Vascular Biology Research Seminar Series

Vascular Biology – VBIO 9010

Jump to: Spring 2025 Past Seminars

Spring 2025

Date	Speaker
Aug 28	Nigel Mackman, PhD John C. Parker Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC Host: Rudolf Lucas, PhD Title: "Mechanisms of cancer-associated thrombosis and bleeding: focus on tissue factor-positive extracellular vesicles"
Sept 4	Jaser Doja, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Advisor: Joseph Miano, PhD Title: "Myocardin Madness"
Sept 11	Sudhahar Varadarajan, PhD Assistant Professor, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: Masuko Ushio-Fukai, PhD, and Tohru Fukai, MD, PhD Title: "Copper Transporter CTR1 as a Disturbed Flow Sensor to Promote Atherosclerosis through Cuproptosis"
Sept 12 Thurs Defense	Suhib Alhusban, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Advisor: Brian Annex, MD Title: "Glucosamine Mediated Hexosamine Biosynthesis Pathway Activation Utilizes ATF4 to Promote “Exercise-Like” Angiogenesis and Perfusion Recovery in PAD"
Sept 18	No Seminar
Sept 25	Yusra Zaidi, PhD Posdoctoral Fellow, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: Brian Stanfield, MD Title: "Neurofibromin: A novel macrophage regulator"
Oct 2	CANCELED due to Helene Bradford Hill, PhD Professor of Medicine, Division of Environmental Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine , Louisville, KY Host: Masuko Ushio-Fukai, PhD, and Tohru Fukai, MD, PhD Title: "Metabolic regulation of myocardial perfusion in the young and aged heart"
Oct 9	Rescheduled to December 4th due to Helene Stefano Tarantini, PhD Assistant Professor of Research, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences, Oklahoma City, OK Host: Eric Belin de Chantemele, PhD Title: A nutrigeroscience approach against age-related vascular cognitive impairment"
Oct 16	Zach Brown, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Advisor: David Fulton, PhD Title: "Exploring the Mechanistic Roles of PBK in Pulmonary Hypertension"
Oct 23	Michelle Tallquist, PhD Professor of Medicine, Center of Cardiovascular Research, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI Advisor: Joseph Miano Title: “Fibroblast Function in Development and Disease”
Oct 30	Josue Zambrano-Carrasco, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Advisor: Huabo Su Title: "Role of RBX1-Cullin RING Ubiquitin Ligases in the heart"
Nov 6	Chen Yan, PhD Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY Host: Jie Li, MD, PhD Title: "Cyclic Nucleotide Signaling in Cardiovascular Diseases: Molecular Targets and Therapeutic Potentials"
Nov 12 Tues Defense	9:00am Seminar WonMo Ahn, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Advisor: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title: "Activation of receptor-independent fluid-phase pinocytosis promotes foamy monocyte formation in atherosclerotic mice"
Nov 13 Defense	1:00pm Seminar David Kim, MD/PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Advisor: Neal Weintraub, MD Title: “Identification of human-specific novel long non-coding RNA in neointima formation”
Nov 19 Tues	Ralf Brandes, MD Professor of Physiology, Institute for Cardiovascular Physiology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Franfurt am Main, Germany Host: Masuko Ushio-Fukai, PhD, and Tohru Fukai, MD, PhD Title: "Novel aspects of redox-control of endothelial metabolism"
Nov 27	No Seminar
Dec 4	Junichi Saito, PhD Postdoctoral Associate, Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT Host: Eric Belin de Chantemele Title: "Interplay between ECM and Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells"
Dec 11	Rajat M Gupta, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA Host: Neal Weintraub, MD Title: "Identifying the Shared Genetic Risk Between Rare and Common Vascular Diseases with High-throughput CRISPR screens"
Dec 18	Andrew Speese, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Advisor: David Stepp, PhD Title: “Prevention of Sarcopenic Obesity Maintains Angiogenic Capacity in PAD”
Dec 25	NO Seminar
	Spring 2025
January 1	NO Seminar
Jan 8	Mitch Shivers, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: David Fulton, PhD Title: "Hematopoietic Cell Galectin-3 as a Driver of Vascular Remodeling in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension"
Jan 15	Stefano Tarantini, PhD Assistant Professor of Research, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma, OK Host: Eric Belin de Chantemele, PhD Title: A nutrigeroscience approach against age-related vascular cognitive impairment"
Jan 22	Canceled
Jan 29	Ishara M.G. Menik, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Eric Belin de Chantemele, PhD Title: “Role of Leptin-mediated Activation of Aldosterone-Endothelial Mineralocorticoid Axis in Salt-sensitive Hypertension”
Feb 5	Canceled
Feb 12	Chang Min Lee, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Jie Li, PhD Title: “The role of ufmylation in endothelium”
Feb 19	POSTPONED Peihang Gan, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Host: Eric Belin de Chantemele, PhD Title: "Posttranscriptional and transcriptional regulation in the heart, what's new?"
Feb 26	Patrick Osei-Owusu, PhD Associate Professor of Physiology & Biophysics, Case WEstern Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH Host: Benard Ogola, PhD Title: "Unraveling the Physiological Relevance of G protein Regulation by RGS Proteins: From a Myocyte Perspective"
March 5	László Kovács, PhD Assistant Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary Medicine, Medical College of Georgia Title: “Novel mechanisms of HIV-associated pulmonary vascular disease”
Mar 12	Hunter Sellers, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Advisor: David Fulton, PhD Title: “High-Fat and Sugar-Free: The AgRP-AAV Mouse Model of Obesity”
Mar 19	Stephen Addo, PhD Student in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title: "Investigating the role of neutrophil macropinocytosis in the pathogenesis of abdominal aortic aneurysm.” Amritha Sreekumar, PhD Student in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title: “Decoding Aneurysm progression: A spatial transcriptomic analysis of slow and fast progressing AAA”
Mar 26	Stefan Chlopicki, PhD, MD Professor & Director, Department of Pharmacology, Director of Jagielloonian Center for Experimental Therapeutics (JCET), Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland Host: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title: "Heterogenous Mechanisms of Endothelial Dysfunction: Insight From In Vivo Studies"
April 1- Tues 11:30am	Bradford Hill, PhD Professor of Medicine, Division of Environmental Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine , Louisville, KY Host: Masuko Ushio-Fukai, PhD, and Tohru Fukai, MD, PhD Title: "Metabolic regulation of myocardial perfusion in the young and aged heart"
Apr 2	NO Seminar
Apr 9	NO Seminar
Apr 16	Khalia Cumming, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Immunology Center of Georgia, Medical College of Georgia Advisor: Marco Orecchioni, PhD Title: "Olfactory Receptor 2 Signaling Enhances Monocyte and Macrophage Chemotactic Migration in Atherosclerotic Aorta"
Apr 23	NO Seminar
Apr 30	Delphine Okoye, PhD Student in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: Benard Ogola, PhD Title: “Sex differences in vascular remodeling of the carotid ligation mice mode” Peter Biggs, PhD Student in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: Alexander Verin, PhD Title: “PKM2 signaling in HDAC7-mediated lung endothelial barrier dysfunction”
May 7	Jun Yoshioka, MD, PhD Medical Professor of Molecular, Cellular & Biomedical Sciences, City University of New York (CUNY) School of Medicine, New York, NY Host: Huabo Su, PhD Title: "Hyperglycemia impairs cardiac reserve and exercise endurance: a new molecular mechanism"
May 14	Candee Barris, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Advisor: Eric Belin de Chantemele, PhD Title: "TBA"
May 21	Akiko Mammoto, MD, PhD Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI Hosts: Tohru Fukai, MD, PhD, and Masuko Ushio-Fukai, PhD Title: "Mechanosensitive mechanism of lung vascular regeneration Headshot for use on the seminar announcement and itinerary"
May 28	Andrew Speese, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: David Stepp, PhD Title: "TBA"
June 4	Megh Meta, MD/PhD student in Molecular Oncology and Immunology Immunology Center of Georgia, Medical College of Georgia Advisor: Klaus Ley, PhD Title: "TBA"
June 11
June 18
June 25

