Samiksha Prasad, Ph.D. joined NSU in 2017 is currently an Assistant Professor of Microbiology in the Division of Medical Education at Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Allopathic Medicine (NSU MD). Currently, she teaches microbiology in courses at multiple Health Professions Division Colleges. She serves as the Biomedical Informatics Thread Director NSU MD and Course Director at the Physician’s Assistant Program. Dr. Prasad has three years of experience as a facilitator using multiple learning modalities within integrated, preclinical medical education curricula.
Dr. Prasad is highly engaged in student mentoring. She serves as a medical student advisor and mentor for multiple service-learning projects. She serves as a member on a number of committees, including the NSU MD Diversity Committee, Pre-Clerkship Curriculum Committee, Medical Education Research Committee, and Student Progress and Advising Committee, Research Committee.
· Research Interest:
Currently, as the Principal Investigator (PI), Dr. Prasad has two funded projects ongoing pertaining to a comprehensive assessment of environmental associations and the salivary microbiome. The goal of these studies is to gain an improved insight into the role of environmental factors on the salivary microbiome of medical students.
She also has an active research program focused on analyzing the Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats (CRISPR/Cas9) technology as an applicable and translational research tool in Medical Interventions for HIV treatment, Cancer Therapy, and Duchene Muscular Dystrophy Syndrome.
Other research interests include collaboration as a Co-PI in Biomedical Informatics, Diversity and Medical Education Related Internal and Extramural Grants in collaboration with other NSU and External faculty.
· Background:
Dr. Prasad earned her Bachelor’s in Technology degree in Biotechnology (Genetic Engineering) in 2010 from Sam Higginbottom Institute of Agriculture Technology and Sciences, India. She obtained her Ph.D. degree in the Department of Microbiology and Cell Science at the University of Florida. She continued on at the University of Florida to complete Post-Doctoral research on Parasitic Proteomics and Immunology, where her research was focused on host-pathogen interactions. During this time, she also taught undergraduate, graduate, and medical science courses at multiple institutions including the University of Florida, Santa Fe College, and Polk State College.