Cardiovascular Biology Program

The Cardiovascular Biology Program is made up of over thirty faculty members from basic science and clinical departments with the goal of training students for careers as independent investigators studying the molecular and cellular aspects of cardiovascular physiology and disease. One of the medical triumphs of the latter half of the twentieth century is the remarkable advancement that has been made in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. Despite these advances, cardiovascular disease still remains the most common fatal and disabling disorder in the United States. Over the last two decades we have made tremendous progress in our understanding of the molecular aspects of biology. Now we have the opportunity to use these new and powerful molecular tools to explore complex biological systems, such as the heart.

The research focus of the Cardiovascular Biology Program is to find bold new approaches to aid our understanding, diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. Some areas of research interests in this program include gene regulation in heart development, differentiation and disease, regulation of cardiovascular function and metabolism, regulation of muscle contraction and protein turnover, and signal transduction pathways in development and disease.

Following training in the first year common curriculum students are able to take additional coursework including those with particular focus on the regulation of the cardiac system. Each student will also participate in formal seminar presentations and a cardiovascular journal club for the completion of their training.

T32 Cardiovascular Fellowship Training Grant

 

Cardiovascular Biology Faculty
 

Galina Bogatkevich, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
College of Medicine
Vascular dysfunction and inflammation in patients with pulmonary fibrosis associated with scleroderma

Amy Bradshaw, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Medicine
Function of Collagen and Extracellular Matrix in the Heart

Craig Crosson, Ph.D.
Professor and Vice Chairman for Research
Department of Ophthalmology
Ischemia & Neovascularization

Perry Halushka, M.D., Ph.D.
Distinguished University Professor
Cell and Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
Regulation of expression and structural characterization of thromboxane A2 receptors

Samar M. Hammad, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology
Sphingolipid signaling induced by modified LDL and LDL-immune complexes in human macrophages: relevance to inflammation and atheroscleroisis

Stanley R. Hoffman, Ph.D.
Professor
Rheumatology/Immunology
Function of specific ECM proteins and MMP's in epithelial-mesenchymal transformation & blood vessel formation Yan Huang, M.D., Ph.D. Professor of Medicine Endocrinology role of inflammation in diabetic complications such as cardiovascular disease and periodontitis 

Jeffrey A. Jones, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Surgery
Biomechanical (tension, stretch) and Molecular Mechanisms (proteases, TGF-Beta) regulating matrix remodeling in Thoracic Aortic Aneurysms

Christine B. Kern, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology
Determining how the remodeling extracellular environment impacts development and disease of cardiac valves and the temporomandibular joint  

Michael Kern, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology
Developmental and disease consequences of the cardiac specific post-transcriptional regulation of homeobox transcription.

Dhandapani Kuppuswamy, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology
Cellular and molecular mechanisms contributing to maladaptive cardiac fibrosis and heart failure 

Kyu-Ho Lee, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Pediatrics
Pediatric Cardiology, Cardiac Development, and Molecular Genetics

Maria F. Lopes-Virella, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Endocrinology
Cell activation in the development of atherosclerosis & plaque rupture, and inflammation & immune mechanisms in atherosclerosis & acute cardiac events

Paul J. McDermott, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology
Cardiac hypertrophy, protein synthesis, and translation

Donald R.Menick, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology
Structure and function of the Na+/Ca++ exchanger and transcriptional regulation in the heart

Martin Morad, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology
Cardiac Electrophysiology and Calcium Signaling, Specifically in the area of Calcium-binding Proteins   

Robin C. Muise-Helmericks, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology
Hollings Cancer Institute Role of the Ets family of transcription factors in angiogenesis and lymphoid development

Russell A. Norris, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology
Formation of the Cardiac Valves and Pathological Processes that Result in Valve Disease

Lynn Schnapp, PhD.
Professor
Director, Pulmonary, Critical Care, Allergy and Sleep Medicine
Mechanisms of lung injury and repair using a variety of methods and models, including mouse models of lung fibrosis, emphysema, and pneumonia.

U. Joseph Schoepf. M.D.
Professor
Department of Radiology and Radiological Science
Clinical cardio-thoracic imaging 

Henry M. Sucov, Ph.D.
SmartState Professor
Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology
Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiology
Genetic and Molecular Control of Heart Regeneration and Heart (Patho) Physiology

Yukiko Sugi, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology
Signaling interaction and regulation in AV valvuloseptal development  

Ge Tao, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology
Cardiac Regeneration, Myocardial Infarction, Cardiovascular Development  

Richard P. Visconti, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology
Role of Adult Bone Marrow Stem Cells in Cardiac Tissue Homeostasis and Injury-repair

Andy Wessels, Ph.D.
Professor Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology
Cardiovascular Developmental Biology Center
Cardiovascular Development