Past Seminars

FALL 2024

Date	Speaker
Aug 28	Nigel Mackman, PhD John C. Parker Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC Host: Rudolf Lucas, PhD Title: "Mechanisms of cancer-associated thrombosis and bleeding: focus on tissue factor-positive extracellular vesicles"
Sept 4	Jaser Doja, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Joseph Miano, PhD Title: "Myocardin Madness"
Sept 11	Sudhahar Varadarajan, PhD Assistant Professor, Vascular Biology Center Mentor: Masuko Ushio-Fukai, PhD, and Tohru Fukai, MD, PhD Title: "Copper Transporter CTR1 as a Disturbed Flow Sensor to Promote Atherosclerosis through Cuproptosis"
Sept 12 Thurs Defense	Suhib Alhusban, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Brian Annex, MD Title: "Glucosamine Mediated Hexosamine Biosynthesis Pathway Activation Utilizes ATF4 to Promote “Exercise-Like” Angiogenesis and Perfusion Recovery in PAD"
Sept 18	No Seminar
Sept 25	Yusra Zaidi, PhD Posdoctoral Fellow, Vascular Biology Center Mentor: Brian Stanfield, MD Title: "Neurofibromin: A novel macrophage regulator"
Oct 2	CANCELED due to Helene Bradford Hill, PhD Professor of Medicine, Division of Environmental Medicine, University of Louisville School of Medicine , Louisville, KY Host: Masuko Ushio-Fukai, PhD, and Tohru Fukai, MD, PhD Title: "Metabolic regulation of myocardial perfusion in the young and aged heart"
Oct 9	Rescheduled to December 4th due to Helene Stefano Tarantini, PhD Assistant Professor of Research, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences, Oklahoma City, OK Host: Eric Belin de Chantemele, PhD Title: A nutrigeroscience approach against age-related vascular cognitive impairment"
Oct 16	Zach Brown, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: David Fulton, PhD Title: "Exploring the Mechanistic Roles of PBK in Pulmonary Hypertension"
Oct 23	Michelle Tallquist, PhD Professor of Medicine, Center of Cardiovascular Research, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI Advisor: Joseph Miano Title: “Fibroblast Function in Development and Disease”
Oct 30	Josue Zambrano-Carrasco, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Huabo Su Title: "Role of RBX1-Cullin RING Ubiquitin Ligases in the heart"
Nov 6	Chen Yan, PhD Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY Host: Jie Li, MD, PhD Title: "Cyclic Nucleotide Signaling in Cardiovascular Diseases: Molecular Targets and Therapeutic Potentials"
Nov 12 Tues Defense	9:00am Seminar WonMo Ahn, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title: "Activation of receptor-independent fluid-phase pinocytosis promotes foamy monocyte formation in atherosclerotic mice"
Nov 13 Defense	1:00pm Seminar David Kim, MD/PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Neal Weintraub, MD Title: “Identification of human-specific novel long non-coding RNA in neointima formation”
Nov 19 Tues	Ralf Brandes, MD Professor of Physiology, Institute for Cardiovascular Physiology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Franfurt am Main, Germany Host: Masuko Ushio-Fukai, PhD, and Tohru Fukai, MD, PhD Title: "Novel aspects of redox-control of endothelial metabolism"
Nov 27	No Seminar
Dec 4	Junichi Saito, PhD Postdoctoral Associate, Internal Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT Host: Eric Belin de Chantemele Title: "Interplay between ECM and Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells"
Dec 11	Rajat M Gupta, MD Assistant Professor of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School,Cambridge, MA Host: Neal Weintraub, MD Title: "Identifying the Shared Genetic Risk Between Rare and Common Vascular Diseases with High-throughput CRISPR screens"
Dec 18	Andrew Speese, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: David Stepp, PhD Title: “Prevention of Sarcopenic Obesity Maintains Angiogenic Capacity in PAD”
Dec 25	NO Seminar
	Spring 2025
January 1	NO Seminar
Jan 8	Mitch Shivers, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: David Fulton, PhD Title: "Hematopoietic Cell Galectin-3 as a Driver of Vascular Remodeling in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension"
Jan 15	Stefano Tarantini, PhD Assistant Professor of Research, Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma, OK Host: Eric Belin de Chantemele, PhD Title: A nutrigeroscience approach against age-related vascular cognitive impairment"
Jan 22	Canceled
Jan 29	Ishara M.G. Menik, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Eric Belin de Chantemele, PhD Title: “Role of Leptin-mediated Activation of Aldosterone-Endothelial Mineralocorticoid Axis in Salt-sensitive Hypertension”
Feb 5	Canceled
Feb 12	Chang Min Lee, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Jie Li, PhD Title: “The role of ufmylation in endothelium”
Feb 19	Peihang Gan, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center Host: Eric Belin de Chantemele, PhD Title: "Posttranscriptional and transcriptional regulation in the heart, what's new?"
Feb 26	Patrick Osei-Owusu, PhD Associate Professor of Physiology & Biophysics, Case WEstern Reserve University, School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH Host: Benard Ogola, PhD Title: "Unraveling the Physiological Relevance of G protein Regulation by RGS Proteins: From a Myocyte Perspective"

