COM Phoenix Internal Medicine

Mrinalini Kala

Associate Research Professor, Internal Medicine
Director, Flow Cytometry
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Primary Department

Work Summary

I received my PhD specializing in Immunology in 1998. My post-doctoral trainings were in the laboratories at The Scripps Research Institute and at University of California, San Francisco. During my postdoctoral training, I developed additional skills in immunology, especially in HIV, autoimmune diseases and extensive expertise in cytometry. I was appointed Assistant Professor (research track) at Barrow Neurological Institute in 2006, where I worked on Multiple Sclerosis through several independent grants. I was appointed as founding Director of the Flow Cytometry Core in 2010 at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix, where I direct the operation and development of the facility. I laid the foundation of the flow cytometry core at the University Of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix and since then, has been very instrumental in the development and expansion of the core. Initially, flow cytometry services focused on cell sorting and analyses of a variety of samples for animal and human research. In a year I expanded the core services for immunology, clinical trial work, as well as developing the testing services for lymphoid malignancies. The clinical flow cytometry testing services for lymphoid malignancies were done in partnership with Phoenix Children’s Hospital and the Molecular Medicine Laboratories at St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center. In 2017 I was given the responsibility to lead the biorepository for department of internal medicine as a founding director. Since then the biorepository has grown with collaborative works across both campus. adding portfolio of collaborative clinical trails and grants. In addition I also specialize in education and training of professional and support staff, budgeting, core management and marketing. I am engaged actively in providing mentorship and helping the College with the Scholarly Project Students. She is actively involved is collaborating on different projects.

Research Interest

I have broad background in immunology, with specific training and expertise in developing antibody-based therapy utilizing phage display technology for cancer and HIV, role of proteases in autoimmune diseases and deciphering the mechanisms of action of drugs used in treatment of various autoimmune diseases. I have expertise and proficiency in preclinical, translational research models, flow cytometry and biospecimen processing. I utilized this knowledge to be a founding director to lead and develop both a flow cytometry core and biorepository. The college Flow cytometry core was launched in early 2011 with only cell sorter, and currently houses a 3 laser 9 color cell sorter, one 4 laser 16 color analyzer, one 3 laser 8 color cell analyzers, one 2 laser 6 color analyzers and lyse wash machine. A large portion of my time is spent “helping others/collaborating”. As a faculty of internal medicine and director of these cores my efforts are to promote collaborative translational research. My collaborative translational research interests are in providing my flow cytometry and biobanking expertise to projects of my interest and relevance. We currently have more than 1000 subjects in our biobank which includes blood, PBMCs, tissue, urine, DNA, RNA, plasma and serum.

Hongyu Qiu

Professor, Internal Medicine
Member of the Graduate Faculty
Primary Department
Contact
(602) 827-2078

Work Summary

Dr. Qiu has both clinical and basic science background with more than 30 years working in biomedical research.

Research Interest

Dr. Qiu, MD and PhD, is a biomedical scientist with a research focus on the physiology and cellular/molecular mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases. her research interest is discovering the mechanisms of aging-related cardiovascular diseases and exploring therapeutic targets and strategies for these diseases, including aging- and hypertension-induced aortic stiffening and consequent heart failure, by using multiple animal models combined with comprehensive approaches covering in vivo, ex vivo, and in vitro studies.

Karn Wijarnpreecha

Associate Clinical Professor, Internal Medicine
Primary Department
Department Affiliations
Contact
602-827-2078

Work Summary

I have done several studies on epidemiology research in metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (formerly known as NAFLD), and genetic variants in MASLD. I am also interested in racial disparity and health disparity in liver diseases.

Research Interest

Dr. Karn Wijarnpreecha received medical degree from Chiang Mai University (CMU) in Chiang Mai, Thailand. After graduation, he completed one year of internship training and another year of research training at Cardiac Electrophysiology Research and Training Center at CMU. He decided to pursue medical training in the United States. He completed internal medicine residency at Bassett Medical Center in Cooperstown, New York and completed his gastroenterology fellowship training at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. He also earned Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health while completing fellowship training. Dr. Wijarnpreecha pursued transplant hepatology fellowship at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Dr. Wijarnpreecha is currently a Clinical Associate Professor, transplant hepatologist at Banner University Medical Center-Phoenix and University of Arizona College of Medicine - Phoenix. Dr. Wijarnpreecha research interest includes epidemiology in liver diseases such as metabolic dysfunction associated steatotic liver disease (formerly known as NAFLD), alcohol-associated liver disease, and racial disparity in liver diseases.

