Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine

CHPM NEWS ARCHIVES

The latest research from the Joe laboratory found that the one of the mechanisms by which the ketone body, beta hydroxybutyrate synthesized by the liver lowers blood pressure is by virtue of it being a potent vasodilator.  This research is published in the JCI Insight (Journal of Clinical Investigation Insight, https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34499623/).  Because this ketone body is also released during exercise, this work may explain how exercise protects our blood vessels from constricting and thus curbs hypertension and associated vascular aging.Congratulations to Dr. Tao Yang! His manuscript was accepted to Nucleic Acids Research. The title is : "HDAC1 is required for GATA-1 transcription activity, global chromatin occupancy and hematopoiesis."

Authors:
Bowen Yan, Jennifer Yang, Min Young Kim, Huacheng Luo, Nicholas Cesari, Tao Yang, John Strouboulis, Jiwang Zhang, Ross Hardison, Suming Huang, 
Yi Qiu

Abstract:
The activity of hematopoietic factor GATA-1 is modulated through p300/CBP-mediated acetylation and FOG-1 mediated indirect interaction with HDAC1/2 containing NuRD complex. Although GATA-1 acetylation is implicated in GATA-1 activation, the role of deacetylation is not studied. Here, we found that the FOG-1/NuRD does not deacetylate GATA-1. However, HDAC1/2 can directly bind and deacetylate GATA-1. Two arginine residues within the GATA-1 linker region mediates direct interaction with HDAC1. The arginine to alanine mutation (2RA) blocks GATA-1 deacetylation and fails to induce erythroid differentiation. Gene expression profiling and ChIP-seq analysis further demonstrate the importance of GATA-1 deacetylation for gene activation and chromatin recruitment. GATA-12RA knock-in (KI) mice suffer mild anemia and thrombocytopenia with accumulation of immature erythrocytes and megakaryocytes in bone marrow and spleen. Single cell RNA-seq analysis of Lin− cKit+ (LK) cells further reveal a profound change in cell subpopulations and signature gene expression patterns in HSC, myeloid progenitors, and erythroid/megakaryocyte clusters in KI mice. Thus, GATA-1 deacetylation and its interaction with HDAC1 modulates GATA-1 chromatin binding and transcriptional activity that control erythroid/megakaryocyte commitment and differentiation.

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Congratulations to Dr. Koch! Her paper published in Physiological Genomics was recognized as an APS Select publication for September.

Title: “Genetically determined exercise capacity affects systemic glucose response to insulin in rats”
 
Authors: Michael Schwarzer, Annika Molis, Christina Schenkl, Andrea Schrepper, Steven L. Britton, Lauren Gerard Koch, Torsten Doenst.
 
This was a collaborative study with investigators from Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Jena University Hospital – Friedrich Schiller, University of Jena, Jena, Germany.

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Congrats to Dr. John Turner! He is a co-author/co-editor of an 89-page, multi-authored review paper accepted for publication last week in the journal, Human-Wildlife Interactions.

The title of the review is, "Fertility Control Options for Management of Free-Roaming Horse Populations."

The review covers a range of methodologies and includes their research histories, mechanisms, aspects of field application and associated pros and cons. 

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Congratulations to Dr. Ritu Chakravarti! She obtained funding for a subaward with OSU. The title of the award is "Dormitory wastewater monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 at Universities and Colleges in the State of Ohio". 

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Congratulations to Rachel Golonka from Dr. Matam Vijay Kumar's lab! Her abstract, "Investigating neutrophil extracellular traps deficiency in alcohol-associated liver disease", has been selected for Parallel oral presentation at The Liver Meeting 2021 hosted by the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). This meeting is currently scheduled to be held in Anaheim, California from November 12-15 2021.

Abstract:
Investigating neutrophil extracellular traps deficiency in alcohol-associated liver disease
Rachel M. Golonka1, Megan R. McMullen2, Piu Saha1, Ahmed A. Abokor1, Beng San Yeoh1, Laura E. Nagy2, Matam Vijay-Kumar1
1Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo OH
2Center for Liver Disease Research & Northern Ohio Alcohol Center, Department of Inflammation and Immunity, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland OH
 
Background: Alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD) progresses in multiple stages, starting with steatosis to hepatitis, fibrosis and then cirrhosis. Neutrophils have been confirmed as a main causative factor in ALD pathogenesis. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) are ‘web-like’ DNA scaffolds with antimicrobial properties and these NETs are generated during a type of neutrophil cell death called ‘NETosis’. The role of NETs in ALD is largely unknown.

Methods: NETs deficient mice through the genetic knockout of peptidyl arginine deiminase 4 (PAD4, required enzyme for NETosis) were implemented for this study. The Gao-Binge (alias acute-on-chronic) model was used to induce ALD in female wild-type (WT) and PAD4 deficient (Pad4KO) mice. In brief, ten-week-old pair-fed and ethanol-fed mice received the maltose control diet for 5 days and then ethanol fed mice were switched to the Lieber-DeCarli diet with 5% (v/v) ethanol for an additional 10 days. On the last day, a single gavage of ethanol or maltose solution (5 g/kg) was given to respective groups and mice were euthanized six hours later. Tissue and serum samples were collected for biochemical and histological analysis of liver injury, inflammation, lipid accumulation, fibrosis, and NETs formation/clearance.

Results: On the gross level, ethanol fed Pad4KO mice had stunted body growth and hepatomegaly. Ethanol fed Pad4KO mice had increased steatosis compared to WT, assessed by quantification of liver triglycerides via glycerol phosphate oxidase method and Oil-Red-O staining. Interestingly, ethanol fed Pad4KO mice did not display transaminitis nor an elevation in hepatic pro-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-1β, IL-6). Levels of fibrosis also appeared to be similar between ethanol fed WT and Pad4KO mice. Notably, deoxyribonuclease I (DNase I, NETs degrader) activity, measured via the single radial enzyme diffusion method, was significantly increased in WT but not Pad4KO mice following ethanol feeding. This could explain the normalized levels of NETs associated markers i.e., neutrophil elastase, myeloperoxidase, and lipocalin 2, found in the livers of ethanol fed WT mice.
 
Conclusion: Our data suggests that NETs clearance is important for alleviating ALD, but NETs deficiency can also worsen ALD pathogenesis.

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Congratulations to Dr. Tao Yang! He was chosen by the American Heart Association’s Council on Hypertension’s Trainee Advocacy Committee and Data Sciences International (DSI), as a finalist for the 2021 Stephanie Watts Career Development Award.

Well done!

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Congratulations to Dr. Tao Yang! His abstract has been selected for a Moderated Poster Presentation at the Hypertension 2021 Virtual Scientific Sessions scheduled for September 27-29, 2021.

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Dr. Bina Joe’s project titled, " A novel model to study COVID-19 and Hypertension” has been awarded an NIH grant from the R21 mechanism. Besides Blair Mell from our Department, other collaborators include Drs. Saurabh Chattopadhyay and Jason Huntley from the MMI Department.  

 Congratulations!

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 Dr. Tao Yang has accepted our offer as Assistant Professor in the Basic Scientist Tenure Track in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology.

Congratulations!

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Dr. Piu Saha has accepted our offer as Assistant Professor in the Research Track in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology.

Congratulations!

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Dr. Bina Joe has been elected as a Board Member of the Greater Toledo Community Foundation. Click on the link for more information.https://www.toledocf.org/who-we-are/leadership-team/

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 Congratulations to Dr. Camilla Wenceslau and team! Their high impact publication, first authored by Jonnelle Edwards, was selected by the editors of the journal Hypertension as a High Impact Paper for Summer 2021 in the category of basic science. Well done!

Title: FPR-1 (Formyl Peptide Receptor-1) Activation Promotes Spontaneous, Premature Hypertension in Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rats

Authors: Jonnelle M. Edwards, Shaunak Roy, Sarah L. Galla,Jeremy C. Tomcho, Nicole R. Bearss, Emily W. Waigi, Blair Mell,

Xi Cheng, Piu Saha, Matam Vijay-Kumar, Cameron G. McCarthy, Bina Joe, Camilla F. Wenceslau

Hypertension. 2021 | Volume 77, Issue 4: 1191–1202

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A warm welcome to new Phys/Pharm Professors, Dr. Charles Thodeti and Dr. Sailaja Paruchuri and their teams!

Dr. Thodeti comes to us from Northeast Ohio Medical University and his lab works in mechanotransduction mechanisms in cardiac remodeling and pathological angiogenesis. His work has been supported by NIH-NHLBI (R01 and R15), NIH-NCI-(R15) and AHA (Scientist Development Award, Grant-in-Aid and Transformative Project Award). He has published more than 60 peer-reviewed articles in the fields of cardiovascular physiology and cell biology. He serves as an editorial board member for Circulation Research, Scientific Reports and Microcirculation, and as a reviewer for more than 30 top-tier journals. Dr. Thodeti is a study section member for AHA and NIH.

Dr. Paruchuri come to us from the University of Akron and her lab works in  biochemical/molecular mechanisms underlying the role of eicosanoids (cysteinyl leukotrienes and prostaglandins) in inflammation, asthma and cancer. Her work is supported by the NIH (R01). The Paruchuri Lab's  main goal is to develop novel eicosanoid (bioactive lipid)-based therapies for the treatment of cancer and cardiovascular diseases. Her laboratory has expertise with cutting edge cell and molecular biological techniques as well as mouse models of asthma and tumors.

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Dr. Jasenka Zubcevic was invited and completed her maiden service to the NIH as a reviewer on the Integrated Vascular Physiology and Pathology (IVPP) study section. Congratulations Dr. Zubcevic!

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Drs. Jasenka Zubcevic, Cameron McCarthy, Tao Yang and Bina Joe have been invited to grade abstracts for the upcoming International-level meeting of the American Heart Association Council on Hypertension. This is a premier meeting for Research on Hypertension, which is a leading research area in our Department and Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine.

Dr. McCarthy will also be grading the Stephanie Watts Career Development Award applications. 

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Dr. Bina Joe’s project titled, " A novel model to study COVID-19 and Hypertension” has been awarded an NIH grant from the R21 mechanism. Besides Blair Mell from our Department, other collaborators include Drs. Saurabh Chattopadhyay and Jason Huntley from the MMI Department.  

 Congratulations!

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 Congratulations to Dr. Piu Saha from the Kumar laboratory!

She has been awarded a Career Development Grant from the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation for her project titled, "Targeting innate immunity and gut microbiota to treat iron-induced adverse effect."

The project is 3 years (2021-2024).

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Congratulations to Dr. Koch and her team. Here is a list of June papers accepted from the Koch lab.

 Manuscript title: Myokine responses to exercise in a rat model of low/high adaptive potential
Journal: Frontiers in Endocrinology, section Translational Endocrinology Jun 9;12:645881. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2021.645881.
Authors: Wesam F Farrash, Bethan E Phillips, Steven Britton, Nathan Qi, Lauren Koch, Daniel Wilkinson, Ken Smith, Philip J Atherton
In collaboration with The MRC-Arthritis Research UK Centre for Integrated research into Musculoskeletal Ageing (CIMA) at the University of Nottingham.
 
Manuscript title: Interactive effects of aging and aerobic capacity on energy metabolism-related metabolites of serum, skeletal muscle, and white adipose tissue.
Journal: Geroscience Jun 5. doi: 10.1007/s11357-021-00387-
Authors: Haihui Zhuang, Sira Karvinen, Timo Törmakangas, Xiaobo Zhang, Xiaowei Ojanen, Vidya Velagapudi, Markku Alen, Steven L. Britton, Lauren G. Koch, Heikki Kainulainen, Shulin Cheng, Petri Wiklund.
In collaboration with University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.

Manuscript title: Differential weight loss with intermittent fasting or daily calorie restriction in low- and high-fitness phenotypes.
Journal: Exp Physiol. 2021 2021 Jun 4. doi: 10.1113/EP089434.
Authors: Davis AE, Smyers ME, Beltz L, Mehta DM, Britton SL, Koch LG, Novak CM
In collaboration with Kent State University.

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Dr. Bina Joe has been elected as a Board Member of the Greater Toledo Community Foundation. Click on the link for more information.https://www.toledocf.org/who-we-are/leadership-team/

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Congratulations to Drs. Piu Saha and Tao Yang for securing the highly competitive Career Development Grants from the American Heart Association!

Dr. Tao Yang’s grant scored a 1.6 percentile and Dr. Saha’s 8 percentile, both in their first attempts. We are proud of their exceptional nationally competitive performance and success.

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It is notable that our newest faculty member, Dr. Jasenka Zubcevic has been invited for federal government grant review by the Integrative Vascular Physiology and Pathology study section of the NIH council for scientific review.
Congratulations Dr. Zubcevic!

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Dr. Bina Joe was invited to participate in the NHLBI/NIH workshop entitled “Toward Precision Medicine: Circadian Rhythm of Blood Pressure and Chronotherapy for Hypertension,” which will be held  October 27 - 29, 2021. This will be a three half-day virtual workshop (12 pm – 4 pm EST). 

The purpose of the workshop is to review the state of the current science and evidence for links between circadian rhythms in blood pressure regulation and chronotherapy for hypertension and identify research gaps and opportunities which are inhibiting progress in understanding these important connections. It is expected that the workshop participants will be involved in writing/contributing to an Executive Summary of the workshop, which will be published in a major journal in the field. 

There will be six sessions in this workshop: (1) Phenotypic Manifestations of Circadian Rhythm of Blood Pressure, (2) Abnormal Circadian Rhythm of Blood Pressure, Target Organ Damage, and Disease, (3) Mechanisms Influencing Circadian Rhythm of Blood Pressure, (4) Additional Factors Associated with Circadian Rhythm of Blood Pressure, (5) Interventions, and (6) Breakout Sessions and Summary.

She was also invited to participate as a speaker for the forth session entitled “Additional Factors Associated with Circadian Rhythm of Blood Pressure” on Oct 28 (Thurs) and speak on the tentative topic of ‘Animal: Microbiome’. 

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A hearty congratulations to all of our students that graduated and won several awards! Amit, Emily, Ishan, Jonnelle, Moiz, Sarah and Sudipta: we are so proud of you! Jonnelle was selected to be the keynote speaker for the Multicultural Graduation Ceremony on May 6, 2021.

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 Congratulations to Dr. Xi Cheng! He has been appointed as an Associate Editor of Physiological Genomics. His term begins July 1st.

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A warm welcome to Dr. Jasenka Zubcevic! She joins us from the University of Florida with multiple NIH grants and a rich expertise in electrophysiology. Her research focuses on  Cardiovascular pathophysiology, autonomic neuroscience, regulation of blood pressure in health and hypertension, immune system in hypertension, gut dysbiosis and host-microbiota interaction in health and hypertension. We are excited for her to join our team!

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Congratulations to Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar!  He was honored at a recent event by  President Postel for Scholarly Productivity in Publications. Well, done!

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Recently Dr. Jennifer Hill gave a talk titled, "Insulin, Fertility and the Brain" at University of Iowa, Carver College of Iowa, in the Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology. 

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 Drs. Lauren Koch, Matam Vijay-Kumar and Bina Joe were honored during an awards ceremony with President Gregory Postel during a reception for faculty who have demonstrated exceptional success in attracting external support for research and scholarship over the past three years.

Congratulations to Dr. Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau! She is the newest editorial board member of the APS's Physiological Reviews Early Career Editorial Board.

She also has been invited to speak in June for the Department of Physiology & Biophysics at the University of Mississippi Medical Center seminar series: “Microbiota are critical for vascular physiology".

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Congratulations to Dr. Lauren G. Koch! She recently had a paper published in  International Journal of Molecular Sciences in a special issue Molecular Mechanisms of Cerebrovascular Diseases (2021 Apr 26;22(9):4489) with collaborators at the University of Michigan Department of Neurosurgery.

Title: “Hydrocephalus Following Experimental Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in Rats with Different Aerobic Capacity.”  

Yasunori Toyota  1 , Hajime Shishido  1 , Fenghui Ye  1 , Lauren G Koch  2 , Steven L Britton  3 , Hugh J L Garton  1 , Richard F Keep  1 , Guohua Xi  1 , Ya Hua  1

Abstract:
Low aerobic capacity is considered to be a risk factor for stroke, while the mechanisms underlying the phenomenon are still unclear. The current study looked into the impacts of different aerobic capacities on early brain injury in a subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) model using rats bred for high and low aerobic capacity (high-capacity runners, HCR; low-capacity runners, LCR). SAH was modeled with endovascular perforation in HCR and LCR rats. Twenty-four hours after SAH, the rats underwent behavioral testing and MRI, and were then euthanized. The brains were used to investigate ventricular wall damage, blood-brain barrier breakdown, oxidative stress, and hemoglobin scavenging. The LCR rats had worse SAH grades (p < 0.01), ventricular dilatation (p < 0.01), ventricular wall damage (p < 0.01), and behavioral scores (p < 0.01). The periventricular expression of HO-1 and CD163 was significantly increased in LCR rats (p < 0.01 each). CD163-positive cells were co-localized with HO-1-positive cells. The LCR rats had greater early brain injuries than HCR rats. The LCR rats had more serious SAH and extensive ventricular wall damage that evolved more frequently into hydrocephalus. This may reflect changes in iron handling and neuroinflammation.

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Dr. Lauren Gerard Koch’s research and the low (LCR) and high (HCR) exercise capacity rats  featured  research news from the National Institute on Aging at NIH in article titled, “Mitochondrial health is linked to longer life in female rats with high exercise capacity.”

https://www.nia.nih.gov/news/mitochondrial-health-linked-longer-life-female-rats-high-exercise-capacity?utm_source=nia-eblast&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=news-20210426

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Next month, Dr. Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau has been invited to present at the Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC) seminar series: "Microbiota are critical for vascular physiology". University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA.

They have also invited her to give the 2021 Vascular Biology Lecture: “Vascular Sepsis”. The Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center (CVRC). University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, VA.

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A hearty congratulations to Phys/Pharm joint faculty member, Dr. Beata Lecka-Czernik! She was selected to receive an Outstanding Faculty Research and Scholarship Award due to her "highly acclaimed research in diabetic bone disease and osteoporosis."  The committee said that her work in bone physiology and function, and in particular her discoveries about the relation between thiazolidinediones and bone loss, have contributed to her success as a scholar at the University of Toledo.

The Outstanding Faculty Research and Scholarship Award recipients receive a monetary prize and a certificate of recognition. Well done!