SPRING 2024

Date	Speaker
January 3	No Seminar
January 10	Fabrice Dabertrand, PhD, Associate Professor School of Medicine, Departments of Anesthesiology and Pharmacology, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO Host: Eric Belin de Chantemèle, PhD Title: "Pericyte control of cerebral blood flow in health and small vessel disease"
January 17	Seungwoo Kang, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Medical College of Georgia Title: "The tripartite synapse: roles for gliotransmission in reward-seeking and alcohol use disorder"
January 24	Adil Rasheed, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pharmacology Immunology Center of Georgia, Medical College of Georgia Title: "Mixed Lineage Kinase Domain-Like Protein): An Immunometabolic Nexus of Cardiovascular Disease"
January 31	Roberto I. Vazquez-Padron, PhD, Professor of Surgery DeWitt Daughtry Family Department of Surgery, Division of Vascular Endovascular Surgery, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL Host: Xiaochun Long, PhD Title: “Wall remodeling in the human vein: Setting things right with single-cell RNA sequencing”
February 7	Hanjoong Jo, PhD, Professor of Medicine Division of Cardiology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA Co-Hosts: Tohru Fukai, MD, PhD and Masuko Ushio-Fukai, PhD Title: "Disturbed Flow-Induced Endothelial Reprogramming (FIRE) in Atherosclerosis”
February 14	Beryl Khakina, PhD Student in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: Eric Belin de Chantemèle, PhD Title: "Effect of Aging on Vascular and Neurocognitive Function in Aged HIV-1 Tg26 Transgenic Mice" Ishara Menik, PhD Student in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: Eric Belin de Chantemèle, PhD Title: “Female sex and the Impact of High Dietary Salt Intake in the Development of Endothelial Dysfunction and Hypertension”
February 21	Analia Loria, PhD, Associate Professor of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences College of Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY Host: Eric Belin de Chantemèle, PhD Title: “Prenatal fentanyl exposure induces endogenous opioid system (EOS) dysregulation associated with neurogenic hypertension in the adult offspring"
February 28	Balveen Kaur, PhD, Professor of Pathology Georgia Cancer Center, Medical College of Georgia Title: "Oncolytic HSV virotherapy for Cancer"
March 6	Amy Arnold, PhD, Associate Professor of Neural and Behavioral Sciences Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA Co-Hosts: David Stepp, PhD, and David Fulton, PhD Title: “Angiotensin-(1-7): A New Approach to Target Cardiometabolic Complications in Obesity”
March 13	Marco Orecchioni, PhD, Professor of Pharmacology & Toxicology Immunology Center of Georgia, Medical College of Georgia Title: “Monocyte and Macrophage Expressing Olfactory Receptors: Key Mediators of Inflammation and Atherosclerosis”
March 20	Peng Yao, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine Aab Cardiovascular Research Institute, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY Host: Jie Li, MD, PhD Title: "Translational Control of Cardiac Pathophysiology: When mRNA Meets the Heart"
March 27	Candee Barris, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: Eric Belin de Chantemèle, PhD Title: "XX Chromosome Complement Predisposes Females to Obesity-induced, Leptin-mediated Aldosterone Production and Hypertension”
April 3	Varsha Tandra, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University Mentor: Jie Li, MD, PhD Title: "Regulation of UFM1 modification from ER dynamics to cardiac homeostasis”
April 10	No Seminar - Spring Break
April 17	CANCELED. No Seminar. Zsuzsanna Bordan's presentation will be rescheduled.
April 24	CANCELED. No Seminar. Jenny (Huanjiao) Zhou, MD, PhD, will be rescheduled.
May 1	CANCELED. No Seminar. Steve Haigh's presentation will be rescheduled.
May 6 Monday 11:00am	Da-Zhi Wang, PhD, Professor of Medicine Morsani College of Medicine, Heart Institute, University of South Florida Health, Tampa, FL, Special Guest Of: Xiaochun Long, PhD Title: “Heart development, function and regeneration: From mechanism to disease”
May 8	Yu Liu, PhD, Associate Professor of Biology and Biochemistry College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, University of Houston, Houston, TX Host: Yao Liang Tang, MD, PhD Title: "The role of H19X in striated muscle development and disorders"
May 15	CANCELED. No Seminar.
May 22	Andrew Speese, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: David Stepp, PhD Title: "Regulation of the MSTN-GAL3-NOX1 Axis Reverses Obesity-Induced Skeletal Muscle Quality Decline Resulting in Improved Glycemic Indices and Ameliorated Outcomes in a Model of Critical Limb-Threatening Ischemia”
May 29	CANCELED. No Seminar. Suhib Alhusban's presentation will be rescheduled.
June 5	Megh Mehta, MD/PhD Candidate in Molecular Oncology and Immunology, Immunology Center of Georgia, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: Klaus Ley, MD Title: “Investigating sc-eQTLs in immune cells from a CAD patient cohort”
June 12 Defense	Taylor Kress, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: Eric Belin de Chantemèle, PhD Title: "Role of HIV-Derived Proteins Expressed by CD4+ T Lymphocytes and of the Integrase Inhibitor Dolutegravir in the Development of HIV-Associated Cardiometabolic Disorders"
July 3 Defense 10:00am	Zsuzsanna Bordan, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: David Fulton, PhD Title: "PDZ-Binding Kinase, a Novel Regulator of Vascular Remodeling in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension"
July 11 Defense 9:00am	Steve Haigh, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: David Fulton PhD Title: "The Role of Galectin 3 in Pulmonary Artery Hypertension"

