Cardiovascular Biology
Donald R. Menick, Ph.D. - Division Director The Cardiovascular Biology Division is made up of over thirty faculty members from basic science and clinical departments with the goal of training students for careers as independent investigators studying the molecular and cellular aspects of cardiovascular physiology and disease. One of the medical triumphs of the latter half of the twentieth century is the remarkable advancement that has been made in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. Despite these advances, cardiovascular disease still remains the most common fatal and disabling disorder in the United States. Over the last two decades we have made tremendous progress in our understanding of the molecular aspects of biology. Now we have the opportunity to use these new and powerful molecular tools to explore complex biological systems, such as the heart. The research focus of the Cardiovascular Biology Division is to find bold new approaches to aid our understanding, diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. Some areas of research interests in this program include gene regulation in heart development, differentiation and disease, regulation of cardiovascular function and metabolism, regulation of muscle contraction and protein turnover, and signal tranduction pathways in development and disease. The Cardiovascular Biology Division is one of the divisions of the Molecular and Cellular Biology Program. Students who have satisfactorily completed the First Year Curriculum are qualified to enter the program. During their second and third year, students will complete at least 12 semester hours of advanced course work. Six of these units will be taken from courses offered in the Cardiovascular Biology Division. Courses cover topics such as signal transduction, gene expression, genetic engineering and gene therapy, and genetics and development of the cardiovascular system. The remaining units may be chosen from any of the Graduate Program courses. In addition, students will participate in the Cardiovascular journal club.
Cardiovascular Biology Course DescriptionsMCBP-728 Integrative Biology of the Cardiovascular System
This course is designed to build on the Receptors and Signaling and Systems Biology units of the first year curriculum for Ph.D. students to provide the students with an in depth understanding of the structure, function and integration of the cardiovascular system at the human and whole animal levels and the assessment of cardiovascular function in whole animal models including transgenic animals. Current concepts of the cell and molecular biology bases of cardiovascular function, dysfunction and responsiveness to therapeutic interventions will be explored. Course faculty include investigators from Adult Cardiology, Adult Endocrinology, Cell Biology and Anatomy, Pharmacology, Physiology and Neuroscience and Surgery. Relevant material will be addressed through a combination of lectures, discussion of papers from the literature and problem solving exercises (open book).
3 credit hours
Offered in Fall Semester of alternate years. MCBP-739 The Molecular Basis of Cardiovascular Disease
This course is designed to highlight the advances in cardiovascular science and medicine which will soon form the foundation for novel diagonstic, prognostic and therapeutic approaches to treating heart disease. Over the past decade a growing number of genes, receptors, channels and signaling factors have been shown to play a role in cardiovascular disorders. This course will examine the new approaches and technology that are being utilized to identify the molecular mechanism that these factors play in cardiovascular function and disease. We will discuss the power of utilizing molecular genetics to unravel heart diseases. We will also look at advances in our understanding of cardiovascular development, and electrophysiology. We will also discuss how new breakthroughs in tissue engineering may allow for the replacement of diseased myocardium. The course will also include sections on vascular biology and atherogenesis.
3 credit hours.
Offered Fall Semester of alternate years. PATH-792 Anatomy, Histology and Histopathology of the Laboratory Mouse
This course is offered as an elective course during the first three weeks of the summer semester. The anatomy, histology, and histopathology of the laboratory mouse will be presented. Emphasis will be placed on differences between human and mouse so future investigators who may use a mouse model of human disease will understand approaches to developing new modes as well as limitations of a given model. Lectures will present anatomy, histology, basic principles of pathobiology and unique mouse pathology. Lab sessions will be used to demonstrate the proper way to perform a pathological examination on properly euthanized animals. Tutorials using glass and virtual slides will be included. Students will learn and execute a necropsy (term for post-mortem examination in veterinary medicine) of the mouse. Two Genetically Engineered Mouse (GEM) models will be introduced by Drs. Awgulewitsch and Spyropoulos at the end of the course to reinforce the significance of understanding differences between mouse and human anatomy, histology, and pathology. Due to the brevity of the course, only a limited number of pathological entities will be included. 3 credit hours. Prerequisite: PATH 789, Graduate Histology: Introduction to Pathology, or CELL 609: Medical Histology, or by permission of the course directors.
