Research in Dr. Mark Gillespie's lab focuses on understanding the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying development of pulmonary hypertension. Pulmonary hypertension, or high blood pressure in the pulmonary circulation, is a common disorder, being the third most common form of cardiovascular disease in persons above 50 years in age. Because there is no blood pressure cuff for the lung, the disease is insidious and is usually not detected by physicians until it has progressed to the point where the only current therapy is lung or heart-lung transplantation. Clearly, more needs to be known about the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension so that targets for drug therapy can be developed. The most difficult problem associated with this disorder seems to be the profound change in structure undergone by the pulmonary arteries as pulmonary hypertension progresses. Accordingly, they are interested in defining the signals which drive the abnormal proliferation and differentiation of lung vascular cells to change the structure of pulmonary blood vessels. In particular they are interested in the fact that many growth-promoting stimuli use oxygen radicals as second messengers. And, in this context, they found that oxygen radicals generated during normal cell signaling oxidatively modify the structure of DNA. The concept that DNA is a target for physiologically-generated free radicals raises many new possibilities for understanding how disease-causing genes are regulated and how drugs might be developed to prevent the inappropriate expression of such genes. Read more about Dr. Mark Gillespie's research...

Dr. Mikhail Alexeyev is interested in the biochemical mechanisms used by mitochondria to repair mtDNA damage and how deficiencies in these mechanisms lead to pathological changes in the function of cardiac muscle and vascular endothelium. A second area of interest is the role of the Eph-Ephrin signaling in the vascular morphogenesis and pathology. Read more about Dr. Mikhail Alexeyev research...

Dr. Abu-Bakr Al-Mehdi's research interests include:
a) Immediate responses of endothelial cells to eschemia in terms of reactive oxygen/nitrogen species (ROS/RNS) generation, changes in intracellular iron, calcium, plasma membrane and mitochondrial membrane sensors on endothelial cells;
b) Mechanisms of metastasis formation in the lung. Read more about Dr. Abu-Bakr Al-Mehdi's research...

Dr. June Ayling's research interests center on the structure and function of proteins and how changes in function can affect disease processes. Specific areas of research are neurotransmitter biosynthesis and neurological disorders, transcription modulation, regulation of blood pressure, and folic acid and its relationship to stroke, birth defects, and cancer. Read more about Dr. June Ayling's research...

Dr. Michael Chinkers' group studies molecular aspects of hormone signaling. They use techniques including molecular biology, biochemistry, cell biology and molecular genetics. Their major focus is on the role of protein phosphorylation in signaling by steroid hormones. A second focus is on the mechanism of action of molecular chaperones, proteins that help fold these receptors into active conformations. Read more about Dr. Michael Chinkers' research...

Dr. Jack W. Olson, Ph.D. Read about Dr. Jack W. Olson's research...

Dr. Jonathan G. Scammell's laboratory studies mechanisms of regulation in the endocrine system. Recent studies have concentrated on understanding the molecular basis of generalized steroid hormone resistance in New World primates such as squirrel monkeys, marmosets, and tamarins. They have demonstrated that some aspects of the hormone resistance in these primates result from the expression of high levels of an immunophilin protein FKBP51 that is a particularly potent inhibitor of glucocorticoid and progesterone receptor activity. Studies are underway to understand the evolutionary pressures that led to these physiological and biochemical differences between New and Old World primates. Read more about Dr. Jonathan G. Scammell's research...

Dr. Stephen W. Schaffer's current research focuses on the regulation of programmed cell death in the heart. Although there are several events that can cause programmed cell death, the mechanisms underlying these events remain an active area of research. They are focusing on this issue by examining the effect of diabetes and osmotic stress on cell death mediated by a simulated heart attack. This investigation should provide insight into the factors regulating cell death during a heart attack. Read more about Dr. Stephen W. Schaffer's research...