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Faculty members from the department are to be honored by President Gregory Postel, Provost Karen Bjorkman and Vice President of Research Frank Calzonetti at an upcoming reception.  This is to recognize those who have demonstrated exceptional success in attracting external support for research and scholarship over the past three years. This is a select group of faculty members who have brought in significant external funding during this period.

Congratulations to Dr. Lauren Koch, Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar and Dr. Bina Joe!
 
President Postel is also honoring faculty at a separate event for their Scholarly Productivity in Publications. Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar is being honored at this event. So, double congratulations to Dr. Vijay-Kumar!

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Sachin Aryal, Leah Stevenson and  Ishan Manandhar from the AI/Machine Learning Lab took part in the Association of Bioinformaticists and Computational Biologist (ABCB)'s Bioinformatics Hackathon. It was organized by CDRL lab in Neuroscience Department at UT from April14-16 , 2021. They represented one of 4 teams that competed, two of which were from other Universities. Results are still awaited.

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Dr. Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau was selected for the APS CV Section awards committee. Her term begins 5/1/21 and ends 4/30/2024. Congratulations!

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Congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe and team for recently accepted publications:

• Denisha Spires, Oleg Palygin, Vladislav Levchenko, Elena Isaeva, Christine A. Klemens, Sherif Khedr, Oksana Nikolaienko, Alison J. Kriegel, Xi Cheng, Jiyoun Yeo, Bina Joe  manuscript "Sexual dimorphism in the progression of type 2 diabetic kidney disease in T2DN rats.  Physiological Genomics

Zubcevic J and Joe B. "Ain't no sunshine when they're gone: Rendering the gut microbiota 'homeless' by cecectomy reveals their true thermogenic potential". FUNCTION 

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Congratulations to Dr. Koch and team for recently accepted publications:

 

• "Skeletal Muscle Heme Oxygenase-1 Activity Regulates Aerobic Capacity” at Cell Reports to be published April 20. Access at  Cell Reports homepage and Science Direct. Paper is a collaborative study with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School.
• “Rats with elevated genetic risk for metabolic syndrome exhibit cognitive deficiencies when young” published Online ahead of print April 7 in Physiology & Behavior. Access at  Science Direct.  Paper is a collaborative study with Univ of Jyvaskyla, Finland.

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Congratulations to Dr. Jasenka Zubcevic and Dr. Tao Yang! Their work is recognized as a top cited article by Acta Physiologica. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/apha.13256?elq_mid=50542&elq_cid=29710775&elqCampaignId=32401&utm_campaign=32401&utm_source=eloquaEmail&utm_medium=email&utm_content=EM1_Batch1_Author_FY21_Q4_RM-PORT__Top%20Cited%20Author%20Campaign_R534M2R&elqTrack=true

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Congratulations to Dr. Jennifer Hill and team! Their lab's latest review article has been released as part of a Special Issue by the Journal of Neuroendocrinology. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jne.12930

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Congratulations to Anish Gupta! Anish has been selected by 'Ohio Academy of Science' for oral presentations at 'National OJSHS'.  He is one of the six statewide finalists to go to the national competition.  His work was also selected for the 'Regeneration International & Engineering Fair', which international competition involves 70 countries.  His achievements were showcased in a Blade article published on April 10th.  Anish is a Northview High School student in Dr. Chakravarti's lab.

https://www.toledoblade.com/local/education/2021/04/10/sylvania-students-finalists-for-international-science-fair/stories/20210407117

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Congratulations to Dr. Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau! She has been selected as a Standing Member for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Integrative Vascular Physiology and Pathology (IVPP) Study Section for 6 years.

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Congratulations to Dr. Xi Cheng!  His proposal titled, "Identification and Characterization of Risk Factors for Cardio-renal Anemia Syndrome', was funded through the Oracle for Research in the amount of $50,000 for one year.

Congratulations again to Dr. Xi Cheng! His grant pre-proposal entitled, "A Novel Artificial Intelligence Strategy Using Wild Fish Fecal Microbiota to Detect Environmental Stress in Lake Erie", was invited for submission of a full proposal

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Congratulations to Dr. Beng San Yeoh, a postdoctoral to faculty transition fellow in Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar’s laboratory. His grant application to the AHA titled ‘Interplay between gut microbiota and bile acids in renal and vascular pathophysiology’ was selected for postdoctoral grant funding awarded by the AHA from April 1, 2021 to 2023.  This was his first attempt. Congratulations Beng!

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 We are pleased to announce that this review article developed during last summer as a collaborative work between our Department and the Department of Medical Education was finally accepted for publication last week in the journal ‘Current Hypertension Reports’. Congratulations to Rachel for her excellent team work.

Impact of Nutritional Epigenetics in Essential Hypertension: Targeting microRNAs in the Gut-Liver Axis
Rachel M. Golonka1, Johnathan Kawika Cooper2,#, Rochell Issa2,#, Pratyush Pavan Devarasetty2,#, Veda Gokula2, Joshua Busken2, Jasenka Zubcevic1, 3, Jennifer Hill1, Matam Vijay-Kumar1, Bindu Menon4,*, Bina Joe1,*
1 Microbiome Consortium, Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, United States
2 The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, United States
3 Department of Physiological Sciences and Center for Environmental and Human Toxicology, University of Florida Genetics Institute, Interdisciplinary Program in Biomedical Sciences Neuroscience, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA.
4 Department of Medical Education, The University of Toledo College of Medicine, Toledo, OH, United States
 
# Equally contributed authors

Abstract
Purpose of Review To review the current knowledge on interactions between dietary factors and microRNAs (miRNAs) in essential hypertension (EH) pathogenesis.
Recent Findings There exists an integration of maintenance signals generated by genetic, epigenetic, immune, and environmental (e.g., dietary) factors that work to sustain balance in the gut-liver axis. It is well-established that an imbalance in this complex, intertwined system substantially increases the risk for EH. As such, pertinent research has been taken to decipher how each signal operates in isolation and together in EH progression. Recent literature indicates that both macro- and micronutrients interrupt regulatory miRNA expressions and thus, alter multiple cellular processes that contribute to EH and its comorbidities. We highlight how carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, salt, and potassium modify miRNA signatures during EH. The disruption in miRNA expression can negatively impact communication systems such as over activating the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, modulating the vascular smooth muscle cell phenotype, and promoting angiogenesis to favor EH. We also delineate the prognostic value of miRNAs in EH and discuss the pros and cons of surgical vs dietary prophylactic approaches in EH prevention.
Summary We propose that dietary-dependent perturbation of the miRNA profile is one mechanism within the gut-liver axis that dictates EH development.
Keywords: Gut Microbiome; Vasculature; Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System; Hyperlipidemia; Bariatric Surgery

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A shout out to all our students who did an excellent job at this year's GRF.  Congratulations to all the finalists, Mitchell, Rachel and Jonnelle, all of whom went on to win awards.   Here are the details: 

GRF 2021 Poster Session Finalists and Winners

 Fathima Dhilhani Mohammed Faleel

Sukanya Chakravarty

Smrithi Sugumaran Menon (Second Place)

Sara Moore (Third Place)

Mitchell Harberson  Trainee of Dr. Jennifer W. Hill

Rachel Golonka (First Place) Trainee of Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar

 

 

GRF 2021 Oral Session Finalists and Winners

 Joshua Breidenbach (First Place Tie)

Jonnelle Edwards (Second Place) Trainee of Dr. Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau

Kathryn Becker (First Place Tie)

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 A big thank you to the qualifying round judges, the challengers’ advisors, and a special thank you to Dr. Michael Toland for providing additional time and space for practice and feedback to the challengers.
 
Listed in alphabetical order by first name are the 8 finalists for the 4th Annual 3MT® Competition at The University of Toledo, sponsored by the College of Graduate Studies:

 

• Afnan M. Alrshed—Judith Herb College of Education
• Faculty Advisor: Dr. Vicki Dagostino-Kalniz
• Briana Maktabi—College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
• Faculty Advisor: Dr. Gabriella Baki
• Brittany Jones—College of Arts and Letters
• Faculty Advisor: Drs. Sujatta Shetty and Neil Reid
• Holly Eichner—Judith Herb College of Education
• Faculty Advisor: Dr. Revathy Kumar
• Parul Baranwal—College of Engineering
• Faculty Advisor: Dr. Youngwoo Seo
• Sachin Aryal—College of Medicine and Life Sciences
• Faculty Advisor: Dr. Bina Joe
• Sarah Long—Judith Herb College of Education
• Faculty Advisor: Dr. Revathy Kumar
• Timothy DeGriselles—College of Arts and Letters
• Faculty Advisor: Dr. John Sarnecki

Dr. Ritu Chakravarti, Assistant Professor and MOME Track Director was recently invited to speak at the University of Puerto Rico-Cajey's virtual seminar on February 25th. Her talk was titled, "Discovering Novel Functions of 14-3-3z in Autoimmunity."

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A large collection of articles from our department were featured by the editors of Hypertension on the topic of Gut Microbiome. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.121.16874 

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Congratulations to Jonnelle Edwards, trainee of Dr. Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau! She was
selected for an oral presentation for the UT Graduate Research Forum 2021. Well done!

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Congrats to Dr. Cameron McCarthy and Team for their new publication!

Innate Immune Cells and Hypertension: Neutrophils and Neutrophil
Extracellular Traps (NETs)

Authors
Cameron G McCarthy, Piu Saha,, Rachel M Golonka, Camilla F Wenceslau, Bina Joe,
Matam Vijay-Kumar

Abstract

Uncontrolled immune system activation amplifies end-organ injury in hypertension. Nonetheless, the
exact mechanisms initiating this exacerbated inflammatory response, thereby
contributing to further increases in blood pressure (BP), are still being
revealed. While participation of lymphoid-derived immune cells has been well
described in the hypertension literature, the mechanisms by which myeloid-derived
innate immune cells contribute to T cell activation, and subsequent BP
elevation, remains an active area of investigation. In this article, we
critically analyze the literature to understand how monocytes, macrophages,
dendritic cells, and polymorphonuclear leukocytes, including mast cells,
eosinophils, basophils, and neutrophils, contribute to hypertension and
hypertension-associated end-organ injury. The most abundant leukocytes,
neutrophils, are indisputably increased in hypertension. However, it is unknown
how (and why) they switch from critical first responders of the innate immune
system, and homeostatic regulators of BP, to tissue-damaging, pro-hypertensive
mediators. We propose that myeloperoxidase-derived pro-oxidants, neutrophil
elastase, neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs), and interactions with other
innate and adaptive immune cells are novel mechanisms that could contribute to
the inflammatory cascade in hypertension. We further posit that the gut
microbiota serves as a set point for neutropoiesis and their function. Finally,
given that hypertension appears to be a key risk factor for morbidity and
mortality in COVID-19 patients, we put forth evidence that neutrophils and NETs
cause cardiovascular injury post-coronavirus infection, and thus may be
proposed as an intriguing therapeutic target for high-risk individuals.

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Congratulations to Dr. Ritu Chakravarti for securing funding through the Ohio Department of Health for COVID-19 research! Dr. Chakravarti and her collaborators (Dr. Saurabh Chattopadhyay, Dr. Daewook Kang, and Dr. Travis Taylor) will lead a significant effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 at The University of Toledo. This project is in collaboration with the Ohio Department of Health, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio EPA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA),  Ohio Water Resources Center (Ohio WRC) at The Ohio State University. Their will team will monitor SARS CoV-2 RNA levels in wastewater collected at various parts of the University of Toledo Campus. The results will guide UT’s policy for the students’ COVID-19 testing.

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Dr. Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau, who is already a member of the Editorial Board of AJP-Heart and Circulatory Physiology has been elevated to the status of a Consulting Editor.   Congratulations!

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A hearty congratulations to  Sachin Aryal and Ishan Manandhar! Their abstracts have been accepted for oral presentation during the UToledo Graduate Research Forum 2021. They are both trainees of Dr. Bina Joe and Dr. Xi Cheng. 

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Well done!Congratulations to the Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Machine Learning (ML) Lab lead by Dr. Xi Cheng! Their review work on the potential application of AI & ML to COVID-19 research hit a record from among all the journals of the American Physiological Society as  one of the Top 5 Most Read Articles list in 2020. This article was co-authored by 3 of our bioinformatics Masters students, Dr. Bina Joe and Dr. Patricia Munroe, who is a Professor at the Queen Mary University in London, UK, and holds an Adjunct Professor position at the University of Toledo. Well Done Team AI!

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Congratulations to Dr. Lauren Koch for a new manuscript published in Experimental Physiology titled: “Low responders to endurance training exhibit impaired hypertrophy and divergent biological process responses in rat skeletal muscle.”

Authors:
Daniel West, Thomas M Doering, Jamie-Lee M Thompson, Boris Patrick Budiono, Sarah Lessard, Lauren G Koch, Steven L Britton, Roland Steck, Nuala M Byrne, Matthew A Brown, Jonathan Peake, Kevin J Ashton, and Vernon G Coffey
The study was done in collaboration with researchers from Bond University and other institutions in Australia.

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Ishan Manandhar, a trainee in the Joe lab, was selected for oral presentation at Virtual Experimental Biology 2021! The title of his abstract is, " Machine Learning of Gut Microbiome Composition for Diagnostic Classification of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases" and will be presented during the session: Translational Physiology Showcase - Pathophysiological Response to External stressors, Covid-19, Cancer therapy and beyond.

Congratulations, Ishan!

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Three of our MOME track students were selected to receive Graduate Student Association Research Awards for the academic year 2020-21.

Hearty Congratulations to: 
Rachel Golonka from Dr. Matam Vijay Kumar's Lab
Moiz Hasan from Dr. Lauren Koch's Lab and
Sudipta Baroi from Dr. Beata Lecka-Czernik's Lab

Well done, all of you!

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Congratulations to Jonnelle Edwards!  Jonnelle's first-authored manuscript was accepted for publication on January 22, 2021.   Edwards JM, Roy S, Galla S, Tomcho J, Bearss N, Waigi E, Mell B, Cheng X, Saha P, Vijay-Kumar M, McCarthy CG, Joe B, & Wenceslau CF. Formyl Peptide Receptor-1 Activation Promotes Premature, Spontaneous Hypertension in Dahl Salt Sensitive Rats. Hypertension. Accepted 2021 Jan 22.

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Congratulations to Sachin Aryal and Ishan Manandhar! Sachin and Ishan are trainees from the Joe lab and have been accepted for oral presentations at the 52nd Annual Midwest Student Biomedical Research Forum (MSBRF). The Forum will be held virtually on Saturday, February 27, 2021.

Well done, Sachin and Ishan!

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Dr. Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau and Dr. Cameron McCarthy were both invited to join the AJP-Heart and Circulatory Physiology Editorial Board. This appointment to the Editorial Board will be for one year, renewable annually. 

Editorial Board members are selected based on scientific expertise, commitment as reviewers for AJP-Heart and Circ, and recognized stature in the field.

Congratulations!

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Dr. Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau has  received notice of award on a brand new R01 grant! Congratulations! She has been awarded funding by the NHLBI for her R01 submission titled, "Formyl peptide receptor activation induces vascular plasticity and remodeling in hypertension."  The project period is 1-15-2021 through 12-31-2025.

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Dr. Matam Vijay Kumar was invited to give a plenary talk during the ASIOA meeting held last week. The talk was titled, "Gut Microbiota in Health and Disease: A Documentary on Toll-like Receptor 5 deficient mice." It is notable that Vijay was a speaker in the same session as another prominent researcher in immunology, Dr. Rafi Ahmad from Emory University.

Dr. Piu Saha from Dr. Vijay Kumar's lab also presented during the Microbiology & Infectious Diseases Session of the ASIOA meeting.

Her presentation was titled, "Enterobactin, a bacterial siderophoreinduces pro-inflammatorysignature in intestinal epithelial cells in part via formylpeptide receptor" and she placed 2nd for Oral Presentation in the Post-doctoral Fellow Category. Well done!

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Congrats to the Machine Learning Lab and their most recent manuscript accepted to the American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology!

Title: Gut microbiome-based supervised machine learning for clinical diagnosis of inflammatory bowel diseases. 
                     

Authors: Ishan Manandhar, Ahmad Alimadadi, Sachin Aryal, Patricia B. Munroe, Bina Joe, and Xi Cheng

Abstract
Despite the availability of various diagnostic tests for inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), misdiagnosis of IBD occurs frequently, and thus there is a clinical need to further improve the diagnosis of IBD. As gut dysbiosis is reported in IBD patients, we hypothesized that supervised machine learning (ML) could be used to analyze gut microbiome data for predictive diagnostics of IBD. To test our hypothesis, fecal 16S metagenomic data of 729 IBD and 700 non-IBD subjects from the American Gut Project were analyzed using five different ML algorithms. Fifty differential bacterial taxa were identified (LEfSe: LDA > 3) between the IBD and non-IBD groups, and ML classifications trained with these taxonomic features using random forest (RF) achieved a testing AUC of ~0.80. Next, we tested if operational taxonomic units (OTUs), instead of bacterial taxa, could be used as ML features for diagnostic classification of IBD. Top 500 high-variance OTUs were used for ML training and an improved testing AUC of ~0.82 (RF) was achieved. Lastly, we tested if supervised ML could be used for differentiating Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). Using 331 CD and 141 UC samples, 117 differential bacterial taxa (LEfSe: LDA > 3) were identified, and the RF model trained with differential taxonomic features or high-variance OTU features achieved a testing AUC > 0.90. In summary, our study demonstrates the promising potential of artificial intelligence via supervised ML modeling for predictive diagnostics of IBD using gut microbiome data.

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Congrats to the 2020 Chair’s Awards for excellence in leadership, mentoring and scholarship:
 
Post-Doctoral TLC Leadership Award - Dr. Cameron McCarthy
Post-Doctoral Mentoring Leadership Award - Dr. Xi Cheng
Pre-Doctoral Leadership Award – Ms. Rachel Golonka
1st Place Scholarly Excellence - Dr. Piu Saha
2nd Place (shared)Scholarly Excellence - Dr. Saroj Chakraborty
2nd Place (shared) Scholarly Excellence – Mr. Sachin Aryal

These monetary awards were made possible by generous donations of Alkali Scientific.

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Congratulations to Dr. Lauren Gerard Koch and NIH intramural collaborators from the National Institute on Aging, Laboratory of Cardiovascular Science and Translational Gerontology Branch, for their article “Mitochondrial health is enhanced in rats with higher vs. lower intrinsic exercise capacity and extended lifespan” published in npj Aging and Mechanisms of Disease on 1/4/2021.
 