FALL 2023

Date	Speaker
August 16	Rafael Czepielewski, PhD, Assistant Professor Immunology Center of Georgia, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University Title: "Organ Outflow Dynamics: Lymphatics Orchestrating Immunity's Symphony"
August 23	Ayotunde Dokun, MD, PhD, Professor Division of Endocrinlogy and Metabolism, Department of internal Medicine, University of Iowa Health Care, Iowa City, IA Host: Brian Annex , MD Title: "Exploration of Mechanisms Contributing to Poor Disease Outcomes in Diabetic Peripheral Artery Disease"
August 30	Qian Ma, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University Mentor: Yuqing Huo, PhD Title: "De novo purine synthesis in vascular diseases"
September 6	Yanfang 'Peipei' Zhu, PhD, Assistant Professor Immunology Center of Georgia, Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University Title: "Epigenetic Regulation of Neutrophil Heterogeneity Against Cancer"
September 13	Sihem Boudina, PhD, Professor of Nutrition & Integrative Physiology College of Health, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT Host: Huabo Su, PhD Title: "Intrinsic and Extrinsic Regulators of Inflammation‐Resolution Signaling in Cardiac Repair and Heart Failure"
September 20	Jaser Doja, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: Joe Miano, PhD Title: "Interrogating Myocardin Regulation and Binding Targets"
September 27	Yun Fang, PhD, Associate Professor of Medicine Department of Medicine-Pulmonary and Critical Care, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL Co-Hosts: Tohru Fukai, MD, PhD and Masuki Ushio-Fukai, PhD Title: "Precision Nanomedicine Targeting Novel Endothelial Mechano-Sensing Mechanisms to Treat Vascular Diseases"
October 4	David Kim, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, MD/PhD student at Medical College of Georgia Mentor: Neal Weintraub, MD Title: "Novel role of lncRNA in neointima formation in human Saphenous Vein"
October 11	Ganesh Halade, PhD, Associate Professor Department of Internal Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida Heart Institute, Tampa, FL Host: Jie Li, MD, PhD Title: "Intrinsic and Extrinsic Regulators of Inflammation‐Resolution Signaling in Cardiac Repair and Heart Failure"
October 18	Saurabh Aggarwal, MD, PhD, Associate Professor Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL Host: David Fulton, PhD Title: "HIV‐Associated Chronic Widespread Pain: Role of Peripheral Immune Cells"
October 25	Michael Koval, PhD, Professor of Medicine Division of Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care a Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA Host: Rudolf Lucas, PhD Title: "Regulation of vascular function by Pannexin-1"
November 1 3:00PM	Redouane Aherrahrou, PhD, Junior Group Leader Institute for Cardiogenetics, University of Luebeck, Germany/University of Eastern Finland, Finland Host: David Fulton, PhD Title: "Genetic regulation of atherosclerosis-relevant phenotypes and gene expression in human vascular smooth muscle cells"
November 8	Hunter Sellers, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: David Fulton, PhD Title: "Expanding the Toolkit for Obesity Research: Murine AAV Models of Obesity"
November 15	Andrew H. Baker, PhD, Professor of Translational Cardiovascular Sciences Head of Centre for Cardiovascular Science, The Queen's Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh, Scotland Host: Joseph Miano, PhD Title: "Repair and regeneration in the vasculature"
November 22	NO Seminar
November 29	Josue Zambrano-Carracus, PhD Student in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: Huabo Su, PhD Title: "RBX1-CRLs are essential for perinatal heart development by regulating Hippo-YAP signaling"
December 6	WonMo Ahn, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: Gábor Csányi, PhD Title:“Mechanisms of foamy monocyte formation in atherosclerosis”
December 13	Mitch Shivers, PhD Student in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: David Fulton, PhD Title: "A Model of Sustained Hypertension Using Adeno Associated Viruses" Zach Brown, PhD Student in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: David Fulton, PhD Title:"A Noval Viral Approach to Modeling Pulmonary Hypertension"
December 20	Cody Rosewater, PhD Student in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: David Stepp, PhD Title: "Improving muscle health, a novel approach for the treatment of obesity-induced cerebral small vessel disease" Chang Min Lee, PhD Student in Vascular Biology, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia Mentor: Jie Li, MD, PhD Title: “Role of the ufmylation system in the endothelium.”
December 27	NO Seminar

Past Years

FALL 2024

Date	Speaker
