Faculty

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Some of the faculty at one of our annual retreats.

To learn more about the research and other interests of each faculty member please click in the

atom next to the name.
 

 

Cynthia Abrams
Amha Asseffa
Carolyn Broome
 Malcolm Byrnes
 Marguerite Coomes
Felix Friedberg
Matthew George
James Mack
Arvind Nandedkar
Richard Pointer
Allen Rhoads
Thomas Smith
William Southerland
Eric Walters
 

Adjunct Faculty

1. Dr. Barbara Howard - President, Medlantic Research Institute
2. Dr. Kenneth Scott - College of Pharmacy
3. Dr. Paul C. Wang - HUH - Dept. of Radiology
4. Dr. Dante Zarlenga - USDA  
5. Dr. Indra Poola - Dept. of Pharmacology
6. Dr. Nekhai Sergei - Center for Sickle Cell Disease 
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Cynthia K. Abrams, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Maryland. Dr. Abram's nutrition expertise truly bridges the gap between basic and clinical sciences; teaching basic science, participating in Grand Rounds, and other activities in the Hospital. She likes refinishing antique furniture and sewing. Her research interests are Nutritional Biochemistry and Clinical Nutrition. 
cabrams@howard.edu
http://zoey.med.howard.edu/cabrams
 
 

Amha Asseffa, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Howard. Dr. Asseffa leads a group of faculty and students to his native Ethiopia each summer to participate in a variety of research and teaching endeavors. He collects music from all over Africa. His research includes Molecular Biology, Gene Regulation, and Protein Kinases.
aasseffa@howard.edu

 

Malcolm Byrnes, Assistant Professor; Ph.D. Louisiana State University.  Dr. Byrnes believes that we have a duty to protect global biodiversity, and he follows his convictions in many ways.  He studies natural products through research on microbial enzymes involved in antibiotic synthesis and resistance; he is also a dedicated teacher who enjoys showing students the chemical and biological complexities of the natural world.  In his spare time he enjoys encounters with nature, and spending time with his wife and daughters.
wbyrnes@howard.edu
http://www.med.howard.edu/biochemistry/wbyrnes

 

 Marguerite W. Coomes, Associate Professor; Ph.D., Texas Health Science Center at Dallas. Dr. Coomes is on the Advisory Board for the Howard University McNair Program, an initiative to encourage undergraduates to pursue graduate degrees. She loves travel, foreign languages, and gourmet cooking. She has done research on Drug Metabolism, Epidermal Enzymes, and Protein Degradation.
mcoomes@howard.edu
 http://www.geocities.com/margueritecoomes/MCOOMES.html 
 

Felix Friedberg, Professor; Ph.D., Berkeley. Dr. Friedberg, Professor Emeritus, is our resident philosopher of science and life in general. He swims regularly. He is currently studying Calcium-Binding Proteins in the Brain.
ffriedberg@howard.edu
 
 

Matthew George, Associate Professor and Interim Chair; Ph.D., Berkeley Dr. George was a member of the research group who showed that "Eve, the Mother of Us All" came from Africa. His evolutionary research is very popular with students. He is also still "standing" in the "Science in American Life" exhibit at the Smithsonian American History Museum. Music is among his interests. His research centers on Molecular Genetics, Molecular Evolution, and Mitochondrial DNA.
mgeorge@howard.edu
 
 

James W. Mack, Associate Professor; Ph.D., MIT. Dr. Mack applies his training as a physical chemist to the study of biochemistry and structural biology, and still finds time to guide new students through the General Biochemistry course. He enjoys choral music and fitness training in moderate doses. His research includes NMR Spectroscopic Studies of Protein Structure and Dynamics.
jmack@huphysics.howard.edu
 
 

Arvind K. Nandedkar, Professor: Ph.D., DABCC, Delhi (India).
Dr. Nandedkar wears many hats, including that of Director of the Neonatal Screening Lab in the Hospital, and his students benefit from his continued hands-on participation in Clinical Biochemistry. He would like to be recognized as our "resident Eastern philosophy expert". He knows several languages of the Indian Subcontinent. His area of expertise and research are Clinical and Forensic Toxicology. 
anandedkar@howard.edu 
http://zoey.med.howard.edu/anandedkar  
 
 

Richard H. Pointer, Professor; Ph. D., Brown. Dr. Pointer has a deep interest in diabetes research. He is known by the students for his tremendous sense of humor. His outside interests include woodworking and sacred theology. His research focuses on Biochemical Endocrinology.
rpointer@howard.edu
 
 

Allen R. Rhoads, Professor; Ph.D., Maryland. Dr. Rhoads.spends a lot of his time logged on to the Super Computing Center in Pittsburgh. He recently organized a workshop for students and faculty to learn how to get information from the different sequence data bases available at the Center. Outside interests include gardening and speed skating. His research specialties are Calcium Regulation/Signal Tranduction Mechanisms and Purinergic Receptors
arhoads@howard.edu
 
 

Thomas E. Smith, Professor; Ph.D., George Washington. Dr. Smith keeps up to date with information on trends on the scientific and political fronts. He serves on committees and task forces for the American Association of Medical Colleges, the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the National Institutes of Health, and a host of other organizations. He loves photography, and is an admirer of Ansel Adams and Gordon Parks. Mechanisms of Action and Control of Enzymes, and Protein Structure-Function Relationships are his areas of research.
tsmith@howard.edu
http://zoey.med.howard.edu/tsmith 
 

William M. Southerland, Professor; Ph.D., Duke.
Dr. Southerland has established a University-Wide Drug Development Program, This program has the capability of taking a potential drug all the way from the design phase to synthesis and eventual testing.  His research is on Molecular Modeling, Molecular Dynamics, and Design of Therapeutic Agents. Dr. Southerland is an amateur historian and enjoys photography and writing.
wsoutherland@howard.edu

Eric Walters, Assistant Professor; Ph.D., Missouri. Dr. Walters "knows the nose". He is interested in the biochemistry of olfaction, and also has projects on the sociology and psychology of smell, and he always has a lab that bustles with students. Watch out for Dr. Walters on the tennis court! His laboratory works on the Cell and Molecular Biology of Olfaction.
ewalters@howard.edu


 
 Carolyn D. Whitfield-Broome. Associate Professor; Ph.D., George Washington. Dr. Whitfield-Broome has recently added a year at the Human Genome Project to her armamentarium of molecular biology expertise, bringing the latest techniques to the Department. She is very fond of jazz and listening to National Public Radio. She is active in research on Mitochondrial Gene Expression, Molecular Genetics, and Breast Cancer Mutations in African-Americans.
cbroome@howard.edu