Florida Owens conducts research in the Nazira El-Hage Lab, where she studies epigenetic mechanisms driving HIV-associated neurological disorders in the central nervous system, particularly in the context of opioid use.
Areas of expertise
- Neuroimmunology
- Epigenetics
- HIV
- Opioids
Research Interests
- HIV infection and latency in the central nervous system
- Opioid drug addiction, interaction and other comorbidities
- Autophagy, inflammasome and neurodegeneration
- Nano-therapeutics and intranasal drug delivery
- Epigenetics and epidrugs
- Aging, Parkinson’s disease, mitophagy, and mitochondrial dysfunction
See research publications and more on FIU Discovery.
Honors & Awards
- Writing Across the Curriculum Fellowship, Florida International University, 2024-2025
- Early Career Investigator Travel Award, Society on Neuroimmune Pharmacology, 2023
- Transdisciplinary Training in Biomolecular and Biomedical Sciences (TBBS) Fellowship, Florida International University, 2020-2022
Committees & Professional Organizations
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
Education
- Ph.D., Biomedical Science, Florida International University, Miami, FL 2025
- BS, Biological Sciences, Florida International University, Miami, FL 2019