Aug 16	Suhib Alhusban, PhD Candidate Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Brian Annex, MD Title: “Phosphoglycerate dehydrogenase activates PKM2 to phosphorylate histone H3T11 and attenuate cellular senescence” Nat Comm. 2023.14:1323 \| DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37094-8
Aug 23	Hunter Sellers, PhD Candidate Vascular Biology Center Advisor: David Fulton, PhD Title: “ROS-induced ribosome impairment underlies ZAKa-mediated metabolic decline in obesity and aging” Science. 2023.382:1135 \| DOI.org/10.1126/science.adf3208
Aug 30	Chang Min Lee, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Huabo Su, PhD Title: “Mitochondrial transfer mediates endothelial cell engraftment through mitophagy” Nature. 2024;629:660-668 \| DOI.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07340-0
Sept 6	Chongyu Zhang, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Vascular Biology Center Mentor: Yao Liang Tang, PhD Title: “Translational landscape of direct cardiac reprogramming reveals a role of Ybx1 in repressing cardiac fate acquisition” Nat Cardiovasc Res. 2023. 2:1060-1077 \| DOI.org/10.1038/s44161-023-00344-5
Sept 13	Candee Barris, PhD Candidate Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Eric Belin de Chantemele, PhD Title: “Xist ribonucleoproteins promote female sex-biased autoimmunity” Cell. 2024. 187(3):733-749 \| DOI:10.1016/j.cell.2023.12.037
Sept 20	WonMo Ahn, PhD Candidate Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title: "Lp-PLA2 (Lipoprotein-Associated Phospholipase A2) Deficiency Lowers Cholesterol Levels and Protects Against Atherosclerosis in Rabbits" Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2023;43:e11–e28. \| DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.122.317898
Sept 27	Delphine Okoye, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Ben Ogola, PhD Title: “FSH Is Responsible for Androgen Deprivation Therapy–Associated Atherosclerosis in Mice by Exaggerating Endothelial Inflammation and Monocyte Adhesion” Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 44(3) \| DOI.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.123.319426
Oct 4	CANCELED due to Helene Barun Chatterjee, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Vascular Biology Center Mentor: Tohur Fukai, MD, PhD
Oct 11	Ann Cormier, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Brian Stansfield, MD Title: "SRF SUMOylation modulates smooth muscle phenotypic switch and vascular remodeling" Nat Commun 15, 6919 (2024). \| DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51350-5
Oct 18	Stephen Addo, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title:“NF1 deficiency drives metabolic reprogramming in ER+ breast cancer” Mol Metab. 2024 Feb;80:101876. \| DOI:10.1016/j.molmet.2024.101876.
Oct 25	Amritha Sreekumar, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title: Macrophage ILF3 promotes abdominal aortic aneurysm by inducing inflammatory imbalance in male mice" Nat Comm. 2024.15:7249. \| DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51030-4.
Nov 1	David Kim, MD/PhD Candidate Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Neal Weintraub, MD Title: lncRNA VELRP Modulates Pulmonary Arterial Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation and Promotes Vascular Remodeling in Pulmonary Hypertension” ATVB. 2024. DOI.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.124.3214
Nov 8	Drew Speese, PhD Candidate Vascular Biology Center Advisor: David Stepp, PhD Title: “Amyloid beta 42 alters cardiac metabolism and impairs cardiac function in male mice with obesity” Nat Commun. 2024.15:258. \| DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44520-4
Nov 15	No Journal Club
Nov 22	No Journal Club
Nov 29	No Journal Club
Dec 6	Beryl Khakina, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Eric Belin de Chantemele, PhD Title: “Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition Contributes to Accelerated Atherosclerosis in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome” Circulation 150, 20 (2024) \| DOI.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.123.065768
Dec 13	Peter Biggs, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Alexander Verin, PhD Title: “Force-mediated recruitment and reprogramming of healthy endothelial cells drive vascular lesion growth” Nat Commun 15, 8660 (2024) \| DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52866-6
Dec 20	Ishara Menik, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Eric Belin de Chantemele, PhD Title: “Social Bonds Retain Oxytocin-Mediated Brain-Liver Axis to Retard Atherosclerosis” Atherosclerosis. Circ Res. 2024 Nov 27 \| DOI.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.124.324638
Dec 27	No Journal Club

