Department of Microbiology and Immunology
Youssef Aachoui, Ph.D., has joined the Department of Microbiology and Immunology as an Assistant Professor. Dr. Aachoui received his doctorate from Indiana State University in Terre Haute. He recently completed a postdoctoral fellowship in immunology under the tutelage of Edward Miao, Ph.D., at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
Dr. Aachoui’s research focuses on the mechanisms by which the innate immune system detects and responds to intracellular pathogens, with special emphasis on caspase and inflammasome activation.
Department of Psychiatry
Melissa Zielinski, Ph.D., has joined the Department of Psychiatry as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Health Services Research. Dr. Zielinski received her master’s in psychology and doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in clinical psychology as a National Institute of Drug Abuse-sponsored T32 trainee in the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute (PRI) Brain Imaging Research Center.
Dr. Zielinski will lead program evaluation efforts for the Pulaski County Regional Crisis Stabilization Unit, see patients via telehealth through the PCORI-funded SPIRIT study, and serve as a Co-Investigator on National Institute of Mental Health-funded research linking jail detainees to PrEP services upon release. She will also serve as a clinical attending at the burn unit at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and supervise psychology interns in both the burn unit and PRI’s Walker Family Clinic.