Miguel A. Aon, Sonia Cortassa, Magdalena Juhaszova, José A. González-Reyes, Miguel Calvo-Rubio, José M. Villalba, Andrew D. Lachance, Bruce D. Ziman, Sarah J. Mitchell, Kelsey N. Murt, Jessie E. C. Axsom, Irene Alfaras, Steven L. Britton, Lauren G. Koch, Rafael de Cabo, Edward G. Lakatta and Steven J. Sollott.
 
Abstract: The intrinsic aerobic capacity of an organism is thought to play a role in aging and longevity. Maximal respiratory rate capacity, a metabolic performance measure, is one of the best predictors of cardiovascular- and all-cause mortality. Rats selectively bred for high-(HCR) vs. low-(LCR) intrinsic running-endurance capacity have up to 31% longer lifespan. We found that positive changes in indices of mitochondrial health in cardiomyocytes (respiratory reserve, maximal respiratory capacity, resistance to mitochondrial permeability transition, autophagy/mitophagy, and higher lipids-over-glucose utilization) are uniformly associated with the extended longevity in HCR vs. LCR female rats. Cross-sectional heart metabolomics revealed pathways from lipid metabolism in the heart, which were significantly enriched by a select group of strain-dependent metabolites, consistent with enhanced lipids utilization by HCR cardiomyocytes. Heart–liver–serum metabolomics further revealed shunting of lipidic substrates between the liver and heart via serum during aging. Thus, mitochondrial health in cardiomyocytes is associated with extended longevity in rats with higher intrinsic exercise capacity and, probably, these findings can be translated to other populations as predictors of outcomes of health and survival.

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A Perspective Article was written about Dr Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau's Function paper by Dr. Austin Robinson, from Auburn University.
View the article here: https://academic.oup.com/function/advance-article/doi/10.1093/function/zqaa039/6053790

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 Congratulations to Dr. Tao Yang, Dr. Saroj Chakraborty and graduate students, Ms. Mandal and Ms. Mei from the Joe Lab! Their latest invited review was accepted in Comprehensive Physiology, which is an exclusively invited review journal of the American Heart Association.

Title: "Microbiota and metabolites as factors influencing blood pressure regulation."

Authors: Yang, T, Chakraborty, S, Mandal, J, Mei, X, Joe, B

Abstract: The study of microbes has rapidly expanded in recent years due to a surge in our understanding that humans host a plethora of commensal microbes, which reside in their bodies and depending upon their composition, contribute to either normal physiology or pathophysiology. This article provides a general foundation for learning about host-commensal microbial interactions as an emerging area of research. The article is divided into two sections. The first section is dedicated to introducing commensal microbiota and its known effects on the host. The second section is on metabolites, which are biochemicals that the host and the microbes use for bi-directional communication with each other. Together, the sections review what is known about how microbes interact with the host to impact cardiovascular physiology, especially blood pressure regulation.

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Dr. Stephanie Watts from the Michigan State University, who is the 2020 Harriet Dustan Awardee, wrote an article associated with her award which is accepted and scheduled for publication in the Feb 2021 issue of Hypertension. In this article she showcased someof her predecessors of this award from the AHA, for their advice to the next generation of hypertension researchers.
 
Title: "Connecting generations of scientists in the Council on
Hypertension through Harriet Dustan."

Authors: Stephanie W.Watts, Barbara Alexander, ChrisBaylis, Nancy Brown, Lisa Cassis, Kate Denton, Bina Joe, Lilach Lerman, Suzanne Oparil, Jane Reckelhoff, Kathryn Sandberg and Rhian M. Touyz.

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Congratulations to Dr. Lauren G. Koch and her collaborator,  Dr. Colleen Novak, from Kent State University! They published a paper in Physiology & Behavior.

Title:  “Enhanced weight and fat loss from long-term intermittent fasting in obesity-prone, low-fitness rats”. 

Physiol Behav. 2020 Dec 4:113280. doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2020.113280. Online ahead of print.

Authors:  Smyers ME, Koch LG, Britton SL, Wagner JG, Novak CM.

Highlights:

• Alternate-day fasting induced weight and fat loss in female rats
• Obesity-prone, low-aerobic-fitness rats lost weight & fat with intermittent fasting
• Intermittent fasting suppressed physical activity more in lean, high-fitness rats
• Activity fluctuated between fed and fasted days, especially in aerobically fit rats
• The weight-loss effects of intermittent fasting are modulated by aerobic capacity

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Congratulations to Ishan Manandhar from the Joe lab! His abstract was selected for a poster presentation at the American Society for Human Genetics (ASHG) Virtual Meeting 2020 held in October. The title of his abstract is, "Application of Artificial Intelligence for Microbiome-Based Detection of Inflammatory Bowel Disease."

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Vaish Aradhyula, medical student and trainee of Dr. Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau,  received a American Physiological Society Poster Award at the Integrative Physiology of Exercise Meeting which took place during the week of November 9-13, on her abstract titled “Female Rats Selected for High Intrinsic Aerobic Capacity Switch Inflammatory Cascade to Maintain Vascular Physiology.” Authors on the research include Dr. Cameron G. McCarthy, Emily Waigi, Nicole R. Bearss, Jonnelle Edwards, Dr. Bina Joe, Dr. Lauren G. Koch, and Dr. Camilla F. Wenceslau. The award was chosen from pre- and post-doctoral presenters, and will include a certificate of recognition and cash prize.

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Shaunak Roy, a medical student and trainee of Dr. Camillia Ferreira Wenceslau, recently had a manuscript accepted for publication in the journal Function.

Title: Intrinsic exercise capacity and mitochondrial DNA lead to opposing vascular-associated risks. https://academic.oup.com/functi
on/advance-article/doi/10.1093/function/zqaa029/5952679#.X6GoE1nflC8.

The American Physiological Society also wrote a press release about the research which can be found here: https://www.newswise.com/articles/intrinsic-exercise-capacity-and-mitochondrial-dna-lead-to-opposing-vascular-associated-risks.

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Congratulations to a Physiology and Pharmacology team effort of graduate student, post-docs and faculty co-authors on publishing a Review paper!

Title:  “SARS-CoV-2, ACE2 expression, and systemic organ invasion” in the journal Physiological Genomics (Physiol Genomics. 2020 Dec 4. doi: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00087.2020. Online ahead of print.

Authors:  Usman M Ashraf, Ahmed A Abokor, Jonnelle M Edwards, Emily W Waigi, Rachel S Royfman, Syed Abdul-Moiz Hasan, Kathryn B Smedlund, Ana Maria Gregio Hardy, Ritu Chakravarti, and Lauren G Koch

Abstract: A novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, has created a global pandemic in 2020, posing an enormous challenge to healthcare systems and affected communities. COVID-19 is caused by Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)-CoronaVirus-2 (CoV-2) that manifests as bronchitis, pneumonia, or a severe respiratory illness. SARS-CoV-2 infects human cells via binding a "spike" protein on its surface to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) within the host. ACE2 is crucial for maintaining tissue homeostasis and negatively regulates the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system (RAAS) in the humans. The RAAS is paramount for normal function in multiple organ systems including the lungs, heart, kidney, and vasculature. Given that SARS-CoV-2 internalizes via ACE2, the resultant disruption in ACE2 expression can lead to altered tissue function and exacerbate chronic diseases. The widespread distribution and expression of ACE2 across multiple organs is critical to our understanding of the varied clinical outcomes of COVID-19. This perspective review based on the current literature was prompted to show how disruption of ACE2 by SARS-CoV-2 can affect different organ systems.

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Congratulations to Dr. Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau! She has been invited as a reviewer on the AHA-Hypertension Committee. This committee is responsible for the review of Postdoctoral and Predoctoral Fellowship applications in the Hypertension area.

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Congratulations to Dr. Saroj Chakraborty! He successfully defended his dissertation, December 1, 2020.

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Congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe, she is now an International Society of Hypertension Fellow (ISHF)!

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Congratulations to Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar and his trainee, Rachel Golonka on the publication of their book chapter!

Title: Atypical immunometabolism and metabolic reprogramming in liver cancer: Deciphering the role of gut microbiome
Authors: Rachel M. Golonka, Matam Vijay-Kumar
Journal: Advances in Cancer Research

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Congratulations to Dr. Tao Yang on his recent publications!

Title: Pulmonary arterial hypertension-associated changes in gut pathology and microbiota.
Authors: Sharma RK, Oliveira AC, Yang T, Kim S, Zubcevic J, Aquino V, Lobaton GO, Goel R, Richards EM, Raizada MK. 
Journal: ERJ Open Res. 

Title: Probiotic Bifidobacterium breve prevents DOCA-salt hypertension. 
Authors: Robles-Vera I, de la Visitación N, Toral M, Sánchez M, Romero M, Gómez-Guzmán M, Yang T, Izquierdo-García JL, Guerra-Hernández E, Ruiz-Cabello J, Raizada MK, Pérez-Vizcaíno F, Jiménez R, Duarte J. 
Journal: FASEB J.

Title: Antihypertensive effects of exercise involve reshaping of gut microbiota and improvement of gut-brain axis in spontaneously hypertensive rat.
Authors: Wen-Jie Xia, Meng-Lu Xu, Xiao-Jing Yu, Meng-Meng Du, Xu-Hui Li, Tao Yang, Lu Li, Ying Li, Kai B. Kang, Qing Su, Jia-Xi Xu, Xiao-Lian Shi, Xiao-Min Wang, Hong-Bao Li, Yu-Ming Kang.
Journal: Gut Microbes.

Congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe, she is now an International Society of Hypertension Fellow (ISHF)!

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Congratulations to Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar and his trainee, Rachel Golonka on the publication of their book chapter!

Title: Atypical immunometabolism and metabolic reprogramming in liver cancer: Deciphering the role of gut microbiome
Authors: Rachel M. Golonka, Matam Vijay-Kumar
Journal: Advances in Cancer Research

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Congratulations to Dr. Tao Yang on his recent publications!

Title: Pulmonary arterial hypertension-associated changes in gut pathology and microbiota.
Authors: Sharma RK, Oliveira AC, Yang T, Kim S, Zubcevic J, Aquino V, Lobaton GO, Goel R, Richards EM, Raizada MK. 
Journal: ERJ Open Res. 

Title: Probiotic Bifidobacterium breve prevents DOCA-salt hypertension. 
Authors: Robles-Vera I, de la Visitación N, Toral M, Sánchez M, Romero M, Gómez-Guzmán M, Yang T, Izquierdo-García JL, Guerra-Hernández E, Ruiz-Cabello J, Raizada MK, Pérez-Vizcaíno F, Jiménez R, Duarte J. 
Journal: FASEB J.

Title: Antihypertensive effects of exercise involve reshaping of gut microbiota and improvement of gut-brain axis in spontaneously hypertensive rat.
Authors: Wen-Jie Xia, Meng-Lu Xu, Xiao-Jing Yu, Meng-Meng Du, Xu-Hui Li, Tao Yang, Lu Li, Ying Li, Kai B. Kang, Qing Su, Jia-Xi Xu, Xiao-Lian Shi, Xiao-Min Wang, Hong-Bao Li, Yu-Ming Kang.
Journal: Gut Microbes.

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Congratulations to Rachel Golonka from Dr. Matam Vijay Kumar's lab for her article with a special video feature published in AJP – Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology (AJP-GIL)! The video link is below. It is a testimony to the creativity of our budding researchers.

Authors:
Rachel M Golonka , Beng San Yeoh , Yaqi Li , Piu Saha , Ahmed A Abokor , Xi Cheng , Xia Xiao , Darshan Shimoga Chandrashekar , Sooryanarayana Varambally, David J Gonzalez , A Catharine Ross , Matam Vijay-Kumar

Video Abstract

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Congratulations to Dr. Piu Saha from Dr. Matam Vijay Kumar's lab on her recently accepted first authored a paper to be published in the journal, Gut Microbes!

Authors: Piu Saha, Beng San Yeoh, Xia Xiao, Rachel M. Golonka, Ahmed A. Abokor, Camilla F. Wenceslau, Yatrik M. Shah, Bina Joe and Matam Vijay-Kumar

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Congratulations to Emily Waigi! She is a trainee of Dr. Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau and passed her Master's qualifying exam. Well done!

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Congratulations to Dr. Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau's trainee, Jonnelle Edwards! Her research article was published today in The Blade. 

See Her Article Here

 

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Congratulations to Dr. Cameron McCarthy and team for their publication being accepted to Comprehensive Physiology! "Innate immune cells and hypertension: Neutrophils and neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs)"

Authors
Cameron G. McCarthy, Piu Saha, Rachel M. Golonka, Camilla F. Wenceslau, Bina Joe, & Matam Vijay-Kumar

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Congratulations to Dr. Lauren Koch and team! Their publication was published in PLOS ONE in October. “Differences in intrinsic aerobic capacity alters sensitivity to ischemia-reperfusion injury but not cardioprotective capacity by ischemic preconditioning in rats.”

Authors
Marie Vognstoft Hjortbak ,Thomas Skjærlund Grønnebæk,Nichlas Riise Jespersen,Thomas Ravn Lassen,Jacob Marthinsen Seefeldt,Pernille Tilma Tonnesen,Rebekka Vibjerg Jensen,Lauren Gerard Koch,Steven L. Britton,Michael Pedersen,Niels Jessen,Hans Erik Bøtker

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Congratulations to Dr. Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau and team! Their manuscript, "Intrinsic exercise capacity and mitochondrial DNA lead to opposing vascular-associated  risks" has been accepted for publication in FUNCTION.

Authors
Shaunak Roy, Jonnelle M Edwards, Jeremy C Tomcho, Zachary Schreckenberger, Nicole  R Bearss, Youjie Zhang, Eric E Morgan, Xi Cheng, Adam C Spegele, Matam Vijay-5 Kumar, Cameron G McCarthy, Lauren G Koch, Bina Joe and Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau

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Last week, Women & Philanthropy held a virtual webinar presentation regarding COVID-19 and Hypertension, featuring Dr. Bina Joe and Dr. Cameron McCarthy. With the College of Medicine and Life Sciences Alumni Affiliate as a co-sponsor, there were 79 attendees for this event. The webinar was recorded and is now online for those who were unable to attend or  wish to view it. 

Watch The Webinar

Dr. Xi Cheng was invited by Takara Bio USA, Inc (Ann Arbor) to give a virtual seminar about the application of artificial intelligence into next-generation sequencing and metagenomics in cardiovascular medicine, which will be followed by a group discussion with their R&D Scientists. The meeting takes place on November 17, 2020.

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The Machine Learning Lab was recently featured in an article in the UT News. The article is about the potential of artificial intelligence screening for cardiovascular disease. They are also currently featured in a UT postcard campaign for U.S. News and World Report  featuring COVID-19 research. http://news.utoledo.edu/index.php/10_08_2020/utoledo-research-shows-potential-of-artificial-intelligence-to-screen-for-cardiovascular-disease

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Congratulations to Dr. Koch and her collaborators at Karolinska Institute, Mayo Clinic, and University of Michigan! Their paper titled “Comparative analysis of skeletal muscle transcriptional signatures associated with aerobic exercise capacity or response to training in humans and rats” was accepted for publication in Frontiers in Endocrinology, section Diabetes: Molecular Mechanisms; Research Topic: Exercise Factors in Organ Cross-talk: Novel Players and Therapeutic Options.

Authors: Yildiz Kelahmetoglu, Paulo R. Jannig, Igor Cervenka, Lauren G. Koch, Steven Britton, Matthew M. Robinson, K Sreekumaran Nair, Jorge Lira Ruas.

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Congratulations to Dr. Ritu Chakravarti, whose manuscript was accepted for publication in PNAS!

Title: 14-3-3z-TRAF5 Axis Governs Interleukin-17A Signaling
Authors: Jenna McGowan, Cara Peter, Joshua Kim, Sonam Popli, Brent Veerman, Jessica Saul-McBeth, Heather Conti, Shondra M. Pruett-Miller, Saurabh Chattopadhyay, Ritu Chakravarti#
 
Abstract
Interleukin-17A (IL-17A) is a therapeutic target in many autoimmune diseases. Most non-hematopoietic cells express IL-17A receptors and respond to extracellular IL-17A by inducing pro-inflammatory cytokines. The IL-17A signal transduction triggers two broad, TRAF6- and TRAF5-dependent, intracellular signaling pathways to produce representative cytokines (IL-6) and chemokines (CXCL-1), respectively. Our limited understanding of the crosstalk between these two branches has generated a crucial gap of knowledge leading to therapeutics indiscriminately blocking IL-17A and global inhibition of its target genes. In previous work, we discovered an elevated expression of 14-3-3 proteins in inflammatory aortic disease, a rare human autoimmune disorder with increased levels of IL-17A. Here we report that 14-3-3z is essential for IL-17 signaling by differentially regulating the signal-induced IL-6 and CXCL-1. Using genetically manipulated human and mouse cells, and ex vivo and in vivo rat models, we uncovered a new function of 14-3-3z. As a part of the molecular mechanism, we show that 14-3-3z interacts with several TRAF proteins; in particular, its interaction with TRAF5 and TRAF6 is increased in the presence of IL-17A. Contrary to TRAF6, we found TRAF5 to be an endogenous suppressor of IL-17A-induced IL-6 production, an effect countered by 14-3-3z. Furthermore, we observed that 14-3-3z interaction with TRAF proteins is required for the IL-17A-induced IL-6 levels. Together, our results show that 14-3-3z is an essential component of IL-17A signaling and IL-6 production, an effect that is suppressed by TRAF5. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the 14-3-3z-TRAF5 axis, which differentially regulates IL-17A-induced IL-6 and CXCL-1 production.

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 Dr. Lauren Koch was invited to author for News & Views for Nature Reviews Endocrinology entitled "Aerobics — decades of data for future hypothesis-testing research".

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41574-020-00415-8
Sept 7. 2020 

Also, her manuscript, "Rats Genetically Selected for High Aerobic Exercise Capacity Have Elevated Plasma Bilirubin by Upregulation of Hepatic Biliverdin Reductase-A (BVRA) and Suppression of UGT1A1", has been published in Antioxidants as part of the Special Issue Pharmacological and Clinical Significance of Heme Oxygenase-1:
PDF Version: https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3921/9/9/889/pdf__;!!LoBwcKfm!yDDM2BCOXovgzIKCf6n6-9sSwBODJPLwAGFpdtV2B7RJ9dPlVECkm1sJhNn4Mvkej6OUAA$

Sept 19, 2020.  