SPRING 2024

Date	Speaker
January 5	Zsuzsanna Bordan, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology David Fulton Lab Title: “Endothelial FIS1 DeSUMOylation Protects Against Hypoxic Pulmonary Hypertension” Circulation Research. 2023;133:508–531 \| DOI:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.122.321200.
January 12 Canceled	Sonia Batan, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Vijay Ganta Lab Title: “Genetic inhibition of CARD9 accelerates the development of atherosclerosis in mice through CD36 dependent-defective autophagy” Nat Commun 14, 4622 (2023) \| DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40216-x.
January 19	Amr Salem, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Joseph Miano Lab Title: “Mural cell-derived chemokines provide a protective niche to safeguard vascular macrophages and limit chronic inflammation” Immunity 56, 2325–2341 (2023) \| DOI.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2023.08.002
January 26	Nestor Ishimwe, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Joseph Miano Lab Title: “Endothelial HDAC1-ZEB2-NuRD Complex Drives Aortic Aneurysm and Dissection Through Regulation of Protein S-Sulfhydration” Circulation. 2023;147:1382–1403 \| DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.062743
February 2	Andrew Speese, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology David Stepp Lab Title: “Skeletal muscle regeneration failure in ischemic-damaged limbs is associated with pro-inflammatory macrophages and premature differentiation of satellite cells” Genome Med. 2023 Nov 10;15(1):95 \| DOI: 10.1186/s13073-023-01250-y.
February 9	Taylor Kress, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Eric Belin de Chantemele Lab Title: “CD4+ T-Cell Legumain Deficiency Attenuates Hypertensive Damage via Preservation of TRAF6” Circulation Research. 2024;134:9–29 \| DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.123.322835
February 16	Yoichi Ono, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Eric Belin de Chantemele Lab Title: “Beiging of perivascular adipose tissue regulates its inflammation and vascular remodeling” Nature Communications (2022) 13:5117 \| DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32658-6
February 23	Sheela Nagarkoti, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Masuko Ushio-Fukai Lab Title: “Blood flow patterns switch VEGFR2 activity through differential S-nitrosylation and S-oxidation” Cell Reports 42(11):113361 \| DOI:10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113361.
March 1	Maryam Razaei-Gazik, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Jie Li Lab Title: “Dynamic interplay between RPL3- and RPL3L-containing ribosomes modulates mitochondrial activity in the mammalian heart” Nucleic Acids Res. 2023 Jun 23;51(11):5301-5324 \| doi: 10.1093/nar/gkad121.
March 8	NO Journal Club
March 15	Rahul Patil, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Alexander Verin Lab Title: “MicroRNA-1 protects the endothelium in acute lung injury” JCI Insight. 2023 Sep 22;8(18):e164816 \| doi: 10.1172/jci.
March 22	Mai Yamamoto, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Tohru Fukai Lab Title: “Succinate-induced macrophage polarization and RBP4 secretion promote vascular sprouting in ocular neovascularization” Neuroinflammation (2023) 20:308 \| doi.org/10.1186/s12974-023-02998-1
March 29	Ishara M.G. Menik, PhD Student Eric Belin de Chantemele Lab Title: “Unraveling the Role of Sex in Endothelial Cell Dysfunction: Evidence From Lineage Tracing Mice and Cultured Cells” Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2024 Jan.44(1):238-253 \| doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.123.319833
April 5	No Journal Club
April 12	Chang Min Lee, PhD Student Jie Li Lab Title: “HEG1 Protects Against Atherosclerosis by Regulating Stable Flow-Induced KLF2/4 Expression in Endothelial Cells” Circulation. 2023;149:00–00 \| DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.123.064735
April 19	Qimei Han, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Brian Annex Lab Title: “Disrupted Binding of Cystathionine γ-Lyase to p53 Promotes Endothelial Senescence” Circulation Research. 2023;133:842–857 \| DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.123.323084
April 26	Mohamed Nofal, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Brian Annex Lab Title: “Hyperglycolysis in endothelial cells drives endothelial injury and microvascular alterations in peritoneal dialysis” Clin. Transl. Med. 2023;13:e1498 \| DOI.org/10.1002/ctm2.1498
May 3 Rescheduled	Beryl Khakina, PhD Student Eric Belin de Chantemele Lab
May 10	Beryl Khakina, PhD Student Eric Belin de Chantemele Lab Title: “LOX-1 and MMP-9 Inhibition Attenuates the Detrimental Effects of Delayed rt-PA Therapy and Improves Outcomes After Acute Ischemic Stroke" Circulation Research. 2024;134:954–969 \| DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.123.323371
May 17 CANCELED	Anil Sakamuri, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Ben Ogola Lab Title: "lncRNA JPX-Enriched Chromatin Microenvironment Mediates Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Senescence and Promotes Atherosclerosis" Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2024;44:156–176 \| DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.122.319250

