Dr. Irina Baranovskaya

Irina Baranovskaya was born in Gomel (Belarus). Irina has graduated from the Biophysics Department of Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Russia, receiving her BS and MS in 2014 and 2016. During her studies she was working as a research assistant in Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute (NRC «Kurchatov Institute» - PNPI). In her bachelor's and master's theses, she studied chromatin remodeling factor CHD1 and its role in dosage compensation of X-linked genes in Drosophila. She received her PhD degree in Molecular Biology in December 2021 from Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Russia, where she investigated stable RNA secondary structures of the influenza virus NS gene, exploring their potential role in viral pathogenicity. While earning her PhD degree she was working as a junior researcher in Smorodintsev Research Institute of Influenza, WHO National Influenza Centre of Russia. Since May 2022, she has been a Postdoctoral Fellow in Dr. Mamenko research group, Department of Physiology, and her research interest is focused on the mechanisms of blood pressure regulation that determine sex differences in hypertension.

Mentor: Dr. Mykola Mamenko

ibaranovskaya@augusta.edu

Dr. John Henry Dasinger  

My research is focused on the role of the immune system in the amplification of hypertension and renal damage with a special emphasis on the development of preeclampsia.

Mentor: Dr. David Mattson

JDASINGER@augusta.edu

Dr. Perenkita Mendiola

My overall research interest is to better understand mechanisms which control vascular function and how perturbations in these mechanisms lead to disease. Current work aims to address the impact of cardiovascular diseases (e.g. hypertension) on the functional integrity of the neurovascular unit.

Mentor: Dr. Jessica Filosa

PMENDIOLA@augusta.edu

Dr. Denisha R. Spires

Dr. Denisha R. Spires was born and raised in Jackson, MS where she attended Tougaloo College, a noteworthy HBCU. While earning her bachelor’s degree in biology, she focused on the pathophysiology of type 1 and type 2 diabetic nephropathy in relation to endothelin 1. She received her PhD in Physiology at the Medical College of Wisconsin (November 2020) where her thesis was centered on examining the sex-based differences in the progression and severity in type 2 diabetic kidney disease. Currently as a postdoctoral fellow she is continuing her studies of the pathophysiological role of ion channels in the kidney and on the progression of renal disease in relation to mitochondrial dysfunction with Dr. Daria Ilatovskaya, MS, PhD, FAHA.

Mentor: Dr. Daria Ilatovskaya

DESPIRES@augusta.edu

Dr. Aleksandra Zamaro

Dr. Aleksandra Zamaro's interests include the effects of the Atrial Natriuretic Peptide and the histaminergic system in salt-sensitive hypertension, and their contribution to mitochondrial function and metabolism in the kidneys.

Mentor: Dr. Daria Ilatovskaya

azamaro@augusta.edu

 

PPF In the News

PLANT-BASED DIET PROTECTS FROM HYPERTENSION, PREECLAMPSIA (JagWire)

NEW RODENT MODEL HELPS IDENTIFY PREGNANT WOMEN WHOSE PRIOR KIDNEY INJURY ALSO AFFECTS BABIES (News Medical Life Sciences)