Biology of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases

Dr. Chaya Gopalan received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Bangalore University, India and Ph.D. from the University of Glasgow, Scotland for her research on opioid peptides in the regulation of the release of luteinizing hormone. She continued her work on galanin and other neuropeptides as a postdoctoral research fellow at Michigan State University. Dr. Gopalan wanted to follow her passion for teaching. It started as an adjunct position at Maryville University in St. Louis which led to tenure-track positions at St. Louis Community College and St. Louis College of Pharmacy, and now at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). She has been teaching in the areas of anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology at both graduate and undergraduate levels for health professional programs. Dr. Gopalan has been practicing evidence-based teaching using team-based learning, case-based learning, and most recently, the flipped classroom methods. Besides her passion for teaching, Dr. Gopalan has kept up with lab research in neuroendocrine physiology. Currently, she is working on two research projects, one on the role of gonadal steroid hormones in the sexual dimorphism of the brain and the other study is on obesity, intermittent fasting, and physical and mental exhaustion. Dr. Gopalan has received many teaching awards including the Arthur C. Guyton Educator of the Year award from the American Physiological Society (APS), Outstanding Two-Year College Teaching award by the National Association of Biology Teachers and Excellence in Undergraduate Education award by SIUE. She has also received several grants including an NSF-IUSE, an NSF-STEM Talent Expansion Program, and the APS Teaching Career Enhancement awards. Besides teaching and research, Dr. Gopalan enjoys mentoring not only her students but also her peers. She regularly conducts workshops and participates in panel discussions related to higher education. Dr. Gopalan is very active in the teaching section of the APS and has served on many committees. She has published numerous manuscripts and case studies and contributed to several textbook chapters and question banks for textbooks and board exams.Dr. Kirk has research and clinical experience in the areas of exercise, metabolism, and obesity. He is the director and founder of the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Weight Management Clinic (siue.edu/wmc). Dr. Kirk has over 30 national peer reviewed publications in obesity related journals and has presented over the past 20 years at national conferences that include The Obesity Society (TOS), American Diabetes Association (ADA), the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). Dr. Kirk is a Certified Clinical Exercise Specialist® (CES) through the American College of Sports Medicine, and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialists and Certified Personal Trainer through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. Dr. Kirk teaches courses in Advanced Exercise Physiology, Cardiovascular and Respiratory Physiology, Biology of Cardiovascular and Metabolic Diseases, and Pathophysiology and Treatment of Obesity.