Leadership
Dr. Richard Cote - Director, BioNIUM

M.D., FRCPath, FCAP
Professor and Joseph R. Coulter Jr. Chair, Department of Pathology
Chief of Pathology, Jackson Memorial Hospital
Director, Dr. John T. Macdonald Foundation Biomedical Nanotechnology Institute
University of Miami Miller School of Medicine
Description of Research
A major research area for Dr. Cote has been the molecular biology of prostate and bladder cancer. His lab has identified the pathways by which cells become malignant, and the mechanisms by which the tumors progress. A long standing area of focus has been to detect the earliest evidence of tumor spread into blood (Circulating Tumor Cells), bone marrow and lymph nodes in patients with no other evidence of metastatic disease from breast, lung and prostate cancer.
Highlights
- Dr. Cote is the recipient of over $35 million in peer reviewed grant support, and holds numerous patents for cancer related and nano-scale technologies.
- He is the author of over 300 publications, and is the editor and co-author of the standard textbooks “Immuno Microscopy: A Diagnostic Tool for the Surgical Pathologist” (now in its third edition), and “Modern Surgical Pathology,” the second edition of which will be out later this year.
- He also serves as a member and advisor to a large number of national and international study groups, cancer programs and societies, including the National Cancer Institute.
- He is the founder of several technology-based companies, including Impath, Inc. and Clarient.
- He is listed in “Best Doctors in America” and “America’s Top Doctors” and is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathology.
Dr. Sylvia Daunert - Associate Director, BioNIUM

PharmD, MS, PhD
Description
Sylvia Daunert, PharmD, MS, PhD is the Lucille P. Markey Chair of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Miller School of Medicine and the Associate Director of the JT Macdonald Foundation Biomedical Nanotechnology Institute of the University of Miami. Prior to joining the University of Miami, Dr. Daunert was the Gill Eminent Professor of Chemistry and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Daunert was also a Distinguished Professor of the College of Arts & Sciences and a University of Kentucky Research Professor. Among others, she is a Fulbright Scholar, an ELAM Fellow, and the recipient of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry van Slyke Research Award, the National Science Foundation-CAREER Award, the Cottrell-Scholars Award, the Lilly Analytical Faculty Award, the American Chemical Society A. F. Findeis Award, the National Science Foundation Special Creativity Award, the Bill Barfield Award from the Kentucky Water Resources Research Institute, the Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize, and the Provost’s Award for Scholarly Achievements of the University of Miami.
Dr. Daunert is an elected member of the Real Academia Nacional de Farmacia of Spain and Elected Academic D’Honor, Reial Acadèmia de Farmàcia de Catalunya. Dr. Daunert is Editor of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, Executive Editor of Analytical Biochemistry, Annual Reviews in Analytical Chemistry, and member of the Editorial Advisory Boards of several journals. She serves in the Scientific Advisory Boards of professional, governmental, as well as private institutions.
Dr. Daunert’s research interests are in Bionanotechnology. Specifically, her group designs new molecular diagnostic tools and biosensors based on genetically engineered proteins and cells that find applications in the biomedical, environmental, and pharmaceutical fields. Additionally, the research of the group focuses on the development of targeted and responsive drug delivery systems. Dr. Daunert’s work has been featured in over 250 publications, patents, and highlighted by the scientific media and popular press.