First name,Last name,Preferred title,Overview,Position,Department,Individual
Emily,Wilson,Professor,"The goals of my lab are to understand the role of mechanical forces in vascular growth and remodeling processes. Cells within the blood vessel wall are exposed to numerous mechanical forces including fluid shear stress, circumferential wall stress, and axial stress as part of their normal environment and alterations in these parameters plays important roles in the development and progression of vascular pathologies such as atherosclerosis, hypertension and aneurysms. Our experiments are focused on how understanding how vascular smooth muscle cells sense changes in the mechanical environment and how this leads to changes in gene expression and cellular phenotype.",Professor,Medical Physiology,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n105bddf7
Mariappan,Muthuchamy,Professor,"The main goal of our laboratory is to understand the molecular mechanisms of cardiac muscle dynamics in normal and diseased states. Particularly, our interests focus on the relationships between thin filament activation and crossbridge kinetics, and how the mechanotransduction signaling transmits to myofilament activation. We use multiple techniques, molecular, cellular, biochemistry, structural and biophysical, to obtain information on the fundamental regulatory mechanisms of cardiac muscle contraction.
Our lab group is also investigating the role of lymphatics in different tissue beds, including mesentery, skeletal muscle, and brain using various animal models.",Professor,Medical Physiology,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n2877399b
Shannon,Glaser,Professor,"The long-term goal of my research program is to understand how activated (proliferating) cholangiocytes participate in the progression of cholestatic liver diseases and eventual development of cholangiocarcinoma. My research is focused on elucidating the factors (such as, mechanical stress) and intracellular signaling mechanisms that regulate cholangiocyte proliferation and biliary fibrosis during extrahepatic cholestasis.",Professor,Medical Physiology,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n424a02f1
Cynthia,Meininger,Professor,"My research focuses primarily on the vascular complications of diabetes. Using animal models of human diabetes, we have demonstrated that an inability of endothelial cells to produce nitric oxide may be partly responsible for these vascular complications. We are developing a gene/drug therapy approach for treating cardiovascular disease associated with diabetes. Targeted nanoparticles will deliver either the gene for GTPCH or BH4 itself into endothelial cells oxidatively damaged by diabetes to correct endothelial GTPCH deficiency, increase tetrahydrobiopterin levels, restore nitric oxide production and reverse the vascular dysfunction seen in diabetes. Our endothelium-targeting nanoparticle approach will not only reverse the damage caused by disease but will increase antioxidant levels to protect the endothelial cells from future damage and/or dysfunction.",Professor,Medical Physiology,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n531a623d
Shenyuan,Zhang,Associate Professor,,Associate Professor,Medical Physiology,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/n95b01f7e
David,Zawieja,Regents Professor and Department Head,"My lab has had a number of research projects focusing on the study of lymphatic structure and function. Each of these projects has, as one of their objectives, the evaluation of the mechanisms (molecular, cellular, mechanical and tissue-level) regulating different aspects of lymphatic function. These projects focus on the ionic/calcium, contractile/regulatory proteins, molecular pathways that regulate lymph transport, lymphatic muscle function, the role of lymphatic function in the generation and resolution of tissue inflammation and the interactions between immune cells and the lymphatic cells. To support this work we have established cultured cell lines of both endothelial and muscle isolated from microlymphatics, acute and cultured isolated microlymphatic tissues, methodologies to evaluate lymphatic function at the single vessel, whole tissue and animal levels, methodologies to target cell-specific gene manipulation in isolated lymphatic tissues, approaches to microscopically image and model lymphatic network structure and function in 3D in lab animals. We have also evaluated the effects of space flight, various inflammatory mediators and other immune activation processes on lymphatic contractile and transport function and how these affect immunity. Finally, we have evaluated different types of lymphatic pathology resulting in lymphedema, various inflammatory diseases and immune dysfunction.",Regents Professor and Head||Professor and Associate Department Head,The Texas A&M University System||Medical Physiology,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/nad1e71e4
Warren,Zimmer,Scott Exter Professor,"Our research interests are directed towards understanding the complex mechanisms which regulate the expression of specific gene sequences in development. We have focused our studies upon the factors that influence the smooth muscle component of the developing gastrointestinal (G.I.) tract. It has been shown that smooth muscle cells are predominantly derived from mesodermal precursor cells, however the factors regulating the selection of the smooth muscle myogenic pathway is not well defined.",Scott Exter Professor,Medical Physiology,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/nb6da0749
Lih,Kuo,Regents Professor,"My research focuses on the physiological and pathophysiological regulation of coronary and retinal microcirculation. In the circulatory system, the amount of blood delivered to each tissue can be regulated by the activity of arterial microvessels (<100 m in diameter). Changes in vascular tone, i.e., constriction or dilation of these microvessels, will decrease or increase blood supply to the tissue, respectively. However, the mechanisms involved in the regulation of vascular tone are not completely understood. Our current research focuses on the regulation of microvascular tone by hemodynamic (e.g., pressure and shear stress), metabolic (e.g., adenosine, osmolarity, K+, pH, pO2) and neural (adrenergic receptors) factors. To have an integrative view on the flow regulation, this basic information are reconstructed using mathematical model and computer simulation technology. This research provides a basic foundation critical to our understanding of blood flow regulation in the microvascular network under normal and disease states.",Regents Professor,Medical Physiology,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/nbc742025
Ian,Murray,Instructional Associate Professor,,Instructional Associate Professor,Medical Physiology,https://scholars.library.tamu.edu/vivo/display/nc97a73f1