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Congratulations to Dr. Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau and the Germ-Free Rat Research Team of the UT Microbiome Consortium! Their manuscript, "Microbiota introduced to germ-free rats restores vascular contractility and blood pressure", was accepted for publication in Hypertension.

Authors: Bina Joe, Cameron G. McCarthy, Jonnelle M. Edwards, Xi Cheng, Saroj Chakraborty, Tao Yang, Rachel M. Golonka, Blair Mell, Ji-Youn Yeo, Nicole Bearss, Janara Furtado, Piu Saha, Beng San Yeoh, Matam Vijay-Kumar, Camilla F. Wenceslau.

Abstract
Commensal gut microbiota are strongly correlated with host hemodynamic homeostasis, but only broadly associated with cardiovascular health. This includes a general correspondence of quantitative and qualitative shifts in intestinal microbial communities found in hypertensive rat models and human patients. However, the mechanisms by which gut microbes contribute to the function of organs important for blood pressure control remain unanswered. To examine the direct effects of microbiota on blood pressure, we conventionalized germ-free (GF) rats with specific pathogen free rats for a short-term period of 10 days, which served as a model system to observe the dynamic responses when reconstituting the holobiome. The absence of microbiota in GF rats resulted with relative hypotension compared to their conventionalized counterparts, suggesting an obligatory role of microbiota in blood pressure homeostasis. Hypotension observed in GF rats was accompanied by a marked reduction in vascular contractility. Both blood pressure and vascular contractility were restored by the introduction of microbiota to GF rats, indicating that microbiota  could be impacting blood pressure through a vascular-dependent mechanism. This is further supported by the decrease in actin polymerization in arteries from GF rats. Improved vascular contractility in conventionalized GF rats, as indicated through stabilized actin filaments, was associated with an increase in cofilin phosphorylation. These data indicate that the vascular system senses the presence (or lack of) microbiota to maintain vascular tone via actin polymerization. Taken together, these results constitute a fundamental discovery of the essential nature of microbiota in blood pressure regulation.

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Dr. Camilla Ferreira Wenceslau recently participated in an AJP-Heart Podcast about the potential detrimental effects of prolonged sitting in healthy individuals. Listen to the podcast by clicking the link. https://ajpheart.podbean.com/e/vascular-response-to-prolonged-sitting-in-hypercapnia/

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 Congratulations to Dr. Tao Yang! He has been selected as one of the top 3 best performing Star Reviewers for 2019 from the American Physiology Society. The criteria for being chosen for this honor is: timeliness, number of MMS reviewed and consistent willingness to review invites. 

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 We are pleased to announce that Dr. Bina Joe was accepted to the editorial board of Genes.  

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 The Department was highlighted by a press release from the American Heart Association. Congrats to the Machine Learning Lab on their work being in the spot light! See the list of highlights below:

AHA: https://newsroom.heart.org/news/gut-microbiome-data-may-be-helpful-in-routine-screening-of-cardiovascular-disease

Drug Topics: Study: Gut Microbiome Data May Be Useful in Screening for Heart Disease
Health IT Analytics: Machine Learning Could Improve Cardiovascular Disease Screening
UPI: AI tool screens for heart disease using gut bacteria, study shows
Science Daily: Gut microbiome data may be helpful in routine screening of cardiovascular disease
Home Health Choices: Gut microbiome knowledge could also be useful in routine screening of cardiovascular disease
Medpage Today: Can Machine Learning Make Fecal Testing Part of CVD Screening?

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 Congratulations to Dr. Piu Saha! Her abstract has been selected to present at the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation's Research Investigators Symposium 2020. The even will be held virtually on September 30th & October 1st. Her abstract was chosen for an Environmental Triggers presentation. The title is, "Enterobactin, a catecholate-type of siderophore induces pro-inflammatory signature in intestinal epithelial cells."

Authors: Piu Sah, Beng San Yeoh, Xia Xiao, Rachel M Golonka and Matam Vijay-Kumar.

Dr. Saha is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Vijay-Kumar's lab.  

 

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 2020 NV graduate Avinash Singh has been selected as a Melvin Scholar for the Ohio Academy of Science (OAS) for his scientific presentation at the Academy's Annual Meeting in April 2020. 

Avi completed the AP Capstone Diploma Program at Sylvania Northview. During Avi's senior year, he landed a premier AP research opportunity developed by his teacher, Ms. Kathryn Nelson, and Dr. Bina Joe, Chair of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at the University of Toledo, College of Medicine. As part of his AP Research experience, Avi worked for approximately 16 hours per week in Dr. Joe's lab at the Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine. His investigations resulted in his original research paper titled 'A Novel Ex Vivo Procedure for Monitoring B-Hydroxybutyrate (BOHB) Production Isolated from Whole Livers.' Avi will have the opportunity to present his outstanding scientific contribution at the National meeting of the American Academy for the Advancement of Science meeting (AJAS; February 2021). Avi will also interact with top student scientists and professional researchers, as well as world-renowned scientists and engineers from around the globe. 

We are very proud of Avi, Northview's first Melvin Scholar. We look forward to more exciting things from him as he continues his education at the University of Pennsylvania (an ivy league institution). More information is available at www.ohiosci.org/ajas, and the abstract of his work is on page 20 of the OAS journal https://www.ohiosci.org/s/OJS-AM-Program-Vol-120-No-1.pdf.

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The Center was highlighted by a press release from the American Heart Association. Congrats to the Machine Learning Lab on their work being in the spot light! See the list of highlights below:

AHA: https://newsroom.heart.org/news/gut-microbiome-data-may-be-helpful-in-routine-screening-of-cardiovascular-disease

Drug Topics: Study: Gut Microbiome Data May Be Useful in Screening for Heart Disease
Health IT Analytics: Machine Learning Could Improve Cardiovascular Disease Screening
UPI: AI tool screens for heart disease using gut bacteria, study shows
Science Daily: Gut microbiome data may be helpful in routine screening of cardiovascular disease
Home Health Choices: Gut microbiome knowledge could also be useful in routine screening of cardiovascular disease
Medpage Today: Can Machine Learning Make Fecal Testing Part of CVD Screening?

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Congratulations to Dr. Vijay Kumar! His article, "Lipocalin 2 deficiency-induced gut microbiota dysbiosis evokes metabolic syndrome in aged mice" has been selected for APSselect, a collection from the APS that showcases some of the best recently published articles in physiological research. Dr. Vijay Kumar received a certificate for this honor. https://journals.physiology.org/journal/apsselect

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Congrats to Dr. Camilla Ferriera Wenceslau! She has been elected as a Fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA).

Dr. Wenceslau has also been invited to join the Journal of Applied Physiology Editorial Board. Members are selected based on scientific enterprise, commitment as reviewers and stature in the field.

Well done!

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Congratulations to Dr. Cameron McCarthy! He has been elected as a Fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA).

Well done!

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Congratulations, Dr. Piu Saha! Her application application to the National Cancer Institute NOSI (NOT-CA-20-082) entitled, “NCI Emergency Administrative Supplements for Research and Training Continuity of Postdoctoral Fellows during Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)” has been approved for funding.

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Congrats to Dr. Camilla Ferriera Wenceslau! She has been invited to speak during the (NAVBO) North American Vascular Biology Organization's Vascular Biology 2020 meeting. The meeting will take place virtually October 26-29, 2020.

 Dr. Wenceslau has also been invited as a reviewer for (HM) Hypertension and Microcirculation Study Section Meeting, October 19-20, 2020 via Zoom Video Conference.

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Congratulations to Sachin Aryal and colleagues! Their manuscript has been accepted for publication in the November 2020 edition of Hypertension.

A machine learning strategy for gut microbiome-based diagnostic screening of cardiovascular disease 
Sachin Aryal, Ahmad Alimadadi, Ishan Manandhar, Bina Joe* and Xi Cheng* 
Bioinformatics & Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine, Program in Physiological Genomics, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH 43614, USA 

Abstract 
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one leading cause for human mortality.  Besides genetics and environmental factors, in recent years, gut microbiota has emerged as a new factor influencing CVD. Although cause-effect relationships are not clearly established, the reported associations between alterations in gut microbiota and CVD are prominent. Therefore, we hypothesized that machine learning (ML) could be used for gut microbiome-based diagnostic screening of CVD. To test our hypothesis, fecal 16S rRNA sequencing data of 478 CVD and 473 non-CVD human subjects collected through the American Gut Project were analyzed using 5 supervised ML algorithms including random forest (RF), support vector machine, decision tree, elastic net and neural networks (NN). Thirty-nine differential bacterial taxa were identified between the CVD and non-CVD groups. ML modeling using these taxonomic features achieved a testing AUC (area under the receiver operating characteristic curves; 0.0: perfect anti-discrimination; 0.5: random guessing; 1.0: perfect discrimination) of ~0.58 (RF and NN). Next, the ML models were trained with the top 500 high-variance features of operational taxonomic units (OTUs), instead of bacterial taxa, and an improved testing AUC of ~0.65 (RF) was achieved. Further, by limiting the selection to only the top 25 highly contributing OTU features, the AUC was further significantly enhanced to ~0.70. Overall, our study is the first to identify dysbiosis of gut microbiota in CVD patients as a group and apply this knowledge to develop a gut microbiome-based ML approach for diagnostic screening of CVD.  

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An abstract from research first authored by Dr. Piotr Czernik and lead by Drs. Vijay-Kumar, Joe and Lecka-Czernik has been selected by the BMA2020 Organizing Committee to be presented as a Plenary Oral presentation at a virtual meeting of the 6th International Meeting on Bone Marrow Adiposity (BMA2020, Marrow Adiposity: Bone, Aging and Beyond). The meeting will be held September 9-10, 2020. 

Abstract Title: Reconstitution of the host holobiont acutely increases bone growth and marrow adiposity of the gnotobiotic rat

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Congrats to Saroj Chakravarti, trainee of Dr. Bina Joe, his manuscript has been selected for publication in Hypertension! 

Title: A  single  nucleotide  polymorphism  of Secreted  phosphoprotein  2
 confers  sex-specific effects on blood pressure and bone health

Authors: Saroj Chakraborty, Blair Mell, Ying Nie, Xi Cheng, Sarah Galla, Piotr Czernik2, Beata Lecka-Czernik and Bina Joe

Abstract:
Hypertension is a complex polygenic disease caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors. Rat models serve as tools to dissect and prioritize genetic factors as candidate genes causing hypertension. One such candidate gene prioritized through systematic linkage and substitution mapping is Secreted Phosphoprotein 2 (Spp2). A non-synonymous G/T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) between the Dahl Salt-Sensitive (S) rats and Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats (SHR) at the Spp2 locus was prioritized as a candidate quantitative trait nucleotide (QTN) responsible for the reduction in blood pressure (BP) and bone mineral density (BMD) observed in the S.SHR congenic strain spanning the Spp2 locus. We hypothesized that CRISPR/Cas9 precision-engineering guided replacement of the ‘G’ allele at the Spp2 locus with a ‘T’ allele would lower BP and BMD of the S rat. Radiotelemetry and micro-CT was performed with Spp2 knock-in rats using S rat as control. Systolic BP of the Spp2 knock-in male rats was significantly lower compared to that of the non-founder S rats. However, there was no change in systolic BP of the Spp2 knock-in female rats compared to that of the non-founder S rats. In addition, there was a significant reduction in bone size and bone mass resulting in lower bone volume by total volume (BV/TV) in female Spp2 knock-in rats compared to S. These data provide conclusive evidence for a single nucleotide polymorphism within the Spp2 gene as a quantitative trait nucleotide (QTN) responsible for the sex-dependent inheritance of blood pressure and bone health.   

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Congratulations to Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar, Rachel Golonka, and Ahmed Abokor! They had a book chapter published recently.

Textbook: Lipid Signaling and Metabolism (1st Eds)
 
Chapter Title: Gut Microbiota in Host Lipid Metabolism 
 
Citation: Golonka RM, Abokor A, Vijay-Kumar M. 2020. Gut Microbiota Interaction in Host Lipid Metabolism. Ntambi JM (1st Eds), Lipid Signaling and Metabolism. Elsevier Publications. ISBN: 9780128194041

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Jonnelle Edwards, trainee of Dr. Camilla F. Wenceslau, was recently featured in UT's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Newletter. Please see link for full spotlight. Read Full Spotlight

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A hearty congratulations to Ahmed Abokor, a trainee of Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar, whose grant application was recommended for funding! He applied for a Diversity Supplement, which is part of the Continuing Umbrella of Research Experiences (CURE) program. Well done!

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Congratulations to Dr. Ahmad Alimadadi and colleagues! Their manuscript was accepted to Physiological Genomics.

Title: Machine learning based classification and diagnosis of clinical cardiomyopathies
Authors: Ahmad Alimadadi, Ishan Manandhar, Sachin Aryal, Patricia B. Munroe, Bina Joe, Xi Cheng
Abstract:
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) and ischemic cardiomyopathy (ICM) are two common types of cardiomyopathies leading to heart failure. Accurate diagnostic classification of different types of cardiomyopathies is critical for precision medicine in clinical practice. In this study, we hypothesized that machine learning (ML) can be used as a novel diagnostic approach to analyze cardiac transcriptomic data for classifying clinical cardiomyopathies.RNA-seq data of human left ventricle tissues were collected from 41 DCM patients, 47 ICM patients and 49 non-failure controls (NF) and tested using five ML algorithms: support vector machine with radial kernel (svmRadial), neural networks with principal component analysis (pcaNNet), decision tree (DT), elastic net (ENet) and random forest (RF).Initial ML classifications achieved ~93% accuracy (svmRadial) for NF vs DCM, ~82% accuracy (RF) for NF vs ICM, and ~80% accuracy (ENet and svmRadial) for DCM vs ICM. Next, 50 highly contributing genes (HCGs) for classifying NF and DCM, 68 HCGs for classifying NF and ICM, and 59 HCGs for classifying DCM and ICM were selected for re-training ML models. Impressively, the re-trained models achieved ~90% accuracy (RF) for NF vs DCM, ~90% accuracy (pcaNNet) for NF vs ICM, and ~85% accuracy (pcaNNet and RF) for DCM vs ICM. Pathway analyses further confirmed the involvement of those selected HCGs in cardiac dysfunctions such as cardiomyopathies, cardiac hypertrophies and fibrosis. Overall, our study demonstrates the promising potential of using artificial intelligence via ML modeling as a novel approach to achieve a greater level of precision in diagnosing different types of cardiomyopathies. 

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Ms. Xue Mei, a PhD trainee of Dr. Bina Joe, and Dr. Xi Cheng, a post doc to faculty fellow of Dr. Bina Joe were both selected to receive the HTN New Investigator Travel Award.

Since the meeting is virtual this year, they will both receive complimentary registration, be listed on the conference website and receive award certificates.

Well done, Mei and Dr. Cheng!

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Dr. Koch and her collaborator, Dr. Sarah Lessard at Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School published a paper July 20, 2020 in Nature Metabolism titled, “Hyperglycaemia is associated with impaired muscle signalling and aerobic adaptation to exercise.”

 The article was highlighted in nature metabolism news and views: “Sugar not so sweet for training-enhanced fitness”.  https://www.nature.com/articles/s42255-020-0240-7

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Soyoung Cheon, who completed her MSBS-MS research work in Dr. Camilla F. Wenceslau's laboratory, was recently invited to present at the High Blood Pressure Research Council of Australia (HBPRCA) Winter School Blitz, being held virtually on July 16th & 17th. The title of her talk is, "Opioids Cause Sex-Specific Vascular Remodeling via Cofilin-ERK Signaling: Female Mice Present Higher Risk of Developing Morphine-Induced Vascular Dysfunction than Male Mice."

Additionally, she had this abstract accepted to the Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) Research Madness. This is a medical student and/or resident research competition where students, residents and fellow members of AWS are able to showcase their work to a large, international audience. It features multiple rounds of abstracts and presentations. Good luck, Soyoung! 

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An editorial that Dr. Bina Joe contributed to has been published by the American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology.

Title
"An American Physiological Society cross-journal Call for Papers on "Deconstructing organs: Single-cell analyses, decellularized organs, organoids, and organ-on-a-chip models". https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/ajplung.00311.2020

Authors
Josephine C. Adams, P. Darwin Bell, Sue C. Bodine, Heddwen L. Brooks, Nigel Bunnett, Bina Joe, Kara Hansell Keehan, Thomas R. Kleyman, Andre Marette, Rory E. Morty, Jan-Marino Ramirez, Morten B. Thomsen, Bill J. Yates, Irving H. Zucker. 

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Two MSBS students from Dr. Camilla Wenceslau's lab have been selected as oral presenters at the North American Vascular Biology Organization's Summer Camp (VAVBO). The titles of their presentations are listed below.
 
Vaishnavi Aradhyula:
Female rats artificially selected for low and high intrinsic aerobic capacity swap inflammatory cascade in resistance arteries: Mechanisms of cyclooxygenase-derived prostanoids
Aradhyula, Vaishnavi; Bearss, Nicole; McCarthy, Cameron; Edwards, Jonnelle; Joe, Bina; Koch, Lauren; Wenceslau, Camilla
University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH
Vaishnavi will be presenting on July 1^st at 2:50PM.
 
Soyoung Cheon:
Opioids cause sex-specific vascular remodeling via Cofilin-ERK signaling: Female mice present higher risk of developing morphine-induced vascular dysfunction than male mice
Cheon, Soyoung; Edwards, Jonnelle; Tomcho, Jeremy; Bearss, Nicole; Joe, Bina; McCarthy, Cameron; Wenceslau, Camilla
University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH
Soyoung presented on June 24^th, at 3:30PM.

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Our Department has remained highly productive during the lockdown phase as evidenced by the following publications. Some of these publications, especially related to COVID-19 have been downloaded over 8,000 times just within the short period of a few months. This is an impressive performance by our students and faculty, one that speaks to our high level of productivity despite the pandemic.