Robert W. Olilvie, Ph.D. (ogilvieb@musc.edu), Kristi L. Helke, DVM, Ph.D. (helke@musc.edu) MCBP - 782 Cardiovascular Biology Journal Club
The Cardiovascular Biology Journal Club course is designed to highlight the advances in cardiovascular science and medicine that will soon form the foundation for novel diagnostic, prognostic and therapeutic approaches to treating heart disease. Publications will be presented by the students weekly, which address current concepts of the cell and molecular biology bases of cardiovascular function, dysfunction and responsiveness to therapeutic interventions. Students, postdoctoral fellows and faculty who will take part in the weekly discussion include investigators from adult cardiology, adult Endocrinology, Cell Biology and Anatomy, Pharmacology, and Surgery. Credits: 1.00 CEUs
Start Date: 23 August 2011
End Date: 09 December 2011
Academic Level: PD - Doctorate Cardiovascular Journal Club
Director - Sundaravadivel Balasubramanian, Ph.D.
Phone - 876-5065
Email - balasubr@musc.edu
Fall 2011 Schedule: "Fridays, 12:30pm - 1:30pm"
Conference Room: "611, Basic Science Building" MCR-744 Molecular Approaches to Experimental Medicine
This course provides students with a basic understanding of the cellular and molecular basis for disease, familiarity with relevant recent experimental literature to translational research in areas pertinent to students’ interests, and an awareness of unmet medical needs. Each week will be team-taught by a basic scientist and a physician-scientist. The first meeting of the week starts with presentation of a patient by the physician-scientist followed by a lecture from the basic scientist. Actual cases are selected from clinical departments (Medicine, Surgery, Radiology, etc.) that highlight key features of disease and provide a medical context for the week’s lecture and discussions. At the second meeting, students will be responsible for reading and presenting two papers from the primary literature selected by the clinician and the basic scientist. At the conclusion of the week, cases presented at the first meeting will be discussed again in the context of final outcomes and how to apply what was learned during the week to patients. All HIPPA rules will be strictly adhered to. Directors: Lemasters and Hulsey (3 credit hours).
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Cardiovascular Biology Faculty
Kelley M. Argraves, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology
Role of sphingosine-1-phosphate in vasculogenesis and angiogenesisW. Scott Argraves, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology, and Craniofacial Biology
Extracellular matrix (ECM) biology; lipoprotein metabolism John M. Arthur, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Medicine (Nephrology)
Discovery of disease biomarkers using proteomics and informatics Lauren E. Ball, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, and Craniofacial Biology
Proteomics; insulin receptor and (IGF-1) receptor signaling pathways Craig Beeson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Regulation of cardiac bioenergetics during stress responses Joe Blumer, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Cell and Molecular Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
Role of GPR proteins in mammalian cell division and the immune system Amy Bradshaw, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Medicine (Cardiology), Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology, and Craniofacial Biology
Collagen deposition in cardiac hypertrophy Maria G. Buse, M.D.
Distinguished University Professor, Department of Medicine (Endocrinology)
Diabetes; mechanisms of insulin resistance George Cooper, IV, M.D.
Distinquished University Professor
Departments of Medicine (Cardiology), Neurosciences, and Pediatrics
Structure-function relationships of the cardiac extramyofilament cytoskeleton Christopher J. Drake, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology
Vasculogenesis; molecular and cellular interactions in blood vessel development Samar M. Hammad, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology
Sphingolipid signaling response to modified low-density lipoprotein-immune complexes in human macrophages John S. Ikonomidis, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Surgery (Cardiothoracic Surgery)
Extracellular matrix remodeling in thoracic aortic aneurysm disease Michael G. Janech, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Medicine (Nephrology)
Identification of urine protein markers of glomerular disease Dhandapani Kuppuswamy, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Department of Medicine (Cardiology)
Protein kinase signaling in hypertrophying myocardium Louis M. Luttrell, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Medicine (Endocrinology)
G protein-coupled receptor signaling Roger R. Markwald, Ph.D.
Distinguished University Professor and Chairman
Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology
Development basis of cardiovascular disease Paul J. McDermott, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Medicine (Cardiology), Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology, Pediatrics, and Biochemistry
Translational regulation of cardiac protein synthesis Donald R. Menick, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Medicine (Cardiology), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Regulation of gene expression in cardiac myocytes Martin Morad, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology, and Cell and Molecular Pharmacology
Cellular and subcellular signaling processes Terrence O'Brien, M.D.
Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology
Transcriptional regulation in cardiac hypertrophy Xuejun Wen, M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Clemson-MUSC Bioengineering Program
Novel biomedical materials and scaffolds, biomedical device design Andy Wessels, Ph.D.
Professor
Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology, and Pediatrics
Developmental events leading to congenital heart malformations Michael R. Zile, M.D.
Professor
Department of Medicine (Cardiology)
Cellular biomechanics; diastolic heart failure and growth regulation
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