Anthony J. Donato, PhD, MS

Languages spoken: English

Academic Information

Departments: Internal Medicine - Professor, Biochemistry - Adjunct Professor, Nutrition and Integrative Physiology - Adjunct Professor

Divisions: Geriatrics

Academic Office Information

tony.donato@hsc.utah.edu

(801) 584-2522

VA - Building #2
VA Salt Lake City GRECC
500 S Foothill Dr, Room:
Salt Lake City, UT 84148

My primary research focus is vascular aging, in particular the cellular, molecular and tissue specific events that induce reductions in muscle blood flow during exercise, impair arterial endothelial function and stiffen large elastic arteries in older rodents/adults. These vascular phenotypes contribute to the age related decline in functional capacity and the development of cardiovascular disease, and can be ameliorated by lifestyle interventions such as habitual exercise and caloric restriction. My secondary focus, is to elucidate the cellular pathways which confer the vaso-protective effects of these lifestyle interventions and try to activate these pathways pharmacologically to see if this will confer some of the same benefits. I have used human, rodent, and cell models to address these questions and utilized a wide range of contemporary translational experimental techniques from microRNA gene expression to ultrasonography to investigate the aforementioned interests.

Education History

Postdoctoral Fellowship University of Colorado, Department of Integrative Physiology
Integrative Physiology of Aging Laboratory, Dr. Doug Seals 		Postdoctoral Fellow
Postdoctoral Fellowship University of California at San Diego, Department of Medicine, Dr. Russell Richardson
 Postdoctoral Fellow
Doctoral Training Texas A&M University
Kinesiology 		Ph.D.
Graduate Training University of Colorado, Boulder
Kinesiology and Applied Physiology 		M.S.
Undergraduate University of Colorado, Boulder
Kinesiology 		B.A.

Selected Publications

  1. Machin DR, Clifton HL, Wray DW, Frech TM, Donato AJ (2022). Tetrahydrobiopterin Administration Augments Exercise-Induced Hyperemia and Endothelial Function in Patients With Systemic Sclerosis. Front Med (Lausanne), 8, 791689.
  2. Pierce GL, Coutinho TA, DuBose LE, Donato AJ (2021). Is It Good to Have a Stiff Aorta with Aging? Causes and Consequences. Physiology (Bethesda).
  3. Trott DW, Machin DR, Phuong TT, Adeyemo AO, Bloom SI, Bramwell RC, Sorensen ES, Lesniewski LA, Donato AJ (2021). T cells mediate cell non-autonomous arterial aging in mice. J Physiol, 599, 3973-3991.
  4. Trott DW, Islam MT, Buckley DJ, Donato AJ, Dutson T, Sorensen ES, Cai J, Gogulamudi VR, Phuong TTT, Lesniewski LA (2021). T lymphocyte depletion ameliorates age-related metabolic impairments in mice. Geroscience, 43(3), 1331-1347.
  5. Islam MT, Henson GD, Machin DR, Bramwell RC, Donato AJ, Lesniewski LA (2020). Aging differentially impacts vasodilation and angiogenesis in arteries from the white and brown adipose tissues. Exp Gerontol, 142, 111126.
  6. Machin DR, Auduong Y, Gogulamudi VR, Liu Y, Islam MT, Lesniewski LA, Donato AJ (2020). Lifelong SIRT-1 overexpression attenuates large artery stiffening with advancing age. Aging (Albany NY), 12(12), 11314-11324.
  7. Phuong TTT, Walker AE, Henson GD, Machin DR, Li DY, Donato AJ, Lesniewski LA (2019). Deletion of Robo4 prevents high-fat diet-induced adipose artery and systemic metabolic dysfunction. Microcirculation, 26(5), e12540.
  8. Ait-Aissa K, Blaszak SC, Beutner G, Tsaih SW, Morgan G, Santos JH, Flister MJ, Joyce DL, Camara AKS, Gutterman DD, Donato AJ, Porter GA Jr, Beyer AM (2019). Mitochondrial Oxidative Phosphorylation defect in the Heart of Subjects with Coronary Artery Disease. Sci Rep, 9(1), 7623.
  9. Yuen LH, Dana S, Liu Y, Bloom SI, Thorsell AG, Neri D, Donato AJ, Kireev D, Schler H, Franzini RM (2019). A Focused DNA-Encoded Chemical Library for the Discovery of Inhibitors of NAD+-Dependent Enzymes. J Am Chem Soc, 141(13), 5169-5181.
  10. Machin DR, Phuong TT, Donato AJ (2019). The role of the endothelial glycocalyx in advanced age and cardiovascular disease. Curr Opin Pharmacol, 45, 66-71.
  11. Walker AE, Kronquist EK, Chinen KT, Reihl KD, Li DY, Lesniewski LA, Donato AJ (2019). Cerebral and skeletal muscle feed artery vasoconstrictor responses in a mouse model with greater large elastic artery stiffness. Exp Physiol, 104(3), 434-442.
  12. Hazra S, Henson GD, Bramwell RC, Donato AJ, Lesniewski LA (2019). Impact of high-fat diet on vasoconstrictor reactivity of white and brown adipose tissue resistance arteries. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, 316(3), H485-H494.
  13. Walker AE, Breevoort SR, Durrant JR, Liu Y, Machin DR, Dobson PS, Nielson EI, Meza AJ, Islam MT, Donato AJ, Lesniewski LA (2019). The pro-atherogenic response to disturbed blood flow is increased by a western diet, but not by old age. Sci Rep, 9(1), 2925.

Global Impact

Presentations

Description Country
"Telomere uncapping causes cellular senescence and inflammation in arteries: implications for arterial aging and hypertension” First International Medical Science Summit of the Tongji Hospital Wuhan, China China