1. Harnessing innate immunity to eliminate SARS-CoV-2 and ameliorate COVID-19 disease. Golonka RM, Saha P, Yeoh BS, Chattopadhyay S, Gewirtz AT, Joe B, Vijay-Kumar M. Physiol Genomics. 2020 May 1;52(5):217-221. doi: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00033.2020. Epub 2020 Apr 10. PMID: 32275178

2. Artificial intelligence and machine learning to fight COVID-19. Alimadadi A, Aryal S, Manandhar I, Munroe PB, Joe B, Cheng X. Physiol Genomics. 2020 Apr 1;52(4):200-202.doi:10.1152/physiolgenomics.00029.2020. Epub 2020 Mar 27. PMID: 32216577 

3. Microbiota are critical for vascular physiology: Germ-free status weakens contractility and induces sex-specific vascular remodeling in mice. Edwards JM, Roy S, Tomcho JC, Schreckenberger ZJ, Chakraborty S, Bearss NR, Saha P, McCarthy CG, Vijay-Kumar M, Joe B, Wenceslau CF. Vascul Pharmacol. 2020 Feb-Mar;125-126:106633. doi: 10.1016/j.vph.2019.106633. Epub 2019 Dec 13. PMID: 31843471 

4. Vancomycin prevents fermentable fiber-induced liver cancer in mice with dysbiotic gut microbiota. Singh V, Yeoh BS, Abokor AA, Golonka RM, Tian Y, Patterson AD, Joe B, Heikenwalder M, Vijay-Kumar M. Gut Microbes. 2020 Mar 30:1-15. doi: 10.1080/19490976.2020.1743492. Online ahead of print. PMID: 32223398

5. Genetic predisposition for increased red blood cell distribution width is an early risk factor for cardiovascular and renal comorbidities. Cheng X, Mell B, Alimadadi A, Galla S, McCarthy CG, Chakraborty S, Basrur V, Joe B. Dis Model Mech. 2020 Apr 3:dmm.044081. doi: 10.1242/dmm.044081. Online ahead of print. PMID: 32238420

6. Metabolites and Hypertension: Insights into Hypertension as a Metabolic Disorder: 2019 Harriet Dustan Award. Chakraborty S, Mandal J, Yang T, Cheng X, Yeo JY, McCarthy CG, Wenceslau CF, Koch LG, Hill JW, Vijay-Kumar M, Joe B.Hypertension. 2020 Apr 27:HYPERTENSIONAHA12013896. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.120.13896. Online ahead of print. PMID: 32336227

7. Probiotics Prevent Dysbiosis and the Rise in Blood Pressure in Genetic Hypertension: Role of Short-Chain Fatty Acids. Robles-Vera I, Toral M, de la Visitación N, Sánchez M, Gómez-Guzmán M, Romero M, Yang T, Izquierdo-Garcia JL, Jiménez R, Ruiz-Cabello J, Guerra-Hernández E, Raizada MK, Pérez-Vizcaíno F, Duarte J. Mol Nutr Food Res. 2020 Mar;64(6):e1900616. doi: 10.1002/mnfr.201900616. Epub 2020 Feb 6. PMID: 31953983

8. The obligatory role of the acetylcholine-induced endothelium-dependent contraction in hypertension: Can arachidonic acid resolve this inflammation? Edwards JM, McCarthy CG, Wenceslau CF. Curr Pharm Des. 2020 Apr 17. doi: 10.2174/1381612826666200417150121. Online ahead of print. PMID: 32303165

9. Mitophagy in Hypertension-Associated Premature Vascular Aging. Schreckenberger ZJ, Wenceslau CF, Joe B, McCarthy CG. Am J Hypertens. 2020 Apr 6:hpaa058. doi: 10.1093/ajh/hpaa058. Online ahead of print.PMID: 32533696

10. Renal Fibrosis Is Significantly Attenuated Following Targeted Disruption of Cd40 in Experimental Renal Ischemia. Zhang S, Breidenbach JD, Khalaf FK, Dube PR, Mohammed CJ, Lad A, Stepkowski S, Hinds TD, Kumarasamy S, Kleinhenz A, Tian J, Malhotra D, Kennedy DJ, Cooper CJ, Haller ST. J Am Heart Assoc. 2020 Apr 7;9(7):e014072. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.119.014072. Epub 2020 Mar 21. PMID: 32200719

11. The interferon-inducible protein TDRD7 inhibits AMP-activated protein kinase and thereby restricts autophagy-independent virus replication. Subramanian G, Popli S, Chakravarty S, Taylor RT, Chakravarti R, Chattopadhyay S.J Biol Chem. 2020 Apr 9:jbc.RA120.013533. doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA120.013533. Online ahead of print. PMID: 32273341

12. High Throughput Screening of FDA-Approved Drug Library Reveals the Compounds that Promote IRF3-Mediated Pro-Apoptotic Pathway Inhibit Virus Replication. Glanz A, Chawla K, Fabry S, Subramanian G, Garcia J, Jay B, Ciricillo J, Chakravarti R, Taylor RT, Chattopadhyay S. Viruses. 2020 Apr 14;12(4):E442. doi: 10.3390/v12040442. PMID: 32295140 

13. Kirkpatrick JF and Turner JWJr  (2020),  Wildlife Contraception and Political Cuisinarts (Chapt. 19),  In ( Allen DM and Howell JW, eds.) Title: Groupthink in Science, (subtitle;  Greed, Pathological Altruism, Ideology, Competition and Culture),  Springer Int’l Publ., New York , 278 pp.  [ ISBN 978-3-030-36822-7 ].

14. Gnotobiotic Rats Reveal That Gut Microbiota Regulates Colonic mRNA of Ace2, the Receptor for SARS-CoV-2 Infectivity.Yang T, Chakraborty S, Saha P, Mell B, Cheng X, Yeo JY, Mei X, Zhou G, Mandal J, Golonka R, Yeoh BS, Putluri V, Piyarathna DWB, Putluri N, McCarthy CG, Wenceslau CF, Sreekumar A, Gewirtz AT, Vijay-Kumar M, Joe B.Hypertension. 2020 Jul;76(1):e1-e3. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.120.15360. Epub 2020 May 19.PMID: 32426999

15. Diurnal Timing Dependent Alterations in Gut Microbial Composition Are Synchronously Linked to Salt-Sensitive Hypertension and Renal Damage. Chakraborty S, Mandal J, Cheng X, Galla S, Hindupur A, Saha P, Yeoh BS, Mell B, Yeo JY, Vijay-Kumar M, Yang T, Joe B.Hypertension. 2020 Jul;76(1):59-72. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.120.14830. Epub 2020 May 26.PMID: 32450738

16. Altered nutrient status reprograms host inflammation and metabolic health via gut microbiota. Golonka RM, Xiao X, Abokor AA, Joe B, Vijay-Kumar M.J Nutr Biochem. 2020 Jun;80:108360. doi: 10.1016/j.jnutbio.2020.108360. Epub 2020 Feb 22. PMID: 32163821 Review.

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The high school students who spent their fall with us obtaining college credit for research presented their work virtually at the State Science Day and won Ohio Academy of Science placements. Shrey Gupta, who worked with Dr. Ritu Chakravarti won an 'Excellent' rating. Daven Serakonda, who worked under Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar, Avinash Singh who worked closely with Dr. Cameron McCarthy and Evangelina Louis who worked closely with Saroj Chakraborty, all obtained a superior rating. Ms. Louis also won first prize for statistical analysis.  We are proud of these talented students.

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Congratulations to Dr. Ritu Chakravarti and Dr. Bina Joe! Their patent, "Materials and Methods for the Prevention of Rheumatoid Arthritis", was published on May 22, 2020.

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Dr. Usman Ashraf from Dr. Sivarajan Kumarasamy's Lab successfully defended his thesis on May 29, 2020.  Well done, Usman! Usman has accepted a Post-Doc Fellowship at the University of Mississippi Medical Center.  

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Congratulations to Dr. Beng San Yeoh, Postdoc  who was selected by the American Physiological Society to submit a full application for the 2020-2021 Postdoctoral Fellowship program.  Good Luck Beng!

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Congratulations to Rachel Golonka for her first-authored publication with her colleagues, Dr. Beng San Yeoh, her mentor Dr. Matam Vijay Kumar and their collaborators from the University of Alabama. Their manuscript, "Fermentable fiber-induced hepatocellular carcinoma in mice recapitulates gene signatures found in human liver cancer" was accepted for publication in PLoSOne.

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Congratulations to Dr. Camilla Wenceslau! She was selected as the winner of the 2020 John Laragh Research Award of the American Journal of Hypertension (AJH).

The editors have judged her work to be exemplary in the field of hypertension. She has been invited to submit a manuscript to the AJH and the award also consists of a plaque and $5,000.  

https://academic.oup.com/ajh/pages/john_laragh_research_award

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Congrats to Saroj Chakroborty, mentee of Dr. Bina Joe! His first authored manuscript was accepted for publication in the journal, Hypertension.

Title: Diurnal Timing Dependent Alterations in Gut Microbial Composition Are Synchronously Linked to Salt-Sensitive Hypertension and Renal Damage
Authors:  Saroj Chakraborty, Juthika Mandal, Xi Cheng, Sarah Galla, Anay Hindupur, Piu Saha, Beng San Yeoh, Blair Mell, Ji-Youn Yeo, Matam Vijay-Kumar, Tao Yang, Bina Joe 

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Congratulations to Ms. Jonnelle Edwards and Colleagues in the Wenceslau Lab for their review article taking a closer look at a lipid, arachidonic acid, for its effect on vascular tone.
"The Obligatory Role of the Acetylcholine-Induced Endothelium-Dependent Contraction in Hypertension: Can Arachidonic Acid Resolve This Inflammation?"
Authors: Jonnelle M Edwards, Cameron G McCarthy, Camilla F Wenceslau

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Congratulations to Dr. Tao Yang, et al! Their manuscript was recently accepted for publication in Hypertension!

Gnotobiotic Rats Reveal that Gut Microbiota Regulates Colonic mRNA of Ace2, the Receptor for SARS-CoV-2 Infectivity

Tao Yang¹, Saroj Chakraborty¹, Piu Saha¹, Blair Mell¹, Xi Cheng¹, Ji-Youn Yeo¹, Xue Mei¹, Guannan Zhou¹, Juthika Mandal¹,  Rachel Golonka¹, Beng San Yeoh¹, Vasanta Putluri², Danthasinghe Waduge Badrajee Piyarathna³, Nagireddy Putluri², Cameron G. McCarthy¹, Camilla Wenceslau¹, Arun Sreekumar², Andrew T. Gewirtz⁴, Matam Vijay-Kumar¹, Bina Joe¹ 

¹Microbiome Consortium, Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine and the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH, USA

²Dan L. Duncan Cancer Center, Advanced Technology Core, Alkek Center for Molecular Discovery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

³Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

⁴Center for Inflammation, Immunity, and Infection, Institute for Biomedical Sciences, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA

This study clearly showed that gut microbiota represents a critical factor for the regulation of colonic Ace2 expression and associated colonic and systemic factors that likely contribute to the pathology of the gut-lung axis during COVID-19. Therefore, further studies are necessary to examine the gut microbial composition and its role in ACE2 expression in the COVID-19 susceptible and resistant populations, which would importantly inform on better clinical management of COVID-19.

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Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar was among three researchers at the University to receive Medical Research Society funding for COVID-19 research. As noted in the Dean's Update: "Dr. Vijay-Kumar is investigating flagellin — a bacterial component previously shown to eliminate viral infection — as a possible way to harness innate immune responses to fight the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. His project is also aimed at identifying biomarkers that can help clinicians diagnose the early and late stage biomarkers." Also, a hearty congratulations to Dr. Vijay-Kumar on his promotion to full Professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology!

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Congratulations to Dr. Matam Vijay Kumar and team who published an editorial on COVID-19! The following editorial was accepted for publication to AJP-Physiological Genomics.
Harnessing Innate Immunity to Eliminate SARS-CoV-2 and Ameliorate COVID-19 Disease
Authors: Rachel M. Golonka, Piu Saha, Beng San Yeoh, Saurabh Chattopadhay, Andrew T. Gewirtz, Bina Joe, Matam Vijay-Kumar
Abstract:
The newest coronavirus disease, COVID-19, has become the cause of a worldwide pandemic. Along with social distancing to minimize the COVID-19 wildfire-like spread, clinicians and research teams around the globe are working toward developing effective vaccines and repurposing anti-viral drugs to fight against COVID-19. Besides these conventional methods, we suggest that immunomodulation of innate immunity could present a novel, non-conventional approach to combat COVID-19.

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A publication emanating from Dr. Youjie Zhang's graduate work in Dr. Joe's laboratory has been selected as the cover for the April issue of Physiological Genomics. The art developed by the journal reflects the content of the publication to indicate that the microbiome is vertically co-inherited depending on the selection of the  nuclear and mitochondrial genomes.

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Congratulations to Dr. Cameron McCarthy, a Postdoctoral to Faculty Fellow from Dr. Bina Joe's lab! He has secured 5 year K99/R00 funding. This is no small feat. Your hard work and dedication have paid off!

The purpose of the NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) program is to increase and maintain a strong cohort of new and talented, NIH-supported, independent investigators. This program is designed to facilitate a timely transition of outstanding postdoctoral researchers with a research and/or clinical doctorate degree from mentored, postdoctoral research positions to independent, tenure-track or equivalent faculty positions. The program will provide independent NIH research support during this transition in order to help awardees to launch competitive, independent research careers.
 
Project Title: Autophagy regulates β-hydroxybutyrate synthesis to prevent hypertension-associated premature vascular aging Grant Number: 1K99HL151889-01 Project Period: 07/01/2020 – 06/30/2022 (K99); 07/01/2022 - 06/30/2025 (R00)
 
Project Narrative
Hypertension is a condition of premature vascular aging, where the normal decline in vascular function as we age is accelerated and exacerbated. It is well established that upregulation of autophagy can ameliorate this “aged” phenotype; however, underlying mechanisms are yet to be determined. Given that autophagy also serves to mobilize macro- and micronutrients in times of stress, we hypothesize that upregulation of autophagy in the liver, stimulates the production of ketone body, β-hydroxybutyrate, which induces vasodilation, and decreases phenotypes of premature vascular aging associated with hypertension.

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Congratulations to Dr. Matam Vijay Kumar and team! Their manuscript was accepted for publication by Physiological Reports.

Title:Distinct Iron Homeostasis in C57BL/6 and Balb/c Mouse Strains
 
Piu Saha#, Xia Xiao#, Yaqi Li, Rachel M. Golonka, Ahmed A. Abokor,  Beng San Yeoh, and Matam Vijay-Kumar
 
# These authors contributed equally
 
Abstract
C57BL/6 (BL6) and Balb/c mice exhibit prototypical Th1- and Th2-dominant immune predispositions, respectively. Iron is a pro-inflammatory metal ion; however, limited information is documented on the differences in iron homeostasis between BL6 and Balb/c strains. The objective of this study was to investigate the extent to which strain-level differences in these mice dictates the regulation of iron homeostasis during physiologic and inflammatory conditions. At basal levels, Balb/c mice displayed significantly higher levels of iron in systemic circulation and tissue compared to BL6 mice. Moreover, Balb/c mice had greater iron absorption as indicated by higher gene expressions of duodenal DcytB, DMT1, Fpn, SFT, and Heph. Similarly, hepatic Tf, TfR1, TfR2, and DMT1 expressions were augmented in Balb/c mice. Interestingly, there was no change in hepatic Hamp expression between the two strains, suggesting that the disparity in their maintenance of iron is independent of hepcidin. Additionally, the basal levels of intracellular labile iron pool in Balb/c intestinal epithelial cells, and bone marrow-derived macrophages and neutrophils, were higher compared to BL6 mice. When mice were challenged with lipopolysaccharide, the acute inflammatory response in BL6 mice was more pronounced than in Balb/c mice, as indicated by the more rapid development of hypoferremia and upregulation of serum IL-6 and TNF-a levels in BL6 mice. In conclusion, this study underscores that iron homeostasis is distinct between BL6 and Balb/c strains under both physiologic and inflammatory conditions.

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Congratulations to Dr. Ritu Chakravarti! The Research Council approved her proposal, entitled “14-3-3zeta- A Novel Supressor of Rheumatoid Arthritis” for funding under the deArce-Koch Memorial Endowment Program. The award is in the amount of $20,800.
Well done!

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Congratulations to Dr. Vijay Matam Kumar! He was awarded funding for his URFO Biomedical Research Innovation Program application, “Dissecting hypcholesterolemia as a novel risk factor underlying the predisposition toward diet-induced liver cancer”, has been awardedat the amount of $42,000. Well done!

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Congratulations to Dr. Ritu Chakravarti on two manuscripts recently accepted from on-going collaborative work with Dr. Saurabh Chattopadhyay! 

• The interferon-inducible protein TDRD7 inhibits AMP-activated protein kinase and thereby restricts autophagy-independent virus replication.

Subramanian G, Popli S, Chakravarty S, Taylor RT, Chakravarti R, Chattopadhyay S.
J Biol Chem. 2020 Apr 9. pii: jbc.RA120.013533. doi: 10.1074/jbc.RA120.013533. [Epub ahead of print]
Abstract
Interferon (IFN) regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) is the key transcription factor for the induction of IFN and antiviral genes. The absence of antiviral genes in IRF3 deficiency leads to susceptibility to a wide range of viral infections. Previously, we uncovered a function for nontranscriptional IRF3 (nt-IRF3), RLR (RIG-I-like receptor)-induced IRF3-mediated pathway of apoptosis (RIPA), which triggers apoptotic killing of virus-infected cells. Using knock-in mice expressing a transcriptionally inactive, but RIPA-active, IRF3 mutant, we demonstrated the relative contribution of RIPA to host antiviral defense. Given that RIPA is a cellular antiviral pathway, we hypothesized that small molecules that promote RIPA in virus-infected cells would act as antiviral agents. To test this, we conducted a high throughput screen of a library of FDA-approved drugs to identify novel RIPA activators. Our screen identified doxorubicin as a potent RIPA-activating agent. In support of our hypothesis, doxorubicin inhibited the replication of vesicular stomatitis virus, a model rhabdovirus, and its antiviral activity depended on its ability to activate IRF3 in RIPA. Surprisingly, doxorubicin inhibited the transcriptional activity of IRF3. The antiviral activity of doxorubicin was expanded to flavivirus and herpesvirus that also activate IRF3. Mechanistically, doxorubicin promoted RIPA by activating the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway. Finally, we validated these results using another RIPA-activating compound, pyrvinium pamoate, which showed a similar antiviral effect without affecting the transcriptional activity of IRF3. Therefore, we demonstrate that the RIPA branch of IRF3 can be targeted therapeutically to prevent virus infection.
 

• High throughput screening of FDA-approved drug library reveals the compounds that promote IRF3-mediated pro-apoptotic pathway inhibit virus replication.

