Amanda Bryant-Friedrich, Ph.D.

Dr. Bryant-Friedrich, Ph.D., is the current dean of the Graduate School and a professor of pharmaceutical sciences. Her research interests center around the study and use of naturally and synthetically modified nucleosides and nucleotides in the determination of disease etiology and drug design and development.

She is a fellow of the American Chemical Society and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She also is a leadership fellow of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

Christine Chow, Ph.D.

Dr. Chow is a professor in the department of chemistry. Her research incorporates inorganic and organic synthesis, biochemistry, and biophysics. Her lab uses chemical probing reagents to monitor RNA conformations and ligand interactions with the ribosome, and employs synthetic RNAs to understand the impact of modified nucleotides on ribosome function. These methods yield information regarding drug target sites (antibiotics and peptides) and roles of modifications in mediating these interactions.

Dr. Chow helped lead the NIH-funded Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST) program at Wayne State from 2013-2019, and has led a variety of career development activities at the university, including a fellowship writing boot camp, panel discussions on multiple career pathways, and seminars related to professional skills such as resume writing and scientific communication.

Joseph Dunbar, Ph.D.

Dr. Dunbar is a professor the Department of Physiology, a Charles Gershenson Distinguished Faculty, and the director of Special Programs and the director of the Office of Medical Student Research at Wayne State University's School of Medicine. He is a past associate vice president for the Division of Research, and associate dean of the Graduate School. He was chairman of the Department of Physiology from 1997-2007. His research interest is in the area of endocrine mechanisms associated with diabetes mellitus and its complications. He has published over 120 peer reviewed research articles, seven book chapters and over 200 abstracts. His research over the years has been supported by multiple NIH, NSF and other state and national agencies. In addition to his research support, he has been Program Director for three (3) different student-based NIH training grants and a current training grant, The Initiative for Maximizing Student Development (IMSD Program) that has been continuously supported since 1978. This current training grant supports graduate students and undergraduate students. He was also the past director or co-PI of the NSF Alliance for Graduate Education and Professoriate (AGEP), and the McNair Program. Personally, he has trained 18 Ph.D. students and a number of masters' students. Over the years he has won a number of teaching awards, the University Mentoring Award, and the Lawrence Weiner Distinguished Service Award. He has also served on and has chaired a number of NIH research review committees. He also served on the NIH-NIGMS Training Grant Committee for several years.

Shane A. Perrine, Ph.D. 

Dr. Perrine is an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurosciences at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. His research interests include preclinical studies on the neurobiology of addiction, neurobiological relationship between traumatic stress and drugs of abuse, and applying advanced imaging techniques to neuroscience.

Dr. Perrine actively engages in mentoring graduate and medical students, undergraduates, and postdoctoral fellows, and he values and supports diversity in research. This is evident based on his participation in multiple training-related activities, including sponsoring fellowship (NIH-F30, F31, and F32) and career development (NIH K01) awards, engaging in group programs (for example NIH-T34 MARC at Wayne State University and NIH-UL1 ReBUILDetroit), and serving on trainee travel award selection committees (at WSU and for the Society for Neuroscience and College on Problems of Drug Dependence).

Steven Banks, Ed.S., Program Manager

Steven Banks is the current program manager for the IMSD T32 training grant. Outside of his other duties and responsibilities for the Graduate School, Steven is the point person for the T32 grant. Steven has over 20 years of experience working in higher education. He spent over a decade as an academic advisor and takes pride in helping scholars reach their academic and career goals. Steven has a passion for helping the whole student and is concerned about the wellbeing of the scholars inside and outside of the classroom. Steven is trained in restorative practices and is looking for ways to apply that training at the collegiate level.