President: JENNIFER A. TESKE, PhD

Associate Professor, School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness, University of Arizona - Tucson.

teskeja@arizona.edu

Jennifer Teske is currently an Associate Professor in the School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness within the College of Agriculture, Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona.

Immediate past President: MITRA ESFANDIAREI, PhD

Professor, College of Graduate Studies, Midwestern University

Research Associate Professor, Department of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix

Adjunct Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Pharmacology, and Therapeutics, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

mesfan@midwestern.edu

Mitra Esfandiarei is currently a full-time Professor in the Biomedical Sciences program in the College of Graduate Studies at Midwestern University in Glendale, Arizona. She is also holding adjunct professor positions at the University of British Columbia in Canada and University of Arizona College of Medicine-Phoenix. As the coordinator of Master of Biomedical Sciences Program, She has over seven years of experience in curricular development and implementation at the graduate level programs. Through her graduate and postdoctoral training, she received wide-spectrum training in the field of cell biology, pathology, physiology, and pharmacology with a focus on vascular pathophysiology and cardiovascular disease. Currently, Dr. Esfandiarei is leading an NIH-funded study to understand cellular mechanisms underlying the progression of aortic aneurysm in a genetic mouse model of aortic aneurysm and in small cohort of human patients.

Dr. Esfandiarei also has over 25 years of teaching experience at the community college, undergraduate medical school, and graduate level programs, and has been a great advocate of engaging students and trainees from different educational levels ranging from high school to undergraduate students, especially those from minority and under-represented groups. She is very passionate about expanding the translational scientific training and education to high school level students to promote the importance of basic physiology in health and disease. Throughout her career, she have had the privilege of mentoring and working with many talented senior high school and co-operative undergraduate students, who have shown interest in the field of cardiovascular physiology and pharmacology.

Dr. Esfandiarei has been a member of the Arizona Physiological Society (AZPS) for the last 10 years and had the opportunity to interact with many faculty and trainee members and has come to admire the quality of work and dedication of all members towards improving the quality of ongoing research productivity and providing opportunities for trainees to share their excellent and high-quality work with other members. She has found the focus on trainee’s education and networking as one of the most outstanding achievement for AZPS and would like to continue to work with all the society members to further promote such activities. Dr. Esfandiarei’s biggest passion has been and will stay the same: training and mentoring the next generation of basic, translational, or clinical scientists who will be addressing future challenging questions pertaining to the health of our ecosystem while taking the one-health approach in creating new ideas in the next 50 years.

Secretary/Treasurer: Robert Lewis, PhD

Associate Professor, Department of Physiology, ATSU School of Osteopathic Medicine

robertlewis@atsu.edu

Dr. Lewis is an associate professor of physiology and a teaching/research faculty at A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Lewis’ research include hypoxia and autonomic regulation. Since moving to Arizona in 2018, Dr. Lewis has been an active member of Arizona Chapter of Physiological Society. Dr. Lewis hopes to continue his service as the Chapter Treasurer to promote the networking within the scientific community in Arizona and provide more training opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and medical students in the field of physiology.

Arizona Chapter Advisory Committee (CAC) Member of the American Physiological Society: paulo pires, PhD

Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, University of Arizona (Tucson)

ppires@arizona.edu

Postdoctoral Councilor: MaRJAN AGHAJANI, PhD

Postdoctoral Researcher, University of Arizona, Phoenix

Dr. Marjan Aghajani holds a diverse academic background in medical physiology, immunology, and cell biology. Keen on pursuing a career in research, her focus shifted towards studying cardiovascular pathophysiology during a PhD at Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Iran. Exploring the effects of chronic sleep deprivation after myocardial infarction revealed insights into unfavorable left ventricular remodeling marked by an imbalance in cellular and extracellular elements of myocardium due to improper immune responses.

Continuing the pursuit of cutting-edge cardiovascular research, Dr. Aghajani sought postdoctoral training in the United States. Under the mentorship of Dr. Shirin Doroudgar, a prominent figure in cardiovascular research, the focus turned to unraveling adaptive/maladaptive cardiac remodeling mechanisms. The goal remains to comprehend cardiac myocyte responses to stressful challenges, potentially laying the groundwork for innovative heart disease therapies. With a vision of becoming an independent researcher, Dr. Aghajani aims to develop a comprehensive understanding of pivotal signaling pathways contributing to cardiovascular disease. The training plan within Dr. Doroudgar's lab are poised to augment scientific expertise and productivity, aligning with long-term objectives in cardiovascular research and clinical translation.

Graduate Student Councilor: SIDDARTH GUNNALA

Midwestern university

Born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, Siddarth attended the University of Arizona where he obtained a degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology. During his undergraduate career, Siddarth involved himself in research that explored Model-Based Reasoning and its application in a collegiate education setting. Siddarth recently completed his Masters of Biomedical Sciences at Midwestern University and will be continuing his studies in medical school at AZCOM in 2024. His thesis work involved studying the effects of folic acid over-supplementation on hypoxia outcomes. He is currently studying Parkinson’s Disease through the Buhlman Lab at Midwestern University. He enjoys weight-lifting, football, gardening, and traveling during his spare time.