Meet the editors

Mumtaz Anwar, Ph.D., is currently an assistant professor (research) at the Department of Pharmacology and Regenerative Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago, USA. Dr. Anwar obtained his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology and Molecular Epigenetics at the Faculty of Medicine, Department of Gastroenterology, PGIMER, Chandigarh, India. His Ph.D. thesis concerned the investigation of the Wnt signaling pathway in search of new

tumor prognostics and biomarkers in colorectal cancer. After completing his Ph.D., he studied epigenetic approaches and other molecular cell signaling mechanisms (in vitro and in vivo) in the context of vascular biology of the lungs at the University of Illinois Chicago. He is a member of various scientific organizations and societies including the American Heart Association (AHA), American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET), North American Vascular Biology Organization (NAVBO), and the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology (USCAP). He is the recipient of various awards including the Outstanding Young Investigator Travel Award.

Zeenat Farooq, Ph.D., is currently a postdoctoral research associate at the Department of Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago. Dr. Farooq obtained her Ph.D. from the School of Biotechnology, University of Kashmir, India. The focus of her Ph.D. was the elucidation of protein factors that play a role in the organization and maintenance of heterochromatin and regulation of transcriptional gene silencing. She has worked actively

on various aspects of epigenetics and has authored many papers in reputed journals. She moved to the University of Illinois Chicago in 2020 and studied the role of regulation of mRNA translation. Her recent work is focused on understanding the role of a novel hexokinase in altered glucose metabolism and predisposition to Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Farooq has authored one book and many book chapters. She is a member of various scientific organizations and societies including the American Heart Association (AHA).

Mohammad Tauseef, Ph.D., is currently an associate professor at the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Chicago State University, Illinois, USA. Dr. Tauseef obtained his Ph.D. in Cardiovascular Pharmacology at the Department of Pharmacy, University of Delhi, India. His Ph.D. thesis concerned the investigation of inflammatory cell signaling molecules, with specific emphasis on cardiovascular pharmacology. He is the author of many book

chapters and journal articles on molecular endothelial and cardiovascular biology and is involved in other scientific activities. He is a member of various scientific organizations and societies, including the American Heart Association (AHA). He is the recipient of various awards including an AHA postdoctoral fellowship, Midwest Affiliate, Outstanding Young Investigator Travel Award, Research Recognition award, Best Teacher award, and other postdoctoral competition category awards.

Vijay Avin Balaji Ragunathrao, Ph.D., is currently an assistant professor (research) in the Department of Pharmacology and Regenerative Medicine, University of Illinois Chicago, USA. He received his Ph.D. in Biotechnology from the Department of Biotechnology, Kuvempu University, India. His Ph.D. thesis emphasized the chemo-preventive effects of herbal-based drugs and small molecule inhibitors in the inhibition of angiogenesis.

Dr. Ragunathrao began his postdoctoral career studying the vascular pathobiology of the lungs at the University of Illinois Chicago. Currently, his research focuses on the Signaling of GPCRs and tyrosine kinase receptors to induce tumor angiogenesis. He has published several articles in high-impact journals. He is also a reviewer and editor of various scientific journals. As an independent researcher, his interests include tumor angiogenesis and lung vascular homeostasis.

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