Editorial Board
The people behind American Impact Review.
Egor B. Akimov, PhD
Exercise physiologist and mental health researcher. Published on infrared thermal imaging of aerobic capacity, MCT1 and AGTR2 gene polymorphisms in endurance athletes, and psychophysiology of thermoregulation. Currently working in translational mental health research.
John H. Greist, MD
Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry. His early work showed that computer interviews could predict suicide attempts more accurately than clinicians. Co-founded the Lithium Information Center and the Obsessive Compulsive Information Center. Authored clinical textbooks on OCD, anxiety, and depression. Princeton (BA), Indiana University School of Medicine (MD).
Ildus Akhmetov, MD, PhD
Reader in Genetics and Epigenetics at the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences. Catalogued 251 DNA polymorphisms associated with athletic performance, including ACTN3 and GALNT13 variants linked to sprint and power traits. Member of the Athlome Consortium for whole-genome sequencing of elite athletes.
Alexey Karelin, PhD
Embedded systems engineer and researcher. Published in IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics and IEEE Sensors Journal on catalytic gas sensors and wireless sensor networks for hazardous environments. US patent holder. Conference speaker (IEEE EUROCON 2025, Embedded Online Conference). Peer reviewer for IEEE journals.
Marina V. Shapina, MD, PhD
Clinical research scientist specializing in inflammatory bowel disease, with over 10 years of experience leading clinical trials and observational research in gastroenterology and immune-mediated diseases. Principal Investigator for 7 interventional clinical trials in collaboration with global CROs (IQVIA, Parexel, ICON). Led 25+ multi-center interventional and real-world studies with expertise in study design, protocol development, and clinical endpoint selection. Published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, Digestive and Liver Disease, and BMC Genomics. MD (with High Honours) and PhD focused on predictors of biologic therapy failure in IBD.
Dmitry Pokhvashchev, MD, PhD
Emergency medicine physician and orthopedic trauma surgeon with over 5 years of clinical research experience. Resident Physician in Emergency Medicine at UVA Health. Former Clinical Research Fellow at UCSF Orthopaedic Trauma Institute, where he contributed to multi-center PREP-IT trials published in the Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery. Developed a patented surgical method for osteosynthesis of multi-fractured proximal humerus. Published in the European Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery & Traumatology, Orthopedic Nursing, and Medicina. MD from Lomonosov Moscow State University.
Alex Shvets, PhD
Computational physicist and ML engineer. PhD from the University of Strasbourg, postdoc at MIT. Marie Curie Fellowship alumnus. Kaggle Competitions Master (world rank 73rd among 100k+ competitors). Won 1st place in Camera Model Identification (582 teams) and MICCAI 2017 Endoscopic Vision SubChallenge. Published on deep learning for robotic instrument segmentation, bone age assessment, and angiodysplasia detection.
Islam Salikhanov, MD, PhD
Physician-scientist in clinical development and health economics at the University Hospital Basel. Leads two cardiac surgery research programs: early diagnostics of coronary bypass graft occlusion (800+ patients) and genetic architecture of familial aortic dissection, in collaboration with ETH Zurich NEXUS. First author of a landmark Swiss cost-effectiveness analysis of universal Lynch syndrome screening (Journal of Medical Genetics, 27 citations). PhD from the University of Basel (Magna cum Laude); Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions fellowship alumnus. Published in Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine, and Journal of Clinical Medicine. Secured CHF 220,000 in research grants and raised USD 500,000 for pediatric cardiac surgeries in Kazakhstan.
Kateryna Kostrikova, PhD
Sport scientist and pedagogy researcher with dual academic training in physical education and psychology. PhD (Candidate of Pedagogical Sciences) from Kherson State University, where she serves on the faculty of the Chair of Olympic and Professional Sports. Designed and validated the 'OlympicFUN' program, a mixed-methods intervention integrating Olympic values into competence-based primary school curricula across Ukraine. Research extends to aerial acrobatics biomechanics (shoulder load patterns and injury prevention in pole sport), neurofitness applications in psycho-emotional rehabilitation, and law enforcement physical training standards. EU-funded HEAL project contributor on post-crisis team development. Published in Open Research Europe and Scientific Journal of Polonia University.
Irina Bakhshiian, M.Ed.
Special education researcher specializing in the neuropsychological foundations of reading acquisition and dyslexia prevention. Master's in Defectology (Special Education). Developer of original evidence-based programs for early identification and remediation of reading difficulties in children with neurodevelopmental disorders. Author of the book 'Reading with Ease and Confidence.' Winner of the 'Effective Education 2023' national award. Member of the National Association of Special Education Teachers (USA), International Literacy Association (USA), and the Union of Defectologists of Russia. Featured expert in national media outlets on childhood literacy and dyslexia awareness.