Titles
Director, Critical Care Division
Professor of Critical Care
Professor of Cardiology
Education
BS – University of Michigan; 1982
MD – University of Michigan Medical School; 1989
PhD – University of Michigan Medical School; 1989
Postgraduate Training
Residency – University of Michigan
Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship – University of Iowa
Clinical Interests
Clinical time is spent as an attending physician in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Particular interest in the management of post-operative congenital heart disease repair patients.
Research Interests
- Reactive oxygen signaling by cytokines
- Molecular biology, biophysics and genetics of ClC-3 chloride ion channels
- Fetal programming of adult vascular disease
Lab Members
- Malia Collins, Research Assistant
There are also undergraduate students working in the lab.
Model System
Our primary model system is a ClC-3 chloride channel knockout mouse that we developed. We perform both in vivo and in vitro studies. From the knockout animal we have derived cultured vascular smooth muscle cells that are used for a variety of experiments including patch-clamp recording of ion currents and fluorescent quantification of free radical metabolism.
Our second experimental system involves murine and sheep models of fetal programming. Mother mice are fed a low protein diet or exposed to carbenoxolone which inhibits placental 11-beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and exposes the fetus to maternal steroids. Pregnant ewes are given 2 days of dexamethasone infusion in the first trimester. Steroid-exposed offspring develop hypertension and abnormalities in coronary artery function. Fetal programming studies are undertaken in collaboration with Dr. Jeff Segar and Dr. Tom Scholz and Dr. Robert Roghair. We are studying multiple aspects of altered vascular physiology and biology in this model.
Recent Publications
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