Assistant professor
University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center
I currently have two major research projects in my lab. My research projects include investigating the cellular signaling pathways that induce ion channels to rapidly translocate within smooth muscle cells to affect a range of cellular functions from contraction and relaxation of the cell to energy metabolism. I investigate Rab GTPase-dependent protein trafficking pathways in endothelial cells which cause protein trafficking and ion channel dysfunction during disease.
I also investigate the origins of diabetic vascular disease. We have uncovered that hyperactivity of mast cells caused by insulin resistance leads to increase in histamine levels in diabetic mice which subsequently causes endothelial dysfunction. Separately, we also uncovered that the increased circulating CAMs that activate mast cells in diabetes are shed from peripheral artery endothelial cells. I employ various inherited and induced animal disease models that simulate human disease, knockout mice, and a wide variety of molecular, biochemical, cellular, and functional techniques.