Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers
in Women’s Health (BIRCWH)

BIRCWH Scholars

• Keith D. Baker, Ph.D.
• Amelia C. Grover, M.D.
• Briana Mezuk, Ph.D.
• Kazuaki Takabe, M.D., Ph.D.

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Keith D. Baker, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. He received his graduate degree in cellular regulation from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. He has completed postdoctoral fellowships at Baylor College of Medicine in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology and at the University of Utah School of Medicine in the Department of Human Genetics. Using the fruit fly as a model system, his BIRCWH research project examines the role of the estrogen-related receptor in hypoxia and in cellular bioenergetic decision-making.

Mentors

• Andrew Larner, M.D., Ph.D.
  Professor and Eminent Scholar, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

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Amelia Grover, M.D. is an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery, Division of Surgical Oncology. She received her medical degree from Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan and her residency at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan. She completed a research fellowship at the University Of Michigan. Her BIRCWH research project examines the modifications that can silence gene expression and ways to prevent these in order to prevent the development of cancer.

Mentors

• Gordon Ginder, M.D.
  Professor, Departments of Internal Medicine and Human and Molecular Genetics
  Director, Massey Cancer Center
• Harry Bear, M.D., Ph.D.
  Professor, Departments of Surgery and Microbiology and Immunology
  Walter Lawrence, Jr. Distinguished Professor in Oncology
  Chair, Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery

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Briana Mezuk, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Community Health at VCU. She completed her doctoral training in psychiatric epidemiology from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. From 2007 to 2009, she was a fellow with the Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholars Program at the University of Michigan where she became involved research on social disparities in health. Her research centers on understanding the interrelationships between mental and physical health in later life, particularly related to metabolic conditions. Her BIRCWH project is focused on understanding the intersections between depression, antidepressant use and frailty among older adults.

Mentors

• Kate L. Lapane, Ph.D.
  Professor and Chair, Department of Epidemiology and Community Health
  Thomas Professor of Epidemiology

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Kazuaki Takabe, M.D., Ph.D. is an assistant professor in the Department of Surgery. He received his medical degree from Niigata University School of Medicine, Niigata City, Japan. He was awarded the Ph.D. degree in Gastroenterology and Endocrinology from Yokohama City University, Yokohama City, Japan and did post-doctoral training at the University of California, Salk Institute in La Jolla, CA. He completed general surgery training at the University of California, San Diego, CA and a Surgical Oncology fellowship at Virginia Commonwealth University, MCV Campus, Richmond, VA. His BIRCWH research project explores the molecular and cellular mechanisms of the novel lipid mediator, sphingosine-1-phosphate in the regulation of cell growth, motility, prevention of apoptosis, angiogenesis and its role in breast cancer.

Mentors

• Sarah Spiegel, Ph.D.
  Professor and Chair, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  Mann T. and Sara D. Lowry Professorship in Oncology, Massey Cancer Center
• Harry Bear, M.D., Ph.D.
  Professor, Departments of Surgery and Microbiology and Immunology
  Walter Lawrence, Jr. Distinguished Professor in Oncology
  Chair, Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery

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