Clinical Research Team

Laboratory Lead

Anjali Kumari, Ph.D., M.Sc.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Kumari serves as the laboratory Lead for CLIDOAS. Dr. Anjali is a post-doctoral fellow presently, in the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition program in the Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY. She completed her doctorate in Biotechnology, which delves into the groundbreaking realm of conopeptide targeting therapeutic potential. Her work paves the way for potential clinical application marking a significant stride in fighting against various diseases. Her interest extends to the clinical studies and assessments for alcohol use disorder and alcohol-associated liver disease. Dr. Kumari focuses on drug development, IP, commercialization, SBIR and business entity initiatives of CLIDAOS.

Study Projects Support

Dev Tyagi, B.Sc.

Research Assistant

Mr. Tyagi is a fourth-year student at the University of Louisville, Louisville KY. He is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Biology, while actively applying to medical school to further his education in the medical field. In the lab, Mr. Tyagi is responsible for running statistical 

Clinical Research

Khaled Elgharabawy, MBBS

Clinical Research Coordinator

Dr. Elgharabawy is a recent medical graduate of Al-Azhar University, Egypt, where he earned his medical degree. Dr. Elgharabawy is a Research Assistant at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, within the Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition. With a primary focus on Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), his research aims to contribute to the understanding and treatment of this condition. He also continues to contribute to patient engagement and original manuscript writing. Dr. Elgharabawy is dedicated to advancing their expertise in the field as they prepare for the next cycle of Internal Medicine residency applications.

Mariel Basa

Clinical Research Coordinator

Mariel Basa is a Clinical Research Coordinator with the Clinical Trials Unit (CTU), and work with the liver studies team. She graduated from the Bellarmine University in 2020 with a B.A. in Exercise Science and previously worked at the Kentucky Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (KSCIRC) as an Activity-Based Therapist, specializing in Epidural Stimulation. Her experience in both neurological and clinical research has fueled her passion for advancing medical knowledge and improving patient outcomes. She is committed to professional growth and plan to pursue higher education in the future to further my impact in clinical research and patient care.

Theresa Durham, BSN, RN

Clinical Research Nurse

Ms. Durham supports the clinical studies by providing nursing support to the study patients for collecting the information and samples. She has been continuing to support our studies from year 2022.

Alcohol Scholar and Clinical Investigator

Evan Winrich, M.D.

Clinical Fellow, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

Dr. Winrich received his undergraduate degree in Human Health Sciences at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. He then returned to his hometown at Louisville to attend medical school at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Since graduating medical school, Dr. Winrich has completed his clinical residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Louisville. He is currently pursuing further sub-specialization in Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition as a clinical fellow at the University of Louisville. His research interests in the field of Gastroenterology and Hepatology remain broad, but recent work has focused on alcohol-associated liver disease and endoscopic procedure outcomes. Since joining our lab, he has presented associated research at several national conferences, become the recipient of the Research Society on Alcoholism (RSA) Merit Award, and published multiple manuscripts in respected journals. In addition to his clinical and research work, he now serves on the International Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (ISBRA) Communications Committee with alcohol researchers from around the world.

Alcohol Scholar and Early-Career Clinical Investigators

Danielle Jayanty, M.D.

Internal Medicine Resident

Dr. Jayanty received his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Denver and the University of Colorado respectively. She completed her medical degree at St. George's University, Grenada West Indies. She is presently undergoing an internal medicine residency at the University of Louisville, Louisville KY. Dr. Jayanty has a career interest in the Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition Fellowship program. Her present research efforts focus on alcohol-associated liver disease, alcohol use disorder, and gut dysfunction involvement in bowel and liver conditions, and neurological diseases. Dr. Jayanty is a recipient of competitive CREATE funding that supports her career growth in academic medicine.

Aishwarya Thakurdesai, M.D.

Internal Medicine Resident

Dr. Thakurdesai is a medical graduate from Seth G.S. Medical College, India. She is 3^rd year Internal Medicine resident in the Department of Medicine. She wishes to continue her medical training toward a clinical fellowship in Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition. She joined the CLIDAOS lab in yr. 2022 and contributes to the clinical studies and assessments for alcohol-associated liver diseases and alcohol use disorder. Recently, she has been awarded competitive funding via the CREATE mechanism for a physician-scientist track for a clinical study on dual-target AUD-ALD treatment.

Harsh Tiwari, M.D.