Anne-Michelle Ruha

Affiliate - Professor, Internal Medicine
Affiliate - Professor, Emergency Medicine
Affiliate - Professor, BIO5 Institute
Primary Department

Work Summary

Anne-Michelle Ruha, MD is a Professor of Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. She practices medical toxicology at Phoenix Children’s Hospital and at Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix (BUMCP), where she serves as Chief of the Department of Medical Toxicology and Section Chief for Addiction Medicine. Her primary research interest is in snake and scorpion envenomations and antivenom. She is the Principal Investigator of the American College of Medical Toxicology’s (ACMT) Toxicology Investigator Consortium’s North American Snakebite Registry.

Research Interest

Anne-Michelle Ruha, MD is a Professor of Internal Medicine and Emergency Medicine at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. She is board certified in emergency medicine, medical toxicology, and addiction medicine and primarily practices medical toxicology at Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix (BUMCP) and Phoenix Children’s Hospital. She serves as Chief of the Department of Medical Toxicology and Section Chief for Addiction Medicine at BUMCP. She is active in medical education, having spent 14 years as the director of the Medical Toxicology Fellowship Program at the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix. She continues to train fellows, residents and students in both the Medical Toxicology and Addiction Medicine fellowship programs. Dr. Ruha’s primary research focus is in the area of envenomations and antivenom. She is the Principal Investigator of the American College of Medical Toxicology’s (ACMT) Toxicology Investigator Consortium’s North American Snakebite Registry and has served as primary site investigator for clinical trials of snake and scorpion antivenoms. She has served as a Clinical Investigator with the University of Arizona VIPER Institute as well as a member of it’s Advisory Board. Dr. Ruha has published over 30 studies and case reviews in the peer-reviewed medical literature on the topic of envenomations, as well as chapters on snake, scorpion, and spider envenomations in leading medical textbooks including Goldfrank’s Toxicologic Emergencies and Critical Care Toxicology. In addition to envenomations, her other areas of clinical focus are the management of toxicity and withdrawal related to substance use disorders and acute care toxicology.

Sriram Iyengar

Associate Professor, Research Scholar Track - Internal Medicine
Director, Clinical Outcomes Research
Associate Professor, BIO5 Institute
Primary Department
Contact
(602) 827-2002

Research Interest

Much of my research work has been focused on improving community health and addressing health inequity, in global and US contexts by technology mediated tools including mHealth on smart phones. In 2009 I was the recipient of a global award from Microsoft Research to develop and test media-rich smartphone systems to improve the performance of community health workers in Colombia that resulted in statistically significant improvements in errors and protocol adherence. More recent work has included research in the use of such tools to increase health literacy, self-efficacy and self-management, among veterans with Congestive Heart Failure in the Pittsburgh area, and Diabetics (Type II) in rural Louisiana. A related area of research concerns health behavior change. Here, my work is in the vibrant emerging discipline of Persuasive Technology that is concerned with designing technologies, especially information and communications technologies, for health promotion and development of behavioral interventions. As smart and connected health systems continue to play an increasing part in everyone’s lives, especially younger people, such research will grow in importance. In addition, I am especially qualified in the important area of healthcare analytics, including biostatistics and data science, due to a unique combination of training, experience, and scientific interests. My education is interdisciplinary and includes Computer Science (PhD), Statistics (MS), Electrical Engineering (MSc), and 8+ years of experience as statistical consultant in the College of Medicine, The Ohio State University.

Raymond L Woosley

Director, Clinical Decision Support
Research Professor, Internal Medicine
Research Professor, Biomedical Informatics
Professor Emeritus (retired)
Member of the General Faculty
Primary Department
Contact
(602) 827-2619

Research Interest

Raymond L. Woosley, M.D., Ph.D. is Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology at the University of Arizona College of Medicine in Tucson, Az and Flinn Visiting Scholar for the UA College of Medicine, Phoenix. He is also founding President of the Arizona Center for Education and Research on Therapeutics, a non-profit organization dedicated to safe medication use. Dr. Woosley received his medical degree from the University of Miami, FL, his doctorate in pharmacology from the University of Louisville, KY, and his bachelor's degree from Western Kentucky University. After an internship and residency in internal medicine, he completed a fellowship in clinical pharmacology at Vanderbilt University before joining the faculty and rising to the rank of Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology. In 1988, Dr. Woosley was appointed Chairman of the Department of Pharmacology at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. In 2001, Dr. Woosley joined the faculty at The University of Arizona as Vice President of the Arizona Health Sciences Center and the Dean of the College of Medicine. In 2005, he founded Critical Path Institute (C-Path), an independent, non-profit organization created jointly by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the University of Arizona to help implement the FDA’s Critical Path Initiative. Dr. Woosley’s research has been reported in more than 280 peer-reviewed publications and in eleven patents. For his contributions to medicine, Dr. Woosley has received numerous awards from academic institutions, government agencies and professional organizations.