FALL 2023

Date	Speaker
August 18	Beryl Khakina, PhD Student Eric Belin de Chantemele Lab Title: “Angiotensin II–Mediated Neuroinflammation in the Hippocampus Contributes to Neuronal Deficits and Cognitive Impairment in Heart Failure Rats” Hypertension. 2023;80:1258–1273. DOI: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.123.21070
August 25	Hunter Sellers, PhD Candidate David Fulton Lab Title: “Hardwiring tissue-specific AAV transduction in mice through engineered receptor expression" Nat Methods 20, 1070–1081 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41592-023-01896-x
September 1	Candee Barris, PhD Candidate Eric Belin de Chantemele Lab Title: “Genes That Escape X Chromosome Inactivation Modulate Sex Differences in Valve Myofibroblasts” Circulation. 2022;145:513–530. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.054108
September 8	Zach Brown, PhD Student David Fulton Lab Title: SOX17 Enhancer Variants Disrupt Transcription Factor Binding And Enhancer Inactivity Drives Pulmonary Hypertension Circulation. 2023;147:1606–1621. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.061940
September 15	Jaser Doja, PhD Candidate Joe Miano Lab Title: "Vascular smooth muscle–specific YAP/TAZ deletion triggers aneurysm development in mouse aorta" JCI Insight. 2023;8(17):e170845. https://doi.org/10.1172/jci.insight.170845.
September 22	Md. Selim Hossain, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Masuko Ushio-Fukai Lab Title: “Astrocyte-targeting therapy rescues cognitive impairment caused by neuroinflammation via the Nrf2 pathway” NPAS. 2023 Aug 15;120(33):e2303809120. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2303809120.
September 29	Steve Haigh, PhD Candidate David Fulton Lab Title: “Intracellular tPA–PAI-1 interaction determines VLDL assembly in hepatocytes” Science 381, eadh5207 (2023). DOI:10.1126/science.adh5207
October 6	Suhib Alhusban, PhD Candidate Brian Annex Lab Title: “ATF4 Protects the Heart From Failure by Antagonizing Oxidative Stress” Circulation Research. 2022;131:91–105. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.122.321050
October 13	Cody Rosewater, PhD Student David Stepp Lab Title: Therapeutic blood-brain barrier modulation and stroke treatment by a bioengineered FZD4-selective WNT surrogate in mice Nat Commun 14, 2947 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37689-1
October 20	Ishara M.G. Menik, PhD Student Eric Belin de Chantemele Lab Title:“Smooth Muscle Mineralocorticoid Receptor Promotes Hypertension After Preeclampsia” Circulation Research. 2023;132:674–689. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.122.321228
October 27	WonMo Ahn, PhD Candidate Gabor Csanyi Lab Title: “Macrophage-to-endothelial cell crosstalk by the cholesterol metabolite 27HC promotes atherosclerosis in male mice” Nat Commun 14, 4101 (2023). DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-023-39586-z
November 3	Josue Zambrano-Carrasco, PhD Student Huabo Su Lab Title: “Missense Mutation in Human CHD4 Causes Ventricular Noncompaction by Repressing ADAMTS1” Circulation Research. 2023;133:48–67. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.122.322223
November 10	No Journal Club
November 17	No Journal Club
November 24	No Journal Club
December 1	David Kim, PhD Candidate Neal Weintraub Lab Title: "BACH1 deficiency prevents neointima formation and maintains the differentiated phenotype of vascular smooth muscle cells by regulating chromatin accessibility" Nucleic Acids Res. 2023 May 22;51(9):4284-4301 / DOI:10.1093/nar/gkad120
December 8	Mitch Shivers, PhD Student David Fulton Lab Title: “ACTRIIA-Fc rebalances activin/GDF versus BMP signaling in pulmonary hypertension”journal
December 15	Chang Min Lee, PhD Student Jie Li Lab Title: “Dysregulation of PD-L1 by UFMylation imparts tumor immune evasion and identified as a potential therapeutic target” PNAS 2023;120(11): e2215732120. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2215732120
December 22	No Journal Club
December 29	No Journal Club