Glanz A, Chawla K, Fabry S, Subramanian G, Garcia J, Jay B, Ciricillo J, Chakravarti R, Taylor RT, Chattopadhyay S.
Viruses (accepted)
Abstract
The interferon (IFN) system is the first line of defense against virus infection. Recently, using a high-throughput genetic screen of a human IFN-stimulated gene (ISG) shRNA library, we identified a viral restriction factor, Tudor domain containing 7 (TDRD7). TDRD7 inhibits the paramyxo/pneumo viruses (e.g. Sendai virus and respiratory syncytial virus) by interfering with the virus-induced cellular autophagy pathway, which these viruses use for their replication. Here, we report that TDRD7 is a viral restriction factor against herpes simplex virus (HSV-1). Using knockdown, knockout, and ectopic expression systems, we demonstrate the anti-HSV-1 activity of TDRD7 in multiple human and mouse cell types. TDRD7 inhibited the virus-activated AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which was essential for HSV-1 replication. Genetic ablation or chemical inhibition of AMPK activity suppressed HSV-1 replication in multiple human and mouse cells. Mechanistically, HSV-1 replication after viral entry was dependent on AMPK, but not on its function in autophagy. The antiviral activity of TDRD7 was dependent on its ability to inhibit virus-activated AMPK. In summary, our results indicate that the newly identified viral restriction factor TDRD7 inhibits AMPK and thereby blocks HSV-1 replication independently of the autophagy pathway. These findings suggest that AMPK inhibition represents a potential strategy to manage HSV-1 infections.
Kudos to Vaishnavi Aradhyula from Dr. Camilla Wenceslau's lab! She received an honorable mention for her presentation during the Three Minute Thesis Competition.

Congratulations to Dr. Matam Vijay Kumar and team who published an editorial on COVID-19! The following editorial was accepted for publication to AJP-Physiological Genomics.
Harnessing Innate Immunity to Eliminate SARS-CoV-2 and Ameliorate COVID-19 Disease
Authors: Rachel M. Golonka, Piu Saha, Beng San Yeoh, Saurabh Chattopadhay, Andrew T. Gewirtz, Bina Joe, Matam Vijay-Kumar
Abstract:
The newest coronavirus disease, COVID-19, has become the cause of a worldwide pandemic. Along with social distancing to minimize the COVID-19 wildfire-like spread, clinicians and research teams around the globe are working toward developing effective vaccines and repurposing anti-viral drugs to fight against COVID-19. Besides these conventional methods, we suggest that immunomodulation of innate immunity could present a novel, non-conventional approach to combat COVID-19.

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Dr. Bina Joe has been invited to lecture at the Joint Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) that will be held in Glasgow, UK, from 29th May 2020 to 1st June 2020.
 
The lecture will be part of an oral session titled,  "Experimental Hypertension". 

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Congratulations to the trainees from our department who have been selected for oral presentations at the 2020 Graduate Research Forum. Below are the topics each will be presenting on. In addition to attending the poster sessions at the forum, I hope that we can all attend our departmental students' oral presentations.

Ahmad Alimadadi (Joe Lab) - "Application of Artificial Intelligence via Machine Learning to Classify Clinical Cardiomyopathies Using RNA-Seq Data"

Saroj Chakraborty (Joe Lab) - "Bile acid metabolites modulate Hypertension"

Jonnelle Edwards (Wenceslau Lab) - "Formyl Peptide Receptor-1 Activation is Crucial for Spontaneous Hypertension in Dahl Salt Sensitive Rats"

Good luck to all!

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Our faculty and students are adding to community outreach, which is one of the important activities of the University of Toledo.  On Thursday of last week, several of our department's faculty and students participated as judges for the 2020 Science Fair at Ottawa Hills High School. Mr. Jeremy Nixon, one of the school's science teachers, organized the event.

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Congratulations to Dr. Kumar and team! Their manuscript, "Altered Nutrient Status Reprograms Host Inflammation and Metabolic Health via Gut Microbiota" was accepted to Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. (Impact Factor: 4.518)

The authors are: Rachel M. Golonka, Xia Xiao, Ahmed Abokor, Bina Joe, Matam Vijay-Kumar

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Kudos to Juthika Mandal! Juthika, a trainee from Dr. Bina Joe's lab, has been invited for oral presentation not only at EB 2020 but also at the Hypertension 2020 Meeting in Scotland. The title of her abstract is, "Concerted diurnal rhythms of gut microbiota with salt-sensitive hypertension and renal inflammation". 

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A hearty congratulations to Saroj Chakraborty! Saroj is a trainee from Dr. Bina Joe's lab and has been selected to participate in the March 2020 Cell Modeling Hackathon.

The hackathon is funded through the National Science Foundation (NSF). Saroj and a team of other selected participants will work as a group to generate a model of any particular cell system of their choice.

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Congratulations to the Wenceslau and Joe Labs for two of their trainees, Soyoung Cheon and Juthika Mandal who are invited for oral presentations at the upcoming Experimental Biology Meeting!

Abstract Title: Opioids Cause Vascular Remodeling via Changes in Cofilin-ERK Signaling: Female Mice Present Higher Risk of Developing Morphine-induced Cardiovascular Disease than Male Mice
Presenting Author: Soyoung Cheon (Trainee of Dr. Camilla Wenceslau)
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: Vascular Pharmacology I
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Oral Presentation:
Session Title: Symposium - ASPET Daily Datablitz - Tuesday
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Programming Society: American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics


Abstract Title: Concerted diurnal rhythms of gut microbiota with salt-sensitive hypertension and renal inflammation
Presenting Author: Juthika Mandal (Trainee of Dr. Bina Joe)
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: Diet, Nutrients and the Microbiome in Blood Pressure and Electrolyte Regulation
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Oral Presentation:
Session Title: Featured Topic - Diet, Nutrients and the Microbiome in Blood Pressure and Electrolyte Homeostasis and Allostasis
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Programming Society: The American Physiological Society

Also congratulations to the following high school through postdoctoral trainees who will be representing the department at the annual EB 2020 meeting. Congratulations to all!

Wenceslau Lab:

Abstract 1:
Title: Formyl Peptide Receptor-1 Activation is Crucial for Spontaneous and Salt-Induced Hypertension in Dahl Salt Sensitive Rats: Mitochondria vs. Microbiota
Presenting Author: Jonnelle Edwards
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: CV Section Young Investigators I
Session Day: Sunday, April 5, 2020
Programming Society: The American Physiological Society

Abstract 2:
Title: Female Rats Artificially Selected for Low and High Intrinsic Aerobic Capacity Swap Inflammatory Cascade in Resistance Arteries: Mechanisms of Cyclooxygenase-Derived Prostanoids
Presenting Author: Vaishnavi Aradhyula
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: Exercise, Health and Disease
Session Day: Sunday, April 5, 2020
Programming Society: The American Physiological Society

Abstract 3:
Title: Commensal microbiota are essential for vascular contractility mediated by actin polymerization
Presenting Author: Janara Furtado
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: Cardiovascular Disease and Metabolic Disorders II
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Programming Society: The American Physiological Society

Joe Lab:

Abstract 1:
Title: Gnotobiotic rats reveal an obligatory role of microbiota in blood pressure
Presenting Author: Saroj Chakraborty
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: CV Section Young Investigators II
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Programming Society: The American Physiological Society

Abstract 2:
Title: Sex differences in salt-responsive modulation of bile acids by microbiota regulates Hypertension
Presenting Author: Saroj Chakraborty
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: CV Section Young Investigators II
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Programming Society: The American Physiological Society

Abstract 3:
Title: &[beta]-Hydroxybutyrate (&[beta]OHB) Activates Gpr109a to Contribute to the Anti-vascular Aging Effect of Autophagy
Presenting Author: Cameron McCarthy
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: Heterocellular Communication in the Heart and Vasculature
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Programming Society: The American Physiological Society

Abstract 4:
Title: Reshaping commensal gut microbiota in early life lowers blood pressure potentially via a succinate mediated mechanism
Presenting Author: Saroj Chakraborty
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: Hypertension
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Programming Society: American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

Abstract 5:
Title: A novel ex-vivo procedure for monitoring &[beta]-hydroxybutyrate (&[beta]OHB) production from isolated whole livers
Presenting Author: Avinash Singh
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: Liver Physiology and Pathophysiology
Session Day: Sunday, April 5, 2020
Programming Society: The American Physiological Society

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Congratulations to Usman Ashraf, trainee of Dr. Sivarajan Kumarasamy, for his article that was published in the Toledo Blade today! The article is about salt sensitivity and blood pressure and can be viewed here: 

https://www.toledoblade.com/culture/2020/02/03/ut-ressearch-explores-salt-and-blood-pressure

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A hearty congratulations to two of Dr. Camilla Wenceslau's trainees!

Jonnelle Edwards and Vaish Aradhyula are both recipients of the 2020 Caroline tum Suden/Frances Hellebrandt Professional Opportunity Award.

This award helps trainees to attend the annual APS Experimental Biology Meeting. This year the meeting is held in April in San Diego.

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Congratulations to Dr. Tao Yang! He has been selected to serve on the editorial board of Hypertension. His term will last three years.

Hearty congratulations to both Dr. Beng San Yeoh and MOME Trainee, Rachel Golonka! They will both present at the Society for Mucosal Immunology - Local Chapter Meeting in Ann Arbor, MI. Dr. Yeoh's research entitled 'Persistent IL-1β Signaling Aggravates Murine Enteropathogen, Citrobacter rodentium infection in mice' was accepted for a poster presentation. Rachel's research was accepted for an oral presentation. Her presentation is titled, "Aggravated colitis in Farnesoid X Receptor deficient mice is associated with altered immunological responses and a reshaped gut microbiota". Rachel is a trainee of Dr. Matam Vijay Kumar. SMI brings together researchers from the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, and the University of Toledo to discuss current topics in immunology at mucosal surfaces.

This symposium is sponsored by the Society for Mucosal Immunology and invites all investigators to share their work, but specifically aims to promote the work of junior investigators.

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Dr. Tao Yang has been invited to serve on the Editorial Board of Hypertension, a prestigious international journal of the American Heart Association. 

Dr. Yang is a member of the UT Microbiome Consortium (UT MiCo). He has considerable experience in studying the gut-brain axis in hypertension and was recently recruited from the University of Florida to develop his independent research in this area under Dr. Bina Joe's mentorship.

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 Congratulations to Dr. Matam Vijay Kumar and team! Their manuscript entitled, "Vancomycin prevents fermentable fiber-induced liver cancer in mice with dysbiotic gut microbiota" was accepted for publication in Gut Microbes.

Authors: Vishal Singh#, Beng San Yeoh#, Ahmed A. Abokor, Rachel M. Golonka, Yuan Tian, Andrew D. Patterson, Bina Joe, Mathias Heikenwalderand Matam Vijay-Kumar
#These authors contributed equally

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Dr. Bina Joe has been invited by the Toledo Opera Guild to speak at the International Women's Day celebration to be held at the Pinnacle, Sunday, March 8th from 10 a.m to 3 p.m.  Please see the announcement in the Toledo City Newspaper.
 
There will be educational booths, activities and entertainment throughout the day and her classical dance troupe will be performing at 10:30 a.m. and the speakers begin at 12:15 p.m.

https://toledocitypaper.com/feature/international-womens-day-2020/

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Dr. Bina Joe's research was highlighted in the UT Alumni eMagazine. See the link for the whole article. https://alumninews.utoledo.edu/2020/02/17/utoledo-faculty-break-new-ground-in-research-attract-project-funding/

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Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar was invited to speak at the 2020 Microbiome, Viruses, and Cancer Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) in Orlando, FL.

He presented his work during the Microbiota and Gastrointestinal Cancer session and his talk was titled, "Gut microbiota dysbiosis and dietary fermentable fibers in a pickle: a brew for liver cancer".   

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An abstract of Usman Ashraf, a trainee of Dr. Sivarajan Kumarasamy, has been selected for a poster presentation during the Midwest Clinical and Translational Research Meeting of CSCTR and MWAFMR at the Holiday Inn Chicago Mart Plaza in Chicago in April. Well done!
 
The title of Usman's abstract is: Transcriptomic  Analysis of Resp18mutant Rat Kidneys Reveals Up-Regulation of Renin-Angiotensin System.

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Congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe, students and colleagues who recently had a manuscript accepted for publication to JAHA: Journal of the American Heart Association! Title: Exposure to amoxicillin in early life is associated with changes in gut microbiota and reduction in blood pressure: Findings from a study on rat dams and offspring. Authors: Sarah Galla, PhD, Saroj Chakraborty, MS, Xi Cheng, PhD, Ji-Youn Yeo, PhD, Blair Mell, BS, Nathaline Chiu, BS, Camilla F. Wenceslau, PhD, Matam Vijay-Kumar, PhD, Bina Joe, PhD.

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 Congratulations to Jonnelle Edwards, mentee of Dr. Camilla Wenceslau, and team! Their manuscript, "Microbiota are critical for vascular physiology: Germ-free status weakens contractility and induces sex-specific vascular remondeling in mice",  was accepted for publication in Vascular Pharmacology!

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 Several students and faculty of the Department are engaged in providing research training to honors high school students of Ottawa Hill High School. Dr. Joe was recently featured on WTOL News featuring this UT- Ottawa Hills partnership, which is also supported with funds for a research class at the school by ProMedica. https://www.wtol.com/article/life/family-focus/local-high-school-students-work-with-researchers-on-cancer-dna/512-b98e6325-d366-4467-849d-e5bb766f408e

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 Dr. Bina Joe has been selected as the 2020 Distinguished Mayerson-DiLuzio Visting Professor of the Department of Physiology at Tulane University in New Orleans. This award is presented to an outstanding physiologist who is also recognized for their unique relationships with the Tulane Physiology department and faculty.  She will deliver a lecture and accept this award in late March. Congratulations!

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Women & Philanthropy at the University of Toledo has funded Dr. Bina Joe and therefore, our Department has newly renovated lab space with state-of-the-art equipment establishing germ-free models to conduct critical experiments in microbiome research.  Faculty, Staff and Students will host  a reception and meet and greet with members of the Women & Philanthropy group, followed by a presentation, demonstration and tour of the new lab on Friday, November 15, 2019 from 4:30-7:30 p.m.  The Lab is the first area of the Germ-Free Facility for Biomedical Research to come on-line. It will increase research opportunities and experimental learning in the College of Medicine. It will also establish increased capabilities centered around microbiome research as it impacts human health and focus attention on the ignored component of our bodies, i.e., microbiota.  

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 Congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe! She received the Harriet Dustan Award sponsored by the Council on Hypertension. This award recognizes female investigators who make outstanding contributions in the field of Hypertension. The award was presented to her during the Hypertension Scientific Sessions in September in New Orleans. Read more here: http://news.utoledo.edu/index.php/09_27_2019/utoledo-hypertension-expert-receives-prestigious-american-heart-association-award

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Congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe and colleagues! Their manuscript has been accepted for publication to Physiological Genomics. It is also selected to be featured as the cover article for the April 2020 edition!

Vertical selection for nuclear and mitochondrial genomes shapes gut microbiota and modifies risks for complex diseases. Contributing authors: Youjie Zhang, Sivarajan Kumarasamy, Blair Mell, Xi Cheng, Eric Morgan, Steven Britton, Matam Vijay-Kumar, Lauren Koch, and Bina Joe.  Physiological Genomics 

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 Dr. Vijay-Kumar was recently invited to present a lecture at the inaugural meeting of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Center for Cancer Research (CCR) Liver Cancer Program (LCP). 

The NCI-CCR-LCP was launched in 2018 with the mission of developing a multi-disciplinary program focused on the prevention, early detection and improved diagnosis and treatment of liver cancer. 

Dr. Vijay-Kumar was one among many prominent scientists invited from all over the world.  

Congratulations, Dr. Vijay-Kumar!

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Congratulations to Dr. Cameron McCarthy! He has been selected to serve as a member of the Editorial Board of Hypertension. This is a big deal considering Hypertension is a top ranking journal in Cardiovascular Sciences. Well done!

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Jonnelle Edwards, Ph.D candidate in Dr. Camilla Wenceslau's lab, served the University of Toledo as an exhibitor and undergraduate poster competition judge at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) that was held November 13th-16th in Anaheim, California. The conference hosted over 3,000 minoritized students ranging from high school to post-baccalaureate students that are all interested in STEM careers. 

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 Several members and trainees also participated in the Council and received awards:

Dr. Bina Joe: recipient of Harriet Dustan award and delivered Harriet Dustan Award Lecture and Poster Moderator of Clinical, Genetic and Epidemiological Mechanisms session
Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar: Presented data during the Recent Advances: Microbiome session and participated in the Trainee Onsite Poster Competition
Dr.  Lauren Koch: Participated in the Salt and Nutrition poster session and was a Moderator for Vascular Stiffness and Fibrosis session
Dr. Camilla Wenceslau: Participated in the CHAMP Lunch as a mentor and was Poster Moderator for Trainee Onsite Poster Competition
Dr. Sivarajan Kumarasamy: Poster Moderator for Trainee Onsite Poster Competition
Dr. Cameron McCarthy: Recipient of the Council on Hypertension New Investigator Award and presented data in the Vascular Biology and Function session and Poster Moderator for Pharmacology and Non-pharmacological Approaches session
Dr. Tao Yang: Recipient of the Council on Hypertension New Investigator Award and presented data in both the Hypertension in Pregnancy and Offspring session and Regulation of Blood Pressure by the Central Nervous System session
Usman Ashraf:  Presented data in Mechanisms in Chronic Kidney Disease and Fibrosis session and attended the CHAMP Lunch as a mentee
Jonnelle Edwards: Presented data in the Inflammation and Immune Mechanisms session and attended the CHAMP Lunch as a mentee
Shaunak Roy: Recipient of Council on Hypertension Trainee Advocacy Committee New Investigator Award and  presented data in the Vascular Stiffness and Fibrosis session and attended the CHAMP Lunch as a mentee
Jeremy Tomcho: Participated in Trainee Onsite Poster Competition and attended the CHAMP Lunch as a mentee

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A book chapter that Dr. Bina Joe wrote with Dr. John Rapp has been accepted for publication  in Comprehensive Physiology.
"Dissecting Epistatic QTL for Blood Pressure in Rats: Congenic Strains Versus Heterogeneous Stocks, a Reality Check" John P. Rapp and Bina Joe*               

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Dr. Camilla Wenceslau has been invited to be a member of the Hypertension and Microcirculation Study Section. This study section "reviews applications involving basic and applied aspects of cardiovascular regulation  with focus on the physiology of blood pressure regulation, the pathogenesis of hypertension and the microcirculation and includes  tudies on cell surface receptors and signaling processes of various hormones, paracrines,  and autocrines and their mechanisms of action as related to hypertension, integrated  neural-humoral control of circulation, regional hemodynamics, lymphatic circulation,  and microcirculation".                

