Members’ Labs

Taija Mäkinen, PhD July 1, 2024 Professor Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology Uppsala University and Wihuri Research Institute/University of Helsinki   Primary Research: Our research focuses on the fundamental mechanisms that govern the development, maintenance, and regeneration of a functional lymphatic vasculature. We also investigate the involvement of lymphatic vessels in organ-specific physiology and…

Cristina Espinosa-Diez, PhD May 31, 2024 Assistant Professor Wayne State University   Primary Research: Welcome to the Espinosa-Diez lab, where we are dedicated to understanding how external stressors impact vascular remodeling and dysfunction. Our research primarily explores the impact of cancer therapeutics and DNA-damaging agents on vascular health, particularly through changes in epigenetic modifications like…

Sharon Gerecht, PhD May 1, 2024 Paul M. Gross Distinguished Professor of Bioengineering Duke University   Primary Research: Our lab studies how the microenvironment regulates cellular responses, with the long-term goal of developing countermeasures and therapeutics. We develop biomaterials and culture systems to emulate mechanical and physical stressors toward understanding tissue function, reliance, and homeostasis.…

Kunzhe Dong, PhD April 1, 2024 Assistant Professor Augusta University Immunology Center of Georgia   Primary Research: Our lab leverages omics data mining and mouse genetic models to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis and aneurysm. Specifically, we are particularly interested in how naturally occurring mutations identified by GWAS are involved…

Richard Pierce, PhD February 23, 2024 Assistant Professor Department of Pediatrics Section of Pediatric Critical Care Medicine Yale School of Medicine   Primary Research: Our passion is to understand blood vessel dysfunction in the setting of critical illness. Blood vessels, and the endothelial cells that line them, extend to within micron of all the cells…

Jennifer S. Fang, PhD January 24, 2024 Assistant Professor Department of Cell and Molecular Biology Tulane University   Primary Research: Our group is interested in better understanding how blood vessels grow, remodel, and reorganize during healthy tissue development to form mature structures such as arteries, capillaries and veins, and how this process might go awry…

Xiaolei Liu, PhD November 28, 2023 Lemole Center for Integrated Lymphatics Research Department of Cardiovascular Sciences Lewis Katz School of Medicine Temple University   Primary Research: The Liu lab research studies lymphatic vessels during development and cardiovascular diseases. We study molecular mechanisms and signal cues that guides early lymphatic vessel formation and development. In parallel,…

Gediminas Cepinskas, DVM, PhD October 1, 2023 The Vascular Inflammation Laboratory Centre for Critical Illness Research Lawson Health Research Institute and Depts. Medical Biophysics/Anatomy & Cell Biology Western University   Primary Research: Research at the Vascular Inflammation laboratory (Centre for Critical Illness Research, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON, Canada) under supervision of Dr. Cepinskas,…

Cam McCarthy, PhD, FAHA September 1, 2023 Cardiovascular Translational Research Center Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy School of Medicine Columbia University of South Carolina   Primary Research: The Vascular and Integrative Physiology (VIP) Lab directed by Cam McCarthy at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine-Columbia studies novel mechanisms of vascular deterioration in…

Shulamit Levenberg, PhD August 1, 2023 Faculty of Biomedical Engineering Technion – Israel Institute of Technology   Primary Research: The Levenberg Lab specializes in the field of stem cell-based tissue engineering. Our focus is on recreating complex tissues in vitro for purposes such as regenerative medicine, disease modeling, and drug discovery. We have expertise in…