Category: Vascular Biology and Atherothrombosis


Natalia Z Jura, PhD

Research Interests:
Receptor tyrosine kinases, kinase regulatory mechanisms, membrane proteins, feedback regulation of cell signaling

Summary:
We study basic mechanisms of cellular signaling by Receptor Tyrosine Kinases with a goal to understand how cells receive and process growth signals provided by the neighboring cells and the extracellular milieu. Receptor Tyrosine Kinases are single pass transmembrane receptors that catalyze tyrosine phosphorylation upon activation of their intracellular kinase domains. These receptors are principal regulators of growth and survival signals in cells and therefore frequently become deregulated in human diseases. We are interested in understanding how the kinase activity of these receptors is regulated by ligand binding and how the receptors associate with their regulatory components during the activation process. By combining biochemistry and cell biology we are studying these processes in the reconstituted membrane systems in vitro and in the plasma membrane of the living cells. We also use crystallography to gain an atomic resolution insight into Receptor Tyrosine Kinase regulation that will help us design new approaches for therapeutic intervention.

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Jura Lab Website

 


Guo Huang, Ph.D.

Huang

Research Interests:
Comparative study of heart development and regeneration, ischemic heart diseases, stem cell, cardiomyocyte proliferation, regenerative biology

Summary:
The ability to regenerate damaged or lost tissues varies dramatically across organisms and developmental stages. For example, heart regeneration is robust in adult zebrafish and newborn mouse while very limited in adult mouse and human. This presents a particular problem for patients with a heart attack who suffer from a significant loss of heart muscle cells and subsequent life-threatening functional deterioration of the heart.

By taking a comparative approach to study regenerative versus non-regenerative heart repair processes in zebrafish and mouse, we seek to uncover ancestrally conserved injury responses and more importantly, to identify the signals blocking regeneration in the mammalian heart and consequently new treatment strategies for heart diseases.

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Website


Akiko Hata, Ph.D.

Hata

Research Interests:
Mechanisms of growth factor signaling in the control of cell growth and differentiation of vascular cells

Summary:
Research in the Hata lab focuses on the role of the BMP/TGF signaling pathway in the maintenance of vascular homeostasis, control of vascular injury repair, and pathogenesis of vascular diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH), hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), restenosis, and atherosclerosis. Our approach is to study gene mutations identified among patients with IPAH or HHT and elucidate how these gene products affect the signaling pathway as well as vascular physiology using both cell culture and animal models.

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Peter Ganz, M.D.

Ganz2

Research Interests:
Human endothelial biology, inflammation in cardiovascular diseases, statins, cardiovascular disease in rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease in HIV, cardiovascular effects of smoking and second hand smoke, cardiovascular effects of air pollutants.

Summary:
Dr. Ganz’ research interests have focused on the role of endothelial dysfunction and inflammation in cardiovascular disease in human subjects. In health, endothelium (the cell lining the inside of arteries), protects against diseases of blood vessels such as atherosclerosis (blockages in arteries). In the presence of damaging risk factors (for example, too much bad cholesterol, not enough good cholesterol, smoking, diabetes or high blood pressure), the endothelium becomes injured and promotes rather than retards cardiovascular disease. The same damaging risk factors also stimulate inflammation in the wall of human arteries. Inflammation and endothelial dysfunction lead to heart attacks and deaths from heart disease; thus, Dr. Ganz is currently focused on finding treatments to reverse endothelial dysfunction and reduce inflammation and their harmful effects and thereby prevent cardiovascular disease in patients.

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Jeffrey R Fineman, M.D.

Fineman

Research Interests:
Endothelial regulation of the pulmonary circulation during normal development and during the development of pediatric pulmonary hypertension disorders. Endothelial dysfunction in pediatric pulmonary hypertension

Summary:
Pulmonary hypertension, high blood pressure in the lungs, is a serious disorder in subsets of neonates, infants, and children. These include newborns with persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN), children with congenital heart defects, and teenagers and young adults with primary pulmonary hypertension. The vascular endothelium (the cells that line the blood vessels in the lungs), via the production of vasoactive factors such as nitric oxide and endothelin-1, are important regulators of the tone and growth of pulmonary blood vessels. We utilize an integrated physiologic, biochemical, molecular, and anatomic approach, to study the potential role of aberrant endothelial function in the pathophysiology of pulmonary hypertensive disorders. To this end, we utilize fetal surgical techniques to create animal models of congenital heart disease, and investigate the early role of endothelial alterations in the pathophysiology of pulmonary hypertension secondary to congenital heart disease with increased pulmonary blood flow. Our clinical research interests include the use of pulmonary vasodilator therapy for pediatric pulmonary hypertension, and the use of peri-operative BNP levels as marker of outcome following repair of congenital heart disease.

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William F Degrado, Ph.D.

Degrado

Research Interests:

De novo protein design, drug design, protein structure/function, membrane protein structure, integrins, antivirals, antibiotics.

Summary:
DeGrado’s group works on the design of molecules that inform our understanding of biological processes. They also have developed small molecules drugs for various as potential pharmaceuticals, including antithrombotics, heparin reversal agents, antibacterials, and antiviral agents.

 

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Michael S Conte, M.D.

Conte

Research Interests:
Aortic reconstruction, carotid artery disease, lower extremity arterial occlusive disease, diabetic vascular disease

Summary:
Our laboratory studies the healing process in blood vessels which currently limits the long term success of procedures like angioplasty and bypass surgery. Our goals are to develop new drug and molecular therapies to prevent failures due to vessel re-narrowing, and to better identify patients at increased risk.

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Israel F Charo, M.D. , Ph.D.

Charo

Research Interests:
Structure and Function of Chemokine Receptors

Summary:
The goal of our research is to use gene targeting and creation of transgenic mice to study the in vivo functions of chemokines and chemokine receptors. Chemokines are proinflammatory cytokines that function in leukocyte chemoattraction and activation and block HIV�1 infection of target cells through interactions with chemokine receptors. In addition to their function in viral disease, chemokines have been implicated in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, glomerulonephritis, and inflammatory lung disease. The chemokine family is growing rapidly. Our laboratory focuses primarily on two chemokines: monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) and fractalkine, a recently described and structurally unique chemokine.

 

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Elias H Botvinick, M.D.

Botvinick

Research Interests:
Nuclear medicine, nuclear cardiology, PET/CT, MRI, CT, cardiac cardiology, echocardiology, nuclear magnetic resonance, cardiovascular imaging, stress testimg, heart, myocardial perfusion, scintigraphy, coronary, sychrony, sychronization

Summary:
My research centers on a collaborative effort to develop noninvasive imaging methods for the identification and evaluation of cardiac anatomy and pathophysiology, and apply them to the diagnosis, risk stratification and monitoring of clinical disease. The work is centered on nuclear medicine methods, PET and SPECT, as well as echocardiography, MRI, and CT.

 

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