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Dr. Bina Joe was invited to present a ‘State-of-the-art’ Lecture at the Canadian Hypertension  Congress held in Edmonton, Canada from Sept 25-28. Her talk was titled ‘Pressure from the Bugs Within: Microbiomic and Metabolomic effects on hypertension’. 

The Canadian Hypertension Congress is Canada’s largest national scientific and educational  conference of its kind and is designed to incorporate today’s needs and expectations   of scientists, researchers, and clinicians. This year’s theme was  “A Whole-Patient Approach” and covered the topics in hypertension and adjacent conditions for whole-patient care  listed here:               

• Cardiovascular Disease (Stroke,      Heart Failure, Atrial Fibrillation)
• Dementia
• Diabetes
• Thresholds & Targets
• Kidney Disease
• Obesity

The Congress brings together leading minds from various disciplines and specialties, with more than 500 of Canada’s leading hypertension scientists and researchers, specialists,   physicians, pharmacists, nurses, dietitians, health experts, and public health officials  in attendance.               

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Dr. Bina Joe, Distinguished University Professor and Chair of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, is featured in The Academic Minute, which is available as a podcast  from NPR,  on the Academic Minute website and shared on Inside Higher Ed, features researchers from colleges and universities in the US and all around the world, bringing updates on what’s new and exciting in the academy and how academic research contributes to solving the world’s problems and to serving the public good. The Academic Minute is also available at:                

 

 

 

http://news.utoledo.edu/index.php/09_23_2019/utoledo-researchers-take-over-national-academic-research-program-this-week

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Congratulations to Usman Ashraf who was selected to be a speaker at the Ohio Physiological Society Meeting.
He spoke on Saturday, September 21 in the session titled “Kidney Function in Health and Disease,” which was chaired by Dr. Clintoria Williams of Wright State University. 
Well done!

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Congratulations to Dr. Xi Cheng! He was awarded as an APS Publications Star Reviewer  - well done!               

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Congratulations to Drs. Bina Joe, Camilla Wenceslau and Cameron McCarthy! They have all been invited by the American Journal of Hypertension to become members of their  Editorial Board. The initial terms, starting January 2020 are for three years, with   the possibility of additional three year terms.               

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A review paper, "Mechanism and Biomarkers in Aortitis-A Review" by Benjamin Benhuri,  Ammar ELJack, Bashar Kahaleh, and Ritu Chakravarti, was accepted in Journal of Molecular Medicine. Well done, Dr. Chakravarti!               

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Congratulations to Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar and Beng Yeoh! Their manuscript, "inflammation promotes stress erythropoiesis", was featured on the cover of Science Signaling.

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Congratulations to our Faculty and Staff who were recognized at the COMLS Recognition Dinner: 
 
New Investigator Research Excellence Award: Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar
 
Dean’s Award for Staff Career Achievement: Elizabeth Akeman 
 
Nominee for Dean’s Award for Advising Excellence: Dr. Guillermo Vazquez 
 
Nominees for Dean’s Award for Outstanding Staff: Anita Easterly & Celia Egan 

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Dr. Vijay Kumar has been selected as the recipient of the University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences Dean’s Award for New Investigator Research Award for 2019.  Hearty Congratulations!               

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Congratulations to Dr. Tao Yang! He has been selected to receive the HTN New Investigator  Award at the AHA Conference on Hypertension in New Orleans to be held in September  for his abstract titled, "Maternal high blood pressure control persistently alters gut-brain communication and attenuates hypertension of offspring".  This award includes  a monetary prize plus complimentary registration to the conference. His abstract has also been selected for podium presentation at the Council for the same abstract as  well as another abstract titled, "Gut dysbiosis impairs serotonergeic gut-brain axis  and increased blood pressure". Well done!               

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Congratulations to Dr. Cameron McCarthy from the Joe Lab! His manuscript was accepted for publication in AJP Heart and Circulatory Physiology. Reconstitution of autophagy ameliorates vascular function and arterial stiffening  in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Cameron McCarthy, Camilla Wenceslau, Fabiano Calmasini, Nicole Klee, Michael Brands,   Bina Joe, and R. Clinton Webb               

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Congratulations to Blair from the Joe Lab! Her manuscript was accepted in PLOS One. QTL mapping of rat blood pressure loci on RNO1 within a homologous region linked to  human hypertension on HSA15. Blair Mell, Xi Cheng, Bina Joe

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Congratulations to Dr. Sivarajan Kumarasamy! He has been invited by the American Heart Association to be part of the AHA Institutional Research Enhancement Award (AIREA) study section. This is to support small-scale research projects related to cardiovascular diseases and stroke at educational institutions that provide baccalaureate or advanced degrees but that have not been major recipients of NIH support.   He also received an invitation from the AHA to sit on the Council on Hypertension Trainee Advocacy Committee (HTN TAC) – which “aims to foster the development of trainees and  early career professionals in the field of hypertension and related fields, including research scientists and clinicians”.            

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Congratulations to Dr. Cara Peter from Dr. Ritu Chakravarti’s Lab! She successfully defended her thesis on July 18, 2019. Well done, Cara!               

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A warm welcome to Dr. Tao Yang and Dr. Guannan Zhou! They are from the University of Florida. Dr. Tang is a Dean’s Postdoctoral to Faculty Fellow and will be working in Dr. Bina Joe's lab.  Dr. Tang is funded for his research on microbiota through the Biocodex foundation.  Dr. Zhou is a Postdoctoral Fellow and will be working in Dr. Lauren Koch’s  lab.               

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Kudos to Dr. Cameron McCarthy! He has been selected to receive the HTN New Investigator Travel Award of the Hypertension 2019 Scientific Sessions! The award will be presented to him during a ceremony in New Orleans.  ABSTRACT: Control 59, Beta-Hydroxybutyrate Synthesis Contributes to the Anti-Vascular Aging Effect of Autophagy Well done!               

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Hearty congratulations to Dr. Cheng! His grant titled Genome-wide investigation of circular RNAs in alcohol-related phenotypes using the Hybrid Rat Diversity Panel,  has been funded by the NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) Center of Excellence in Omics, Systems Genetics, and the Addictome.               

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Congrats to Shaunak Roy! (Wenceslau Lab) He has been selected to receive the "Hypertension Trainee Advocacy Committee New Investigator Travel Grant" sponsored by the Trainee Advocacy Committee of the AHA's Council on Hypertension! As described on their website,  "Four awardees will be presented a travel grant to help defray travel expenses to  attend the Hypertension Scientific Sessions 2019 and will receive complimentary registration to the conference."               

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Congratulations to the Kumarasamy Lab!  A review article with Dr. Kumarasamy as the lead author was accepted for publication in the Endocrinology journal.  Regulated Endocrine-Specific Protein-18, an emerging endocrine protein in physiology:  A literature review . Ealla Atari, Mitchel C. Perry, Pedro A. Jose, and Sivarajan Kumarasamy           

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 The APS published a feature about Dr. Bina Joe's work on their website. View the  whole article here:  https://www.the-aps.org/detail/person/bina-joe-phd?SSO=Y

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Congratulations to Dr. Cameron McCarthy, Shaunak Roy, Jonnelle Edwards and Usman Ashraf!

 They have all been notified that their abstracts for the AHA 2019 Scientific Sessions Council for Hypertension have been accepted for oral presentation. The meeting takes place in New Orleans, September 5-8. Congratulations to each of you!               

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 Congratulations to Dr. Lauren Koch! She had a book chapter published in Rat Genomics – Here are the details:               

Chapter 15 “Rat Models of Exercise for the Study of Complex Disease.” Koch LG, Britton SL. Methods Mol Biol. 2019;2018:309-317. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9581-3_15.               

Dr. Koch mentions “this book provides both a historical perspective on rat research through the years and practical information to support researchers either currently involved in genomic research or planning to begin such a project.”               

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 Congratulations to Dr. Ritu Chakravarti and Lab! Their manuscript, “14-3-3zeta - A Novel Immunogen Promotes Inflammatory Cytokine Production” was accepted for publication in Frontiers in Immunology.                

Authors: Jenna McGowan, Cara Peter, Saurabh Chattopadhyay, and Ritu Chakravarti
Abstract: The presence of autoantibodies against 14-3-3z in human autoimmune diseases   indicates its antigenic function. However, neither the cause nor the consequence of  this newly-identified antigenic function of 14-3-3z protein is known. To address this,  we investigated the immunological functions of 14-3-3z by studying ex vivo effects  on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) proliferation, polarization and cytokine production. Exogenous 14-3-3z promoted PBMC proliferation and T cell polarization towards increasing Th1 and Th17 populations. Significant increases in IFN-g and IL-17      levels were observed in the presence of 14-3-3z. A specific increase in Th1 cells and IFN-g production provided strong evidence for MHC class II presentation of 14-3-3z  antigen. Particularly HLA-DRB1*0401 allele strongly promoted 14-3-3z-induced IFN-g  producing cells. In contrast, prednisolone treatment inhibited 14-3-3z-induced both T cell polarization and cytokine production. Overall, we show that MHC presentation and adaptor functions of 14-3-3z participate in promoting IFN-g and IL-17 production,  two of the cytokines commonly associated with autoimmune diseases. To the best of                  our knowledge, this is the first report describing the ex vivo antigenic function of 14-3-3z with human PBMC, thereby providing the basis of its immunological role in human diseases.               

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Congratulations to the Dr. Vijay Kumar and Lab! Their manuscript, “Enterobactin, an  Iron Chelating Bacterial Siderophore, Arrests Cancer Cell Proliferation” was accepted  for publication in Journal of Biochemical Pharmacology.

Authors:Piu Saha, Beng San Yeoh, Xia Xiao, Rachel M. Golonka, Sivarajan Kumarasamy  and Matam Vijay-Kumar                     

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 Shaun Roy from Dr. Camilla Wenceslau’s lab won first place in the poster competition  at the 46^th Annual Pharmacology Colloquium held Friday, June 21, 2019. Congratulations!               

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 It is exciting for our Department to be hosting the 46^th Annual Colloquium on June 21st. Dr. Clinton Webb will also be with us as the Keynote speaker. Many thanks to Dr. Andrew Beavis for coordinating this event for so many years.               

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 Dr. Bina Joe has been selected to receive the Harriet Dustan Award sponsored by the  Council on Hypertension. This award recognizes female investigators who make outstanding   contributions in the field of Hypertension. The award will be presented during the Hypertension Scientific Sessions in September in New Orleans.               

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Nineteen High School students, 47 volunteers and 5 days is what it took to successfully complete the first Pre-Med Summer Camp organized by our Department! The camp was led  by Dr. Ritu Chakravarti.  We had raving reviews from both the students and their parents  on the content and organization of this camp. Students came from places as far as  California, Texas, Indiana and also from several schools in the Toledo area. Besides getting exposure to the clinical facets, they appreciated the opportunity to conduct  hands-on experiments in genomic medicine for a whole week! Sincere thanks to the 5   laboratories that participated: Dr. Chakravarti, Dr. Wenceslau, Dr. Kumar, Dr. Kumarasamy  and Dr. Joe. Special thanks to faculty, staff and students of the UT community who also contributed their time for our camp.               

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Dr. Bina Joe was recently awarded a grant in the amount of $65,000 from Women & Philanthropy for the Women & Philanthropy Gnotobiotic (Germ-Free) Rat Facility for Biomedical Research.               

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 Dr. Vijay Kumar and Lab had a manuscript accepted in Current Pharmacology Reports. This is the second review article where Rachel has been first author. Well done!            

The review is entitled: "Dietary Additives and Supplements Revisited: The Fewer, the  Safer for Liver and Gut Health" Authors: Rachel M. Golonka, Beng San Yeoh, Matam Vijay-Kumar                   

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Rachel Golonka from Dr. Kumar’s Lab recently participated in the WISDOM (Women in   STEMM Day of Meetings) event as a chaperone/tour guide. Female sophomore high school  students were invited to explore some different areas in the medical field. During  this event, they toured the Anatomy Museum while learning about plastination; learned  how to make hand sanitizer from scratch (interesting side note: UT is the only university  in the country with an undergraduate program for cosmetology); and also visited the  SIM center, specifically the 'i' space, which provides 3D visualization of human anatomy and other simulations.               

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Dr. Ritu Chakravarti recently presented her study, “Characterizing antigenic functions of 14-3-3z-A Novel autoantigen” at the Annual Meeting of American Association of Immunologists in San Diego, CA. She also received an Early Career Faculty Travel grant from AAI. Congrats!

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 May 20th Dr. Joe had the pleasure of speaking at the Toledo Rotary Club, Downtown Toledo. The talk was titled ‘Pressure from the Bugs Within’. It was well attended by about 250 Rotarians and others and was well received in the community.

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Dr. Terry Hinds’ lab was one of five groups that were highlighted by the UT President for research at UT. They had an interactive exhibit that discussed their new patent on Pegylated-Bilirubin for obesity, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and cardiovascular disease. There were over 350 donors that attended the reception. Congratulations!

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 Congratulations to Drs. Guillermo Vazquez and Matam Vijay Kumar! They have been selected as members of UT Leadership Institute (UTLI).  “Participants were selected to represent a range of colleges, faculty rank, current leadership roles, and overall leadership experiences and will acquire broad perspectives and knowledge of higher education, leadership and careers paths.Discussions will address a range of issues such as the administrative structure of higher education, leadership styles, critical issues facing administrators, funding, diversity, equity and inclusion.

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 The Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine’s annual World Hypertension Day display was a successful day of bringing hypertension awareness to staff and visitors of the Health Science Campus. Many stopped to check their blood pressure and to receive additional information regarding hypertension and high blood pressure. A big thank you to CHPM trainees, Rachel Golonka (Kumar Lab) and Stephanie Clark (Joe Lab) and CHPM secretary, Melody Knotts for making this activity a success!

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 Dr. Terry Hinds, Assistant Professor of Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, was the Max Miller Lecture in Diabetes Research Invited Speaker, for the 59th Annual Max Miller Lecture in Diabetes Research. The talk titled, “Bilirubin, from toxic bile substance to metabolic hormone” was given at the Metabolism Club during the 2019 Midwest Clinical & Translational Research Meeting in Chicago, IL.

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 Saroj Chakraborty, trainee of Dr. Bina Joe from the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, was recently featured in the newest edition of The Science Breaker on his work about the relationship between metabolism and hypertension. The article can be viewed here:

https://www.thesciencebreaker.org/breaks/health-physiology/a-novel-mechanism-of-metabolic-regulation-of-blood-pressure

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 Dr. Matam Vijay Kumar, Associate Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology and Director of the UT Microbiome Consortium recently traveled to Vienna, Austria as an invited speaker in The European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) annual conference, The International Liver Congress. The unique session in which he spoke was on ‘Critical reflection on Landmark papers 2018’. In this session 4 landmark papers were selected by a task force. One of the papers is his Cell paper along with 3 others published in New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet and Science. 

The lead author of the publication presents first for 15 minutes and then is challenged by an expert in the field for 15 minutes. Later 10 minutes of questions from the challenger and audience. It was elaborate and very well organized and more than 1,000 audience members were present. 

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 May 2-4, 2019 many members and trainees from our Department and the Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine had the opportunity to attend the 2^nd annual Gull Lake Regional Hypertension meeting. It was a valuable experience networking with other researchers in the hypertension field from around the Ohio/Michigan areas. Many of our Department members and trainees presented their research. It was a delight to hear from the organizers from Michigan State University and Faculty members from other Institutions that our student presentations were among the best. This, to me, speaks volumes to the significant improvements in training our students, especially through the TLC. Congratulations to the individual PIs who put their time and effort in conducting cutting-edge research and for being excellent mentors.

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 Several members of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology attended the 2019 Experimental Biology meeting in Orlando, Florida at the beginning of April. While several trainees of the Department delivered poster presentations many of the faculty and trainees received awards in several different categories.

• Dr. Bina Joe, Distinguished University Professor and Chair, chaired a symposium titled, “Physiological Omics (P-omics) Interest Group” and as recipient of the 2019 Distinguished Lectureship Award, delivered a distinguished lecture during an award ceremony in her honor.
• Dr. Terry Hinds, Assistant Professor, is the recipient of the American Physiological Society New Investigator Award in Endocrinology and Metabolism.
• Dr. Cameron McCarthy, Postdoc to Faculty Fellow, placed 3rd in the Cardiovascular Young Investigator competition session.
• Jonnelle Edwards, trainee of Dr. Camilla Wenceslau, is a recipient of the Martin Frank Diversity Travel Award.
• Shaunak Roy, MSBS student rotating in Dr. Camilla Wenceslau’s Lab is the recipient of The Caroline tum Suden/Frances Hellebrandt Professional Opportunity Award for Meritorious Research.

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Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar, Associate Professor of Physiology and Pharmacology and Director of the University of Toledo Microbiome Consortium, has been invited to speak at the upcoming AACR Special Conference on The Microbiome and Viruses. The conference will be held from Friday, February 21, 2020 to Monday, February 24, 2020 at the Hyatt Regency Orlando, in Orlando, Florida. The session in which he was invited to speak is titled, “Microbiota and Gastrointestinal Cancers”. 

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Congratulations to  MOME Track MD/PhD candidate Sarah Galla (Joe Lab) for placing 2^nd in oral presentation at the 2019 Graduate Research Forum and MOME Track PhD candidate Rachel Golonka (Vijay-Kumar Lab) for placing 3^rd poster presentation!

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Congratulations to Dr. Vijay Kumar and Beng Yeoh, whose manuscript, “Adaptive Immunity Induces Tolerance to Flagellin by Attenuating TLR5 and NLRC4-mediated Innate Immune Responses” was accepted in Frontiers in Cellular and Infection Microbiology! Authors are: Beng San Yeoh, Andrew T Gerwitz and Matam Vijay-Kumar. View the article here: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcimb.2019.00029/full

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Congratulations to Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar and Lab! Their manuscript, "PAD4-dependent NETs generation are indispensable for intestinal clearance of Citrobacter rodentium" was accepted in Mucosal Immunology. Authors: Piu Saha, Beng San Yeoh, Xia Xiao, Rachel M. Golonka, Vishal Singh, Yanming Wang,and Matam Vijay-Kumar

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Congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe! She has been nominated and selected by the Physiological Omic Group to be the recipient of the 2019 Distinguished Lectureship Award! The award recognizes a distinguished lecturer in the area of physiological -omics and she will also present the distinguished lecture at the Physiological -Omics Group Symposium at the Experimental Biology 2019 meeting.

