Allison B. Reiss, M.D., is an internal medicine physician, an educator and a molecular biologist who studies the causes and treatment of inflammatory disorders including cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease and rheumatologic disorders. Her research is bench-to-bedside and directed toward finding effective therapies for these disease states. She received her medical degree from SUNY Downstate and completed Internal Medicine Residency at UMDNJ Rutgers. She is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. Dr. Reiss is Head of The Inflammation Laboratory and Associate Professor of Medicine at NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine. She is well-published in medical and scientific journals and has chaired symposia at national and international conferences. Dr. Reiss is Section Editor-in-Chief, Neurology, for the journal Medicina and Specialty Chief Editor of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias for the journal Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. She is a member of the Editorial Board of both the Journal of Investigative Medicine and Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine. She teaches and mentors medical students, residents and fellows. She has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association and the Arthritis Foundation. She is currently funded by the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. Dr. Reiss has a strong passion for community outreach and is dedicated to improving healthcare, especially for older populations.

Shelly Gulkarov is a student at Adelphi University, completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. She is an aspiring physician with a strong background in biomedical research. Ms. Gulkarov is currently a research intern at NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine and is involved in studying obesity-related cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease and traumatic brain injury. She hopes that her experience in research will better develop her understanding of the role of inflammation in the pathobiology of metabolic disorders as she pursues a career in medicine and biomedical research.

Raymond Lau received Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Doctorate of Medicine at SUNY Stony Brook.  He did his internal medicine residency at SUNY Stony Brook , and completed a fellowship in Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism at NYU Langone Hospital - Long Island and current is a Clinical Associate Professor.  His research career began in the study of the impact of bariatric surgery on cardiometabolic disease in rodent models.  Working with basic science researchers, he helped to identify a biologic mediator in bariatric surgery that improves the obesogenic state.  His recent publications involved characterizing the metabolic impact of intestinal limb lengths in Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.   He was a sub-investigator on American Heart Association grant studying bariatric surgery, and is the principal investigator on numerous translational research studies.  Dr. Lau is also a practicing clinical endocrinologist with a focus in weight management.  He has a busy endocrinology practice, but also is the Director of the Medical Weight Management Program for NYU Langone - Long Island.  He has numerous publications and has presented at both national and international meetings.

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Ankita Srivastava is a Research Associate in the Inflammation Laboratory of Dr. Allison Reiss in the Department of Foundations of Medicine, NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine. She completed her Ph.D in 2017 from CSIR-CDRI, India, working on adipose tissue insulin resistance and non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases. She joined NYU in 2018 as a post-doctoral fellow studying a Roux-en Y gastric bypass model of bariatric surgery in mice. She joined the Reiss lab in April 2023 and since then has focused on designing new and effective treatments for neurocognitive disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease and those induced by hormone deprivation. Her specific interest is in determining the molecular mechanisms underlying mitochondrial dysfunction that leads to neuronal death. She is also involved in a project characterizing the role of adipose tissue-derived exosomal microRNAs in cardiovascular disease. She has authored numerous publications in high-impact peer reviewed journals and presented posters and oral presentations at various conferences.

Heather A. Renna, B.S., received her Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Molloy College in 2015. Upon graduation, she began working as a research technician under Dr. Allison B. Reiss at NYU Grossman Long Island School of Medicine, applying her technical skills in molecular biology on projects related to cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer’s disease and prostate cancer. She has co-authored 12 peer-reviewed publications with Dr. Reiss with more in preparation.

Joshua De Leon received his B.A. in Biology and Philosophy from Franklin and Marshall College in 1984 and his M.D. from SUNY Downstate School of Medicine in 1988. He completed a residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in clinical and molecular cardiology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and is currently an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Cardiovascular Research at NYU Long Island School of Medicine. Dr. De Leon is a practicing cardiologist with extensive clinical experience in managing patients with inflammatory mechanisms underlying their cardiovascular disease and patients with disordered lipid metabolism. He is also a biomedical researcher who works closely with Dr. Reiss in conducting basic and translational studies to elucidate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying acute coronary syndromes, as well as the more chronic processes that promote atherogenesis. He has been a co-investigator on an American Heart Association-funded study of inflammation in cardiovascular disease and has participated as a site investigator for multiple clinical trials addressing acute coronary syndromes, chronic CAD management, and lipid metabolism/management. He has many well-cited publications, many co-authored with Dr. Reiss.