FALL 2022

Date	Speaker
August 19	Hunter Sellers, PhD Candidate David Fulton Lab Title: "Oocytes maintain ROS-free mitochondrial metabolis by suppressing complex I" Nature 607:756-761. 2022 / DOI.org/10.1038s41586-022-04979-5
August 26	Brandee Goo, MD/PhD Candidate Neal Weintraub Lab Title: "Extracellular Vesicle-based interorgan transport of mitochondria from energetically stressed adiposytes" Cell Metabolism 33:1853-1868 / DOI.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2021.08.002
September 2	Zsuzsanna Bordan, PhD Candidate David Fulton Lab Title: "Chitinase 3-like-1 contributes to the development of pulmonary vascular remodeling in pulmonary hypertension" JCI Insight.2022 / DOI.org/10.1172/jci.insight.159578
September 9	Drew Speese, PhD Candidate David Stepp Lab Title: "Somatic mutations in single human cardiomyocytes reveal age-associated DNA damage and widespread oxidative genotoxicity" Nat Aging 2, 714-725.2022 / DOI.org/10.1038/s43587-022-00261-5
September 16	Steve Haigh, PhD Candidate David Fulton Lab Title: "Dichotomous Roles of Smooth Muscle Cell-Derived MCP1 (Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein 1) in Development of Atherosclerosis" Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2022;42:942-956 / DOI.10.1164/ATVBAHA.122.347882
September 23	Jaser Doja, Graduate Student Joe Miano Lab Title: "Spatial multi-omic map of human myocardial infarction" Nature.608,766-777(2022) / DOI.org/10.1038/s41586-022-05060-x
September 30	WonMo Ahn, Graduate Student Gabor Csanyi Lab Title: "The Amino Acid homoarginine Inhibits Atherogenesis by Modulating T-Cell Function" Circulation Research. 2022;131:00-00 / DOI:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.122.321094
October 7	Candee Barris, Graduate Student Eric Belin de Chantemele Lab Title: "Hematopoietic loss of Y chromosome leads to cardiac fibrosis and heart failure mortality" Science 377:292-297 / DOI:10.1126/science.abn3100
October 14	David Kim, MD/PhD Candidate Neal Weintraub Lab Title: "Inhibition of macrophage histone demethylase JMJD3 protects against abdominal aortic aneurysms" J. Exp. Med. 2021. 218(6):1-19.DOI:org/10.1084/jem.20201839
October 21	Ragheb Harb, MD, Postdoctoral Fellow Neal Weintraub Lab Title: "Inhibition of macrophage histone demethylas JMJD3 protects against abdominal aortic aneurysms" J. Exp. Med.2021.218(6):1-19.DOI:org/10.1084/jem.20201839
October 28	Maria Blahove, Graduate Student Gabor Csanyi Lab Title: "Extracellular Vesicles From Epicardial Fat Facilitate Atrial Fibrillation" Circulation. 2021;143:2475–2493.DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.052009
November 4	NO Journal Club
November 11	Zach Brown, Graduate Student David Fulton Lab Title: "Directed evolution of a family of AAV capsid variants enabling potent muscle-directed gene delivery across species" Cell. 2021 Sept 16;184(19):4919-4938.e22 / DOI:10.1016/j.cell.2021.08.028.
November 18	Josue Zambrano-Carrasco, Graduate Student Huabo Su Lab Title: "PRDM16 Is a Compact Myocardium-Enriched Transcription Factor Required to Maintain Compact Myocardial Cardiomyocyte Identity in Left Ventricle" Circulation. 2022;145:586–602.DOI:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.056666
November 25	NO Journal Club
December 2	Cody Rosewater, Graduate Student David Stepp Lab Title: Cardioprotective factors against myocardial infarction selected in vivo from an AAV secretome library" Sci. Transl. Med.14(660),eabo0699 / science.org/doi/10.1126/scitranslmed.abo0699
December 9	Mitch Shivers, Graduate Student David Fulton Lab Title: “Robust genome editing in adult vascular endothelium by nanoparticle delivery of CRISPR-Cas9 plasmid DNA” Cell Reports 38, Jan 2, 2022 / https://doi.org/10.1016/j.celrep.2021.110196
December 16	Karl Diaz-Sanders, Graduate Student Jennifer Sullivan Lab Title: "miR-33 Silencing Reprograms the Immune Cell Landscape in Atherosclerotic Plaques" Circ Res. 2021 April 16; 128(8):1122-1138. DOI:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.120.317914
December 23 and 30	NO Journal Club

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