M-BRISC Leadership Team

Director, Michigan Biological Research Initiative on Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Disease (M-BRISC), David J Pinsky M.D. Professor in Cardiovascular Medicine, Professor of Internal Medicine. Professor of Human Genetics and Program Director, Internal Medicine, Medical School 

Dr. Ganesh studies the genetic and molecular basis of cardiovascular traits and diseases. She completed undergraduate and medical school at Northwestern University, after which she trained in Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan and Cardiology fellowship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. She completed her postdoctoral fellowships the  National Heart Lung and Blood Institute/ National Human Genome Research Institute and Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Institute of Genetic Medicine. 

Her laboratory currently employs genetic and genomic analysis methods to identify and study genetic mechanisms of arterial diseases in both adult and pediatric populations, including diseases with notable sex differences in disease manifestation such as fibromuscular dysplasia, arterial aneurysm and dissection, and hypertension. Her lab has had continuous extramural funding, and she has over 90 peer reviewed manuscripts. She has mentored both basic and clinically-oriented trainees in her laboratory. 

Co-director, Michigan Biological Research Initiative on Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Disease (M-BRISC), Arthur C Curtis Professor of Skin Molecular Immunology, Professor of Dermatology, Professor of Internal Medicine and Research Professor, Mary H Weiser Food Allergy, Medical School 

Dr. Gudjonsson came to the U-M in 2003 as part of an innovative research residency training program. Building upon investigative dermatology training completed in Iceland, Dr. Gudjonsson has been performing basic immunological and genetic work with a major focus on sex-bias autoimmune disease processes and associated comorbidities.  Dr. Gudjonsson is a Scholar of the Taubman Medical Research Institute. He received the Young Investigator Award from the American Academy of Dermatology in 2007 and his work has earned several research awards, including awards from the American Skin Association, the Dermatology Foundation, Doris Duke Foundation and the NIH.

Dr. Gudjonsson’s research is focused on the immuno-pathogenetics of psoriasis-a chronic inflammatory disease of the skin found in about 2-3% of Americans. His work has contributed to the identification of many of the genetic risk factors that predispose to psoriasis, and how these risk variants affect the biology and pathology of psoriasis.

Co-director, Michigan Biological Research Initiative on Sex Differences in Cardiovascular Disease (M-BRISC), Valerie Castle Opipari M.D. Professor of Pediatrics, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, Associate Professor of Molecular and Integrative Physiology, Assistant Dean for Tenure Track Faculty, Medical School 

Dr. Singer completed her undergraduate degree in Biophysics and Philosophy along with a Master's degree in Biophysics from Johns Hopkins University. She completed her medical school training, Pediatric Residency and Pediatric Endocrinology fellowship at the University of Michigan.  She is a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics and Department of Molecular and Integrative Physiology.  She is  the Associate Director for the Graduate Program in Immunology. In addition, Dr. Singer is a lead for faculty development, wellness and gender diversity, equity and inclusion activities in the Department of Pediatrics and a Faculty Lead for Faculty Development at Michigan Medicine.

As a Pediatric Endocrinologist, seeing patients in a clinical setting struggling with obesity and diabetes her laboratory has chosen to focus on increasing our knowledge on the mechanisms driving these diseases.  Her research focuses on understanding the life long impacts of obesity on the immune system.  Dietary fats lead to increases in adiposity but also directly reprogram the immune system and hematopoietic stem cells towards the production of activated myeloid cells (monocytes, macrophages, and neutrophils). These leukocytes then traffic to tissues where they produce pro-inflammatory cytokines and promote an environment of insulin resistance.  

The research in the Singer lab focuses on understanding which individuals have this specific metabolic inflammatory response.  Her work has identified that women are particularly protected from this myeloid activation and her lab continues to work on understanding mechanisms of this sexual dimorphism.