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. |
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 |