USF Heart Institute


Da-Zhi Wang

Congratulations to Dr. Wang!

Dr. Da-Zhi Wang was awarded a highly competitive and prestigious Additional Ventures Single Ventricle Research Fund grant on 2/1/2023 with his submission titled “Role of the Pcbp1-Aars2 axis in the Regulation of Ventricular non-compaction and Congenital Heart Defects”. In addition, Dr. DaZhi Wang was invited to the Texas Heart Institute on 1/20/2023 to present his seminar titled "Molecular regulation of cardiac remodeling and regeneration.


 

Congratulations to Dr. Wang!

Dr. Zhigao Wang's grant titled “Regulation of cell death and disease by a novel membrane protein MADMAN” was awarded by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) on 9/1/2022. Dr Wang was also selected as a Review Editor on the Editorial Board of Regulated Cell Death for journal Frontiers in Cell Death.


 

Dr. Christine Klemens

Congratulations to Dr. Klemens!

Dr. Christine Klemens was awarded a highly competitive K99 grant from the NIH NHLBI section to study the role of an understudied chloride transporter, ClC-6, in renal and vascular function during hypertension. These studies will provide further mechanistic insight to the role of this protein in blood pressure regulation in normotensive and pathological conditions. Dr. Klemens received her PhD from the University of Pittsburgh and was previously a postdoctoral fellow at the Medical College of Wisconsin. She is currently a Research Associate under the mentorship of Dr. Alexander Staruschenko, the current director of the Hypertension and Kidney Research Center, part of the USF School of Medicine Heart Institute. 


Featured Faculty

Da-Zhi Wang

Da-Zhi Wang, PhD

Professor, USF Health Heart Institute
Thomas McDonald, MD

Thomas McDonald, MD

Professor, USF Health Heart Institute

Stephen Liggett, MD

Stephen Liggett, MD

Vice Dean for Research, Morsani College of Medicine
Associate Vice President for Research, USF Health
Professor of Internal Medicine

Ganesh Halade, PhD

Ganesh Halade, PhD

Associate Professor, USF Health Heart Institute


Dr. Bibhu Mohanty - Tips on Heart Health
Dr. Bibhu Mohanty - Tips on Heart Health
Surface TAS2R14-WT expression with DPD treatment in HEK293T cells
Surface TAS2R14-WT expression with DPD treatment in HEK293T cells

Articles

Anti-atherosclerotic therapies: Milestones, challenges, and emerging innovations

In patients with acute coronary syndromes, surgical revascularization with percutaneous coronary intervention has greatly reduced mortality rates. However, stent thrombosis and neo-atherosclerosis have emerged as major safety concerns of drug eluting stents due to delayed re-endothelialization. This review summarizes the major milestones, strengths, and limitations of current anti-atherosclerotic therapies. It provides an overview of the recent discoveries and emerging game-changing technologies in the fields of nanomedicine, mRNA therapeutics, and gene editing that have the potential to revolutionize CVD clinical practice by steering it toward precision medicine.

Accelerated lysine metabolism conveys kidney protection in salt-sensitive hypertension

Hypertension and kidney disease have been repeatedly associated with genomic variants and alterations of lysine metabolism. Here, we combined stable isotope labeling with untargeted metabolomics to investigate lysine’s metabolic fate in vivo. Dietary 13C6 labeled lysine was tracked to lysine metabolites across various organs.

To read more about Accelerated Lysine Metabolism, click here

Effects of elevation of ANP and its deficiency on cardiorenal function

Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), encoded by Nppa, is a vasodilatory hormone that promotes salt excretion. Genome-wide association studies identified Nppa as a causative factor of blood pressure development, and in humans, ANP levels were suggested as an indicator of salt sensitivity. This study aimed to provide insights into the effects of ANP on cardiorenal function in salt-sensitive hypertension.

New Insights Into the Molecular Underpinnings of LVNC

Maturation of the vertebrate heart requires transformation of the spongy, trabeculated heart wall into a thick, dense tissue that is called the compact myocardium. Interference with this transition leads to a myocardial defect known as left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC).

USF Health Institute News

12/20/2022
The Taneja College of Pharmacy has enhanced its foundational, didactic, and experiential curriculum to accommodate the diversity of students entering pharmacy school, many with diverse backgrounds in study, work, and life experiences. The curriculum includes components that allow students to pursue … [read more]
12/8/2022
It is a part of the heart that most people have never pondered, let alone heard of, in their lives. But the left atrial appendage – a physical trait that all humans share – is worth knowing about because it is involved in the vast majority of strokes. Now, a prestigious new grant obtained by a team … [read more]
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