Dr. Kempuraj is an Associate Professor and Director of the Research Laboratory at the Institute for Neuroimmune Medicine, Dr. K.P.C.O.M, Nova Southeastern University. He earned his M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees in Human Physiology/Neuroscience. Dr. Kempuraj, an expert in neurovascular pathologies, has been studying neuroinflammatory and neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson’s disease (PD), and traumatic brain injury (TBI), neurotherapeutics, and human mast cells/mast cells in neurodegenerative disorders and has published over 175 research articles in scientific journals and presented over 275 Conference Abstracts in these research areas.

His studies focused on the neurovascular unit (NVU)/blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption and damage, glial cell activation, endothelial cells and pericytes damage, neurodegeneration, neuroinflammatory markers, and neurotoxic mediators, cytokines, chemokines and growth factors in these diseases using human brain tissues from patients, animal models and in vitro brain cell culture models. Demonstrated mast cells are implicated in AD, PD, and TBI human brains, animal model brains and mast cell co-cultures cultures with brain cells. He has expertise in the early ocular markers for open-field blast exposure-induced ocular and brain injuries and therapeutics. His studies especially focused on neurovascular pathologies and biomarker analysis in active US military personnel and Veterans with TBI. These cutting-edge research studies were conducted through grants from NIH, the US Department of Defense (DOD), the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and from the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine. His current studies include the development of brain-on-a-chip/neuroinflammation-on-a-chip/BBB on-a-chip systems for various neurodegenerative brain disorders using various brain cells and patient-specific human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC)-derived brain cells. Additionally, Dr. Kempuraj is also developing human primary mast cells from human umbilical cord blood CD34⁺ hematopoietic progenitor and stem cells and tests these cells with bacterial, viral, allergic and inflammatory disease-relevant stimulants and serum/plasma from allergic/inflammatory diseases and mast cell activation disorder patients.

Dr. Kempuraj has long-time expertise and special research interest in NVU/BBB pathologies and served several times in the NIH “Brain Injury and Neurovascular Pathologies” Study Sections and other clinical neuroscience Study Sections as well as for European Funding Agencies for grant reviews. He also edited a special issue on “BBB Modulation and Dysfunction in Brain Diseases” in the journal Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience. He is involved in the routine maintenance of lab, human brain cells, human iPSC brain cells and human primary mast cell cultures, study design and execution of experiments, assays including brain-on-a chip analysis using AXION MEA system and NETRI microfluidics system, mast cell and neuroinflammatory panel development, training and supervision of junior faculties, scientists/Post-doctoral fellows, Research Assistants, Medical students and Undergraduate students.