An expert in dynamical systems and applications, Dr. Gidea has co-authored two books, published dozens of articles and spoken at more than 50 conferences worldwide. In 2021, the National Science Foundation appointed him as a program director in the Mathematical Sciences Division, a position awarded only to the most accomplished researchers. Dr. Gidea has received over $900,000 in research funding since he joined YU in 2013. 

Assistant Dean of Health Sciences and Director, M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology (SLP), Dr. Barrera is an internationally recognized medical SLP and Multiple Sclerosis Certified Specialist. She is a leading expert on the use of modalities for speech and swallowing rehabilitation and in the treatment of individuals with neurological conditions. She has lectured in over 15 countries on clinical topics including dysphagia, NMES, motor speech disorders, cognition and neurogenerative diseases. She has over 80 research abstracts and has been featured in Women’s Health, Vice Magazine, ADVANCE for SLP, and MTV.

Director of Clinical Education for the M.S. in Physician Assistant (PA) Studies, Professor Abodeshisha is a leader in both the surgical and educational arenas. As lead senior PA in trauma and acute care surgery at New York University School of Medicine/Bellevue Hospital’s Surgery Department, she acted as a senior PA on the surgical service, as PA Education Director, and as a clinical preceptor for PA students on their surgical rotations. She has been recognized for her outstanding dedication to PA education by her students and faculty colleagues alike. 

Director of the Data Analytics and Visualization program, Andy Catlin is the founder of the tech startup Hudson Technology Group, which was acquired by Incepta. A data scientist and data system developer, he’s skilled at financial instrument pricing and forecasting using the weighted Black Scholes Merton model, as well as incorporating yield curve analysis into emerging markets products. Catlin’s clients include Fidelity Investments, Smart Money, Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, Manufacturers Hanover Trust, the National Football League and The Wall Street Journal.

An expert in startup/post-launch marketing, Asaf Hochman is global head of product marketing at TikTok, where he leads product strategy and growth for the company’s ad network. As a former product strategy and marketing leader at Facebook, he spearheaded monetization solutions for the world’s leading media companies, including Disney, Viacom, NBC and The New York Times. Hochman began his career as a software engineer in the Israel Defense Forces, led global product marketing at the unicorn startup Outbrain, and held digital strategy roles at various ad agencies. Learn more ➞

Founding Director of the Biotechnology Management and Entrepreneurship program, Dr. Khan is an expert in biotechnology education, cell and molecular biology, transcription regulation and gene expression. She spent her early career as a bench scientist working in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, later becoming vice dean in the graduate school at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) and program director for the school’s professional science master’s degree in biotechnology. There, Dr. Khan implemented a variety of initiatives, including an e-mentoring program, industry-sponsored capstone projects and a biotechnology symposium. 

A former executive for Bristol Myers Squibb, IQVIA, Cognizant, Covance/Labcorp and the National Institutes of Health, Marchand is currently General Manager of Life Sciences for IBM Watson Health Life Sciences. She is the co-founder of four startups and has led more than 200 clinical programs from preclinical to NDA submission and launch. At Princeton University, Marchand was the James Wei Visiting Professor of Entrepreneurship. Her book, The Innovation Mindset (Columbia University Press, 2022), is the culmination of a life devoted to innovative thinking, offering a step-by step approach to turning big ideas into reality. Learn more ➞

Director of the M.S. in Digital Marketing and Media program, Joseph Panzarella is a senior-level analyst and marketing professional specializing in organic social and online media advertising and the application of advanced analytical techniques to drive marketing communications and business intelligence. He’s leveraged those skills for well-known brands such as Astellas, Cadillac, State Farm, Verizon, AT&T, Pfizer, Avis Budget Group and the U.S. Department of Commerce. He’s provided marketing analytics support for the 2010 U.S. Census and Brand USA—the U.S. government’s first global travel organization encouraging international travelers to visit the United States and supporting the growth of travel-related American jobs. Learn more ➞

Dr. Emil Prodan, Professor of Physics, has a background in mathematical physics, specifically in operator theory, spectral analysis and constructive quantum field formalism. He recently received a three-year National Science Foundation grant for “Topological Dynamics of Hyperbolic and Fractal Lattices,” and was among the 2016 recipients of the Keck Foundation research awards for the collaborative project “Engineering New Materials Based on Topological Phonon Edge Modes.” In 2011, he received the NSF CAREER award for his proposal “Strong Disorder and Electron Interaction Effects in Topological Insulators.”

Assistant Professor and Director of the M.S. in Artificial Intelligence program, Dr. Roldan is an expert in financial mathematics, dynamical systems and machine learning. He has spoken at more than 20 international conferences, and received research grants from the National Science Foundation, CONACYT, the Spanish Ministry of Science, and the European Regional Development Fund. Dr. Roldan concentrates on the research and development of complex and real-world domains and applications.

Cybersecurity expert and entrepreneur Sivan Tehila is Director of the M.S. in Cybersecurity and founder and CEO at Onyxia, a stealth mode security startup. Following a 10-year career in the Israel Defense Forces, Tehila worked as an information security officer and profiler for an Israeli defense company and held high-level security positions at a variety of other high-profile corporations. Committed to promoting women in cybersecurity, she is the founder of Cyber Ladies NYC and was recognized as a 2020 Woman to Watch in IT Security. In 2021 and 2022, she led a team of cybersecurity students to win first place in ISACA’s annual Cybersecurity Challenge. Learn more ➞

Assistant Professor of Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence, Dr. Zhang’s research interests lie in AI, machine learning, computer vision, transfer learning, manifold learning and shape analysis. His research focuses on developing computational methodologies for understanding problems in medical image analysis (such as using machine learning methods to discover the underlying mechanisms of diseases) and computer vision (such as classification, segmentation, and object detection). He is also excited about interdisciplinary research and collaborating with researchers from related fields. Learn more ➞

Dr. Fredy Zypman, Chair of the Department of Physics, is an expert in image reconstruction with scanning probe microscopes, atomistic modeling of materials, quantum optics, and mathematical optimization. He has co-authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and has received research grants from NSF, NIH, NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy, as well as a NASA Faculty Research Fellowship and a Research Corporation award. Dr. Zypman also holds three patents on probe microscopy.

Brandon Chiazza is chief technology officer in the New York City Mayor’s Office of Contract Services, where he leads a team of 50 independent consultants and directs employees in three units—Enterprise Data Services, Project Management Office, and Design and Quality Assurance—in the technology strategy division. He oversaw the technical implementation of PASSPort, a $50 million end-to-end cloud-based procurement solution for New York City, which supports approximately 50,000 transactions and $21 billion in spending annually. In addition, he oversaw the development of an enterprise data warehouse and business Intelligence project that consolidated citywide procurement and contracting legacy systems into a centralized warehouse while leveraging a cloud-based infrastructure. Learn more ➞