of gait biomechanics on the development of knee osteoarthritis. She investigates of the effectiveness of gait retraining on influencing the course of osteoarthritic changes in women with knee hyperextension.

Sanberg's His research involves discovering innovative ways to repair the damaged brain, and he helped lead the team that demonstrated the use of umbilical cord blood derived cells for neurological disease. His work has been instrumental in understanding and developing new pharmaceutical and cellular therapeutics for stroke, Alzheimer's, ALS, Huntington's, Parkinson's disease and Tourette syndrome.

Carrion is a nationally recognized urologist who specializes in sexual medicine, men’s health and prosthetic surgery. He can discuss erectile dysfunction, Peyronie's Disease and penile implants.

Bishnoi's research focuses on neurocognitive disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's Disease.

Ayyala is an expert in glaucoma treatment, surgery and diagnostic tools and corneal and external eye disease.

Lopez is a certified athletic trainer, an NSCA certified strength and conditioning specialist and an ACSM certified exercise physiologist. Her clinical athletic training experiences include working in the secondary school setting in Miami-Dade County Public Schools, women’s professional football, per diem athletic events and mass medical events.

Oehler's research focuses on allergy, immunology and infectious disease. Specific areas of interest include the role of social media and electronic devices in medicine, including infectious diseases; infections caused or spread by domestic pets, Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and mycobacteria; and tuberculosis.

Gallo is director of the USF Health Virology Institute and a globally recognized expert in virology, HIV/AIDS, human retroviruses, global health, cancer and microbial oncology. His is widely known for the co-discovery in 1984 that HIV was the cause of AIDS and for his development of the HIV blood test.

Hauser is director of the USF Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center and an expert in Parkinson’s Disease, neurology and movement disorders. His recent study surveyed hundreds of Parkinson's patients and found that the tremors associated with the disease are more difficult to control than previously believed.

Wagoner is an expert in behavioral disorders, mental health, bipolar disorder, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and psychiatry.

Gompf is operations lead for USF’s Respiratory Infectious Disease Emergency Task Force and an expert in flesh-eating bacteria, brain-eating amoeba and other infectious diseases.

Obican can discuss maternal-fetal medicine, fetal echocardiography, fetal therapy and teratology -- the study of birth defects and how they arise from factors like infections, chemicals, radiation and genetic conditions.

Yuan's research focuses on cellular and molecular regulation of cardiovascular function in health and disease. She investigates the signaling mechanisms of cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions in microcirculation during inflammation, trauma, infection, sepsis, atherosclerosis, diabetes and metastatic tumor development.

Mohapatra is an expert in nanobioengineering whose research focuses on applying biomedical nanotechnologies for the improved diagnosis and treatment of human diseases, including the development of new drugs that can target cancer stem cells.

Mohapatra is a cancer researcher whose lab is focused on understanding tumor growth, drug resistance and recurrence. Her team is working to develop methods and technologies to expand cancer stem cells that drive tumor initiation and progression, identify novel drug candidates for targeting cancer stem cells and sensitize tumors to immune checkpoint blockers in colon and lung cancer models.

McDonald is an expert in genetic heart disease, arrhythmia and cardiomyopathy. His lab investigates the precise mechanisms of how genetic variation causes diseases particular to the patient.

Yeatman's research focuses on the genomics of colon cancer, biomarker development and drug repurposing. He serves as Associate Director of Translational Research at the Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute.

Wills can discuss infectious diseases, HIV medicine, Hepatitis C, global health and medical education. His research focuses on novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches to the management of HIV and Hepatitis C and on health care in resource-limited domestic and international settings.

Sanchez is principal investigator and director of USF’s Auditory Rehabilitation & Clinical Trials Laboratory and an expert in audiology, speech perception, auditory rehabilitation, hearing loss treatment and translational research.

Uversky is a biophysicist whose research focuses on the role of proteins in various biological processes and their involvement in the pathogenesis of multiple human diseases.

Burgin is Vascular Division Chief in the Department of Neurology and an expert in stroke, acute stroke intervention and clinical and translational research in cerebrovascular disease.

Prida's interests encompass comprehensive cardiovascular disease management, including care navigation and collaboration with heart team members in interventional and structural cardiology, clinical cardiac electrophysiology, advanced heart failure. Disease categories he studies include coronary artery disease, after- heart attack care, congestive heart failure and arrhythmias.

Bensoussan is director of the USF Health Voice Center and a researcher in the National Institutes of Health’s Bridge2AI program. She is helping to lead the NIH-funded Voice as a Biomarker of Health project and is an expert in laryngology, voice disorders treatment, airways disorders treatment and swallowing disorders treatment.

Okuda is an expert in emergency medicine, medical simulation training and interprofessional healthcare education.