Our research program has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, American Diabetes Association and the Department of Surgery / USF Morsani College of Medicine. We are grateful to our sponsors who make our research move forward.

Ischemia heart disease is a leading cause of death world-widely and has increased prevalence and exacerbated myocardial infarction with aging. Sestrin2, a stress-inducible protein, declines with aging in the heart. Through a combination of transcriptomic, physiological, histological, and biochemical strategies, we unveiled that Sestrin2 deficiency shows an aged-like phenotype in the heart with excessive oxidative stress, provoked immune response. Sestrin2 could be a potential target for treatment of age-related ischemic heart disease.

NIH R01GM124108

Activated Protein C and Cardiac Inflammatory Response

The project aims to characterize the cardioprotection of an endogenously produced anti-coagulant protein, activated protein C, against ischemic injury. The study explores the signaling mechanisms underlying APC’s role in regulating substrate metabolism thereby modulating heart’s response to ischemic insults. The outcome could lead to novel therapeutic strategies aimed at limiting cardiac damage for myocardial infarct patients.