Research

Cardiovascular disease accounts for 2,300 deaths per day in the US, claiming as many lives as the next four leading causes combined. Current vascular interventions for severe arterial atherosclerosis have limited success due to restenosis secondary to neointimal hyperplasia and remodeling. Our interest in arterial disease drives the projects in the lab:

• Understanding the how redox regulation affect cardiovascular disease progression. To study arterial disease progression we have developed a rat model that is both prone to atherosclerosis and to develop type II diabetes, which is a common co-morbidity that worsens cardiovascular outcomes
• Developing a specific targeted therapy for the vasculature to normalize the redox imbalance of diseased/injured arteries. Whereas human studies using antioxidant-based therapies have for the most part not shown differences in clinical outcomes, some studies using local delivery have shown promising results in humans. Hence, the biggest challenge for successful clinical translation is the targeted delivery of the therapeutic in the right amount at the right site.
• Investigating how vascular surgery outcomes are affected by environmental factors that might disrupt redox homeostasis. It is well established that air pollution contributes to the development of cardiovascular disease and atherosclerosis. Patients with severe atherosclerotic disease generally undergo revascularization surgical procedures. We want to study how exposure to environmental stressors such as ozone, affect vascular surgical outcomes.

Nanotechnology has the potential to revolutionize the way we treat a wide variety of pathologies. We are interested in changing the way we think about treatment via the design of peptide-based tailored nanocarriers capable of targeting specific locations and deliver a therapeutic load locally to the site of interest.