Internal Medicine Resident

Dr. Tiwari has completed medical education at the University of Louisville. He is a medical resident in the Internal Medicine program at the University of Louisville, Louisville KY. He wishes to join a clinical fellowship in Gastroenterology, hepatology, and Nutrition. Dr. Tiwari joined our lab in yr. 2022 while being a medical student only. He is actively involved in the study analyses and contributed significantly to scholarly and original manuscripts related to alcohol-associated hepatitis and alcohol addiction. Dr. Tiwari supports the LGG trial's patient management and has applied for a WIN-CIPP early career award to study diversity-based clinical trial enrollment for the LGG treatment trial.

Alcohol Scholar

Aditya Shah M.D.

Psychiatry Resident

I am a medical graduate from Seth G.S. Medical College, Mumbai, India. Presently, I am a second-year resident in Psychiatry at the University of Louisville. I am interested in psychosomatic and addiction psychiatry. My research work is currently focused on the confluence of alcohol use disorder and alcoholic liver disease, and other research interests include NMS and catatonia. I wish to continue my academic pursuit of a clinical fellowship and continue in academic medicine in my career.

Research Scholar

Henry Shay M.D.

Internal Medicine Resident

Dr. Shay is a first-year Internal Medicine resident in the Department of Medicine, University of Louisville, Louisville KY. Dr. Shay has completed his M.D. education at the University of Kentucky (UK), Lexington, KY. He wishes to get clinical research training from the ongoing tertiary care trials on alcohol use disorder patients with or without liver disease. His previous experience at the UK in clinical research brings an opportunity for him to advance his knowledge and experience to the treatment trials at ULH. He wishes to continue his clinical training beyond residency to the Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Nutrition specialty.

Biostatistician

Sharmin Akter

Ph.D. Candidate

Ms. Akter is presently investigating the peptidome data derived from patients suffering from alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) during her Ph.D. program. She also evaluates the biomarker targets of AUD and alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD). Ms. Akter explores risk factors for their modifying role in AUD using various statistical platforms and designs including R.

Research Interns

• Bhavya Agrawal (July 2024 – Present) - Ms. Agrawal is a student of Dupont Manual Louisville KY. She will learn and support statistical analyses of the clinical studies. She wishes to pursue the medical field as her career efforts.
• Bhargavi Gulia (2023 – Present) - Ms. Gulia is a second-year student at the University of California System, Los Angeles CA. She will run statistical analyses and development of graphs alongside learning the concepts of clinical/ human trials. She wishes to pursue the direction of biomedical sciences/ Medicine.
• Harika Lamu (August 2024 – Present) - Ms. Lamu isa first year Biology Major student at the University of Maryland. She will support investigation on the cardiovascular consequences of alcohol and benefits from Quetiapine Fumarate XR in AUD patients. Her career interests are to pursue medicine and/or higher studies in research.

Collaborators

• Suman K. Jha M.D. Dr. Jha completed a medical degree previously from B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Science, Nepal. Arriving in the USA, he joined the clinical coordinatorship in CLIDAOS and lead the translational goals of the lab. He is presently a medical resident at the University of North Dakota. Dr. Jha Continues to work with our lab as a junior clinical investigator. He aspires to join a clinical fellowship and practice academic medicine at Carnegie R1 tier University Hospital System.

Past Lab Members

Residents

• Evan Winrich (2021-2024)
• Manasa Sagaram (2020 – 2023)
• Khushboo S. Gala (2018 – 2021)

Clinical Fellows

• Amor Royer (2021-2024)
• Christian D. Rios Perez (2019 – 2022)

Nursing Support

• Ryne Bruner (April 2022 – March 2023)
• Suzanne Mann LPN (April 2023 – June 2024)

Interns

• Kendra Quaye-Mansell (research track) – Student, Fern Creek High School, Louisville KY (2024)
• Iyabo Erinkitola (medical research track) – Medical Student, University of Kentucky, Lexington KY (2023)
• Darsh Parajuli (research track) - Dupont Manual, Louisville, KY (2023)
• Ramiyah Sutton (research track) – Butler Traditional High School, Louisville, KY (2023)
• Rani Richardson (Advisory) - MD/PhD Candidate, NIDA NIH (2022)
• Abhas Rajhans (research track) – B.Sc. Degree Neuroscience Candidate, UCLA (2020-2023)

Clinical Research Coordinators

• Aula Said (2023-2024)
• Suman K. Jha (July 2022 – June 2023)

Statistical Support

• Huirong Hu (August 2021 -July 2023)
• Qian Xu (August 2019 -July 2021)