BRIC Director
The Biomedical Research Center at Winston-Salem State University is directed by Dr Azeez Aileru, Professor of Neurophysiology. Dr. Aileru oversees the resources and ensures the execution of all research projects. Upon completion of the Ph.D. degree and postdoctoral training in neuroscience from Howard University College of Medicine and University of Maryland School of Medicine, respectively, Dr. Aileru successfully conducted research in neuroscience and cardiovascular diseases. For the past thirteen years at WSSU, he has received continuous external research funding from the Neuroscience Training grant, National Heart, Lung Blood Institute (NHLBI), RIMI's NCMHD, EXPORT projects, MBRS SCORE programs and NIGMS. Dr. Aileru has a strong background in teaching, research and administration. He serves as a mentor and an Executive Committee member for Post-Baccalaureate Research Education Program (PREP) for minorities at Wake Forest University School of Health Sciences (WFUSH). He serves on the Executive Committee for short-term summer training grant for minorities since 1998 and participates in various aspects of the training program (executive committee, selection/admissions committee, journal club/seminar schedule, poster organization and mentoring) at WFUSM. He holds joint appointments in the Department of Physiology & Pharmacology and Hypertension & Vascular Disease Center at WFUSH. He is the Program Director of the Minority Access to Research Careers Student Training in Academic Research (MARC U*STAR) Program at WSSU where he continues to motivate and cultivate future scientists at the undergraduate level.
Dr. Aileru has served on numerous university, state and national committees, including American Heart Association (AHA) study sections and American Journal of Physiology peer review committee. He is currently a member of a Research Review Committee of the American Heart Association (AHA), the American Physiological Society, and The Society for Neuroscience. He is a regular member on NIH special review panels such as NIGMS MBRS, NCMHD RIMI, EXPORT and Loan Repayment programs. He is an active member of the American Society of Hypertension, The Consortium for Southeastern Hypertension Control and the Council for High Blood Pressure Research of the AHA. These activities require skills in planning, organization, fund raising and budget management, all of which are required for the administration of BRIC center.
Dr. Aileru's research program is in neural control of the cardiovascular diseases as it relates to the renin-angiotensin system and the pharmacology and regulation of angiotensin peptide receptors. The emphasis is on the role of central and peripheral sympathetic control of blood pressure and the genesis and maintenance of hypertension. He has published in this area and continues to be actively involved in biomedical research.
Educational activities for Dr. Aileru include didactic courses and supervision of research programs. He participates in an NHLBI-sponsored Excellence in Cardiovascular Research Training Program for minority students and an NIGMS-funded PREP Scholars initiative at WFUSM. Dr. Aileru is particularly interested in and involved with undergraduate teaching as evident by the large number of pre-doctoral students he has mentored. Most of his students have gone on to pursue graduate, veterinary, or medical degrees, or are working as technical personnel in biomedical research. He was awarded both the "Wilma Lassita Master Teacher Award" and "Wilveria B. Atkinson Distinguished Research Award" in 2002 and 2007 by his peers for his excellence in teaching and research, respectively. In 2008, he was awarded
He was awarded the "Wilma Lassiter Master Teacher Award" (2002), "Wilveria B. Atkinson Distinguished Research Award" (2002 and 2007) and John Fountain Master Teacher Award" (2008) by his peers for his excellence in teaching and research. In 2008, he was awarded the "Thurgood Marshall Distinguished Faculty Award" for excellence in teaching and research. His students have won numerous awards for travel to various meetings such as Experimental Biology, Neuroscience, American Heart Association, Council for High Blood Pressure Research and Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) meetings. His students won the best oral and poster presentations at these conferences and other prestigious awards. He was recently nominated for the Board of Governor's Excellence in teaching award for 2010.
