Candice Ginn Tahimic

Assistant Professor

Perfil personal

Biography

Dr. Candice Tahimic (she/her) joined UNF in the Fall of 2020 as an Assistant Professor of Physiology, where she currently teaches Human Physiology. She also serves as Program Faculty in the Biomedical Sciences Program and the MS Program for Materials Science Engineering. She also is a member of the Department of Biology’s Curriculum Committee. Dr. Tahimic has at least a decade of experience in mentoring undergraduates and graduate students. Many of her trainees have successfully entered PhD or medical programs while others have successfully competed in biotech job searches. Dr. Tahimic speaks two other languages, Tagalog and Japanese.

 

From 2014 to 2020, Dr. Tahimic conducted research as a Senior Staff Scientist at the Space Biosciences Division of NASA Ames Research Center, focusing on the mechanisms of spaceflight-induced bone loss. Her research at UNF aims to define the molecular mechanisms of cellular and tissue degeneration resulting from spaceflight with a focus on the skeletal and cardiovascular systems. Microgravity and space radiation exposure leads to bone loss, cardiovascular deconditioning, and immune dysregulation that resemble aspects of aging on Earth. By studying the mechanisms that underlie spaceflight-induced tissue degeneration, Dr. Tahimic’s research may help guide the development of better treatments for aging-associated diseases on Earth.

 

Dr. Tahimic currently has three active, competed extramural federal grants as Principal Investigator. Project 1 aims to determine how the cardiovascular system responds to simulated space radiation and microgravity and whether there are gender differences in these responses. This study also aims to identify clinically relevant biomarkers that can help assess cardiovascular health during and after spaceflight. Students will learn how to conducts assays for clinical markers of cardiovascular disease and gain experience in bioinformatics analysis. Project 2 explores the role of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production in spaceflight-induced tissue deficits with a focus on bone, brain, and cardiovascular tissue. Students will gain experience in conducting experiments in preparation for a future launch of a rodent payload to the International Space Station. Project 3 addresses the importance of the gut microbiome in regulating skeletal homeostasis and how spaceflight stressors (e.g. microgravity and radiation) disrupt host-microbiome interactions. Students will gain experience in preparatory experiments for a future spaceflight experiment involving rodents.

 

Dr. Tahimic also is a co-Investigator in a $1.6M NASA study that aims to define individual and combined effects of spaceflight environmental factors including social isolation, microgravity and ionizing radiation on immune and central nervous system function and signaling. Student summer research activities include participating in simulated space radiation studies at the NASA Space Radiation Lab in Long Island, NY and working with a large team composed of NASA scientists and other academic researchers.

 

Dr. Tahimic currently serves as Editorial Board Member of the Gravitational and Space Research Journal and Review Editor of Frontiers in Physiology. She has been invited to deliver science outreach presentations in her local communities including Jacksonville and the San Francisco Bay Area.

Documentos relacionados

Cuantificación de educación / académica

Life Science, PhD

… → 2006

Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, BS

… → 1999