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Congratulations to Shaunak Roy, MSBS student of Dr. Camilla Wenceslau’s lab!

Shaun was selected by the APS Women in Physiology Committee as one of the recipients of the 2019 Caroline tum Suden/Frances Hellebrandt Professional Opportunity Awards.

As a tum Suden/Hellebrandt Awardee, he will receive a certificate of recognition, early-rate meeting registration reimbursement, and a cash prize upon presentation of his poster at the Experimental Biology (EB) 2019 meeting.

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Congratulations to Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar! He has been invited to speak at the 2019 NCI CCR Liver Cancer Program (LCP) Special Conference on Tumor Metabolism at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), which will be held October 28-29, 2019 at the Masur Auditorium of the NIH Clinical Center, on the NIH Bethesda campus. The conference is organized by the NCI’s Center for Cancer Research (CCR) Liver Cancer Program.

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Congratulations to Dr. Terry Hinds! He was selected to receive the 2019 Endocrinology & Metabolism Section New Investigator Award! 

He will receive his award during the Endocrinology & Metabolism Awards Reception at the Experimental Biology meeting in Orlando in April.

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Congratulations to Drs. Kumar and Cheng! They are co-authors in a new publication in Nature Communications titled, " Enhancement of the gut barrier integrity by a microbial metabolite through the Nrf2 pathway". 

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Congratulations to Drs. Wenceslau and McCarthy! Their manuscript, "Formyl peptide receptor-1 activation exerts a critical role for the dynamic plasticity of arteries via actin polymerization" was accepted for publication in Pharmacological Research.

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Congratulations to Dr. Vijay Kumar’s Lab! Their manuscript, “Deoxyribonuclease I activity, cell-free DNA and risk of liver cancer in a prospective cohort”  was recently accepted for publication by the Journal of National Cancer Institute – Cancer Spectrum (JNCICS). The authors are: Rachel M. Golonka, Beng San Yeoh, Jessica L. Petrick, Stephanie J. Weinstein, Demetrius Albanes, Andrew T. Gewirtz, Katherine A. McGlynn, Matam Vijay-Kumar.

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Congratulations to Sarah Galla from the Joe Lab! Her research story , "Researchers study link between bacteria, blood pressure", was published in the Toledo Blade, January 7, 2019.  

https://www.toledoblade.com/medical/2019/01/07/university-of-toledo-bacteria-blood-pressure-medicine-research

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Congratulations to Dr. Vishal Singh from the Kumar Lab! He was awarded a Career Development grant from the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation and funding is effective January 1, 2019. The title of the grant is, “Metabolite-sensing receptors mediated regulation of immune response in inflammatory bowel disease”.  The duration of the award is three years.

 Well done!

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Congratulations to Dr. Cameron McCarthy! He was selected by the American Physiological Society-Cardiovascular Section awards committee as a finalist for the 2019 APS-Cardiovascular Section Outstanding Postdoctoral Trainee Award. His application associated with abstract, “BetaHOB Increases Nitric Oxide Synthase Activity in Resistance Arteries from Dahl Salt Sensitive Rats”, was amongst the most highly rated applications submitted to the committee. 

He will orally present his research as part of the Featured Topic Session, “Cardiovascular Section Young Investigator Competition" which will occur on Monday, April 8, 2019. 

Well done!

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Congratulations to Dr. Vijay Kumar’s Lab, whose manuscript titled, “Microbiota Fermentation-NLRP3 Axis Shapes the Impact of Dietary Fibers on Intestinal Inflammation” was accepted in Gut which is the second ranked leading international journal (impact factor 17) in gastroenterology and hepatology.

List of Authors: Vishal Singh, Beng San Yeoh, Rachel E. Walker, Xia Xiao, Piu Saha, Rachel M. Golonka, Jingwei Cai, Alexis Charles Andre Bretin,Xi Cheng, Qing Liu, Michael D. Flythe,Benoit Chassaing, Gregory C. Shearer, Andrew D. Patterson, Andrew T. Gewirtz, and Matam Vijay-Kumar. 

Well done!

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Congrats to Dr. Ritu Chakravarti!

Her abstract, “Novel Mechanism of Regulating IL-17 Signaling by 14-3-3zeta”, has been selected for podium presentation at IMMUNOLOGY2020T in Honolulu, HI at the Hawaii Convention Center. The meeting will be held May 8-12, 2020.

Additionally, she has been selected by the American Association of Immunologists as a recipient of a 2020 AAI Early Career Faculty Travel Grant.

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A hearty congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe's trainee, Dr. Ahmad Alimadadi, who is pursuing his MS in Bioinformatics! He has been selected as the recipient of the COMLS Class of 2020 Graduate Student Award. Even though UT will not be having the in-person pre-commencement awards ceremony, award recipients will still be receiving an award plaque and check for their excellent achievements. Well done, Ahmad, you make us proud!

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Ji-Youn Yeo was recently highlighted in the Toledo Blade on her work in helping bring Coronavirus testing to UTMC. Read the full article here: http://www4.toledoblade.com/local/Coronavirus/2020/04/01/how-university-toledo-medical-center-specialists-brought-coronavirus-testing-lucas-county/stories/20200401137

She was also highlighted in the UT news: http://news.utoledo.edu/index.php/04_08_2020/early-interest-in-covid-19-testing-helped-utmc-launch-lab-services

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Congratulations to Dr. Tao Yang who recently had 3 manuscripts accepted for publication!
1. Maternal Treatment With Captopril Persistently Alters Gut-Brain Communication and Attenuates Hypertension of Male Offspring. Hypertension (Accepted).
Hong-Bao Li, Tao Yang, Elaine M. Richards, Carl J. Pepine, Mohan K. Raizada
Abstract: Maternal-fetal crosstalk has been implicated in long-term control of the health of offspring, including transgenerational hypertension. However, current knowledge is limited regarding maternal influences on the gut and its microbiome in blood pressure control in offspring. Therefore, the current study was designed to test the hypothesis that maternal factors influence the gut-brain axis impacting hypertension in offspring. We elected to use captopril, an antihypertensive angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor that possesses antibacterial properties, for the study. Pregnant female spontaneously hypertensive rats and normotensive Wistar Kyoto rats were treated with captopril water (100 mg/[kg·day]) or sterile water throughout pregnancy and lactation. At weaning, the pups from dams drinking sterile water were continued with sterile water until 12 weeks of age. The male pups from dams drinking captopril water were divided at weaning into 2 groups: offspring drinking captopril water and offspring withdrawn from captopril water, then drinking sterile water until 12 weeks of age. Captopril changed gut microbiota of spontaneously hypertensive rat dams, and some of these changes were reflected in their 12-week-old male offspring. These 12-week-old spontaneously hypertensive rat male offspring exposed to captopril via dams demonstrated persistently decreased systolic blood pressure, decreased number of activated microglia and neuroinflammation, as well as improvement of gut inflammation and permeability. Therefore, maternal captopril treatment improves the dysregulated gut-brain axis in spontaneously hypertensive rat male offspring, providing conceptual support that targeting the gut-brain axis via the mother may be a viable strategy for control of hypertension in the offspring.

2. Gut Pathology and Its Rescue by ACE2 in Hypoxia-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension. Hypertension (Accepted).
Ravindra Sharma , Aline Oliveira , Tao Yang , Marianthi Karas , Jing Li , Gilberto Lobaton , Victor Aquino , Inaki Robles-Vera , Annette de Kloet , Eric Krause , Andrew Bryant , Amrisha Verma , Qiuhong Li , Elaine Richards, Mohan Raizada
Abstract: Therapeutic advances for pulmonary hypertension (PH) have been incremental because of the focus on the pulmonary vasculature in PH pathology. Here, we evaluate the concept that PH is, rather, a systemic disorder involving interplay among multi-organ systems including brain, gut and lungs. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the hypothesis that PH is associated with a dysfunctional brain-gut-lung axis and that global overexpression of angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) rebalances this axis and protects against PH. ACE2 knock-in (ACE2KI) and wild-type (WT; C57BL/6) mice were subjected to chronic hypoxia (10% FIO2) or room air for 4 weeks. Cardio-pulmonary hemodynamics, histology, immunohistochemistry and fecal 16S rRNA microbial gene analyses were evaluated. Hypoxia significantly increased right ventricular systolic pressure, sympathetic activity as well as the number and activation of microglia in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN) in WT mice. This was associated with a significant increase in muscularis layer thickening, and decreases in both villi length and goblet cells and altered gut microbiota. Global overexpression of ACE2 prevented changes in hypoxia-induced pulmonary and gut pathophysiology and established distinct microbial communities from WT hypoxia mice. Further, WT mice subjected to fecal matter transfer (FMT) from ACE2KI mice were resistant to hypoxia-induced PH compared with their controls receiving WT FMT. These observations demonstrate that ACE2 ameliorates these hypoxia-induced pathologies and attenuates PH. The data implicate dysfunctional brain-gut-lung communication in PH and provide novel avenues for therapeutic interventions.
 
3. Gastrointestinal dysbiosis following diethylhexyl phthalate exposure in zebrafish (Danio rerio): altered microbial diversity, functionality, and network connectivity. Environmental Pollution (Accepted).
Amanda N Buerger, David T Dillon, Jordan Schmidt, Tao Yang, Jasenka Zubcevic, Christopher J Martyniuk, Joseph H Bisesi
Abstract: Microbiome community structure is intimately involved in key biological functions in the gastrointestinal (GI) system including nutrient absorption and lipid metabolism.  Recent evidence suggests that disruption of the GI microbiome is a contributing factor to metabolic disorders and obesity. Poor diet and chemical exposure have been independently shown to cause disruption of the GI microbiome community structure and function. We hypothesized that the addition a chemical exposure to overfeeding exacerbates adverse effects on the GI microbiome community structure and function. To test this hypothesis, adult zebrafish were fed a normal feeding regime (Control), an overfeeding regime (OF), or an overfeeding regime contaminated with diethylhexyl phthalate (OF+DEHP), a suspected obesogen-inducing chemical. After 60 days, fecal matter was collected for sequencing, identification, and quantification of the GI microbiome using the 16s rRNA hypervariable region. Analysis of beta diversity indicated distinct microbial profiles between treatments with the largest divergence between Control and OF+DEHP groups. Based upon functional predictions, OF+DEHP treatment altered carbohydrate metabolism, while both OF and OF+DEHP affected biosynthesis of fatty acids and lipid metabolism. Co-occurrence network analysis revealed decreases in cluster size and a fracturing of the microbial community network into unconnected components and a loss of keystone species in the OF + DEHP treatment when compared to Control and OF treatments. Data suggest that the addition of DEHP in the diet may exacerbate microbial dysbiosis, a consequence that may explain in part its role as an obesogenic chemical.

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Congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe and team on their manuscript being accepted for publication to Disease Models & Mechanisms!

TITLE: Genetic predisposition for increased red blood cell distribution width is an early risk factor for cardiovascular and renal comorbidities

AUTHORS: Xi Cheng, Blair Mell, Ahmad Alimadadi, Sarah Lynn Galla, Cameron G McCarthy, Saroj Chakraborty, Basrur Venkatesha, and Bina Joe

Abstract

Red blood cell distribution width (RDW) is a measurement of the variation in size and volume of red blood cells (RBCs). Increased RDW, indicating a high heterogeneity of RBCs, is prominently associated with a variety of illnesses, especially cardiovascular diseases. However, the significance of this association to the onset and progression of cardiovascular and renal diseases is unknown. We hypothesized that a genetic predisposition for increased RDW is an early risk factor for cardiovascular and renal comorbidities. Since there is no known animal model of increased RDW, we examined a CRISPR/Cas9 gene-edited rat model (RfflTD) which presented with features of hematologic abnormalities as well as severe cardiac and renal comorbidities. A mass-spectrometry based quantitative proteomic analysis indicated anemia of these rats presented with significant downregulation of hemoglobin and haptoglobin. Decreased hemoglobin and increased RDW were further observed in RfflTD through complete blood count. Next, a systematic temporal assessment detected an early increased RDW in RfflTD, which was prior to the development of other comorbidities. The primary mutation of RfflTD is a 50bp deletion in a non-coding region, whereby, our study has serendipitously identified this locus as a novel quantitative trait locus (QTL) for RDW.To our knowledge, our study is the first to experimentally pinpoint a QTL for RDW and provides a novel genetic rat model mimicking the clinical association of increased RDW with poor cardio-renal outcomes.

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Congratulations to the Artificial Intelligence and Machine learning laboratory in our Department for their latest publication focused on COVID-19.  Dr. Xi Cheng, who directs this laboratory along with myself and 3 of my students who are pursuing their bioinformatics degrees: Ahmad Alimadadi, Ishan Manandhar and Sachin Aryal, authored this timely publication on artificial intelligence and machine learning applications to combat COVID-19. Read the article here: https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/physiolgenomics.00029.2020

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Four high schoolers in the department's college credit program participated in the Northwest Ohio District 2 Science Day that was held at the Thompson Student Union on Main Campus this past Saturday.

Daven Sarikonda, mentee of Dr. Matam Vijay Kumar,  won one of the top two awards at the fair. He is the recipient of the Tillotson University of Toledo District Science Day Scholarship which is a $1000 award that is renewable for three years. Daven will be moving on to the Ohio Academy of Science's 72nd Annual State Science Day which will take place on Saturday, May 9, 2020,  and is hosted by Ohio State University.

Shrey Gupta, a mentee of Dr. Ritu Chakravarti, won the "Achievement Rating of Superior In Recognition of a Science Project Presented at District Science Day at the University of Toledo” and qualified to present at State Science Day at Ohio State University and the Buckeye Science and Engineering Fair 2020 (BSEF) at Ohio State University.

Evangelina "Angie" Louis, a mentee of Dr. Bina Joe, won the first prize in the entire competition and the SciFood, Nutrition & Health Diatetic Association Special (cash) award. Angie qualifies to move on to the Ohio Academy of Science's 72nd Annual State Science Day and the Buckeye Science and Engineering Fair. Angie will also be presenting at the 57th Ohio Junior Science and Humanities Symposium to be held at BGSU this week. 

Avinash Singh, a mentee of Dr. Bina Joe, earned a perfect score on his presentation at the fair and also qualifies to move on to the Ohio Academy of Science's 72nd Annual State Science Day. These are hard working and talented young people that have raised the research profile of our department. Congratulations to their mentors for guiding them and please join me in wishing these students the best of luck in the upcoming fairs and competitions. 

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March 8th we celebrated International Women’s Day. Over the years, we have grown significantly in the number of women faculty and staff in our department. We are especially proud of both the academic and cultural vibrancy that women faculty, staff and students bring to our everyday work-life. Also, as an invited speaker in a Toledo Community organized event celebrating this day, Dr. Bina Joe had the opportunity to share some of our academic accomplishments as women scientists in Toledo.  NBC24 coverage of this event can be viewed below.  

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Dr. Tao Yang has been invited to serve on the Editorial Board of Hypertension, a prestigious international journal of the American Heart Association. 

Dr. Yang is a member of the UT Microbiome Consortium (UT MiCo). He has considerable experience in studying the gut-brain axis in hypertension and was recently recruited from the University of Florida to develop his independent research in this area under Dr. Bina Joe's mentorship.

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Dr. Bina Joe has been invited by the Toledo Opera Guild to speak at the International Women's Day celebration to be held at the Pinnacle, Sunday, March 8th from 10 a.m to 3 p.m.  Please see the announcement in the Toledo City Newspaper.
 
There will be educational booths, activities and entertainment throughout the day and my classical dance troupe will be performing at 10:30 a.m. and the speakers begin at 12:15 p.m.

https://toledocitypaper.com/feature/international-womens-day-2020/

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Dr. Bina Joe's research was highlighted in the UT Alumni eMagazine. See the link for the whole article. https://alumninews.utoledo.edu/2020/02/17/utoledo-faculty-break-new-ground-in-research-attract-project-funding/

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Dr. Bina Joe has been invited to lecture at the Joint Meeting of the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) and the International Society of Hypertension (ISH) that will be held in Glasgow, UK, from 29th May 2020 to 1st June 2020.
 
The lecture will be part of an oral session titled,  "Experimental Hypertension". 

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Congratulations to the trainees from our department who have been selected for oral presentations at the 2020 Graduate Research Forum. Below are the topics each will be presenting on. In addition to attending the poster sessions at the forum, I hope that we can all attend our departmental students' oral presentations.

Ahmad Alimadadi (Joe Lab) - "Application of Artificial Intelligence via Machine Learning to Classify Clinical Cardiomyopathies Using RNA-Seq Data"

Saroj Chakraborty (Joe Lab) - "Bile acid metabolites modulate Hypertension"

Jonnelle Edwards (Wenceslau Lab) - "Formyl Peptide Receptor-1 Activation is Crucial for Spontaneous Hypertension in Dahl Salt Sensitive Rats"

Good luck to all!

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Our faculty and students are adding to community outreach, which is one of the important activities of the University of Toledo.  On Thursday of last week, several of our department's faculty and students participated as judges for the 2020 Science Fair at Ottawa Hills High School. Mr. Jeremy Nixon, one of the school's science teachers, organized the event.

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Congratulations to Dr. Kumar and team! Their manuscript, "Altered Nutrient Status Reprograms Host Inflammation and Metabolic Health via Gut Microbiota" was accepted to Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. (Impact Factor: 4.518)

The authors are: Rachel M. Golonka, Xia Xiao, Ahmed Abokor, Bina Joe, Matam Vijay-Kumar

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Kudos to Juthika Mandal! Juthika, a trainee from Dr. Bina Joe's lab, has been invited for oral presentation not only at EB 2020 but also at the Hypertension 2020 Meeting in Scotland. The title of her abstract is, "Concerted diurnal rhythms of gut microbiota with salt-sensitive hypertension and renal inflammation". 

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A hearty congratulations to Saroj Chakraborty! Saroj is a trainee from Dr. Bina Joe's lab and has been selected to participate in the March 2020 Cell Modeling Hackathon.

The hackathon is funded through the National Science Foundation (NSF). Saroj and a team of other selected participants will work as a group to generate a model of any particular cell system of their choice.

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Congratulations to the Wenceslau and Joe Labs for two of their trainees, Soyoung Cheon and Juthika Mandal who are invited for oral presentations at the upcoming Experimental Biology Meeting!

Abstract Title: Opioids Cause Vascular Remodeling via Changes in Cofilin-ERK Signaling: Female Mice Present Higher Risk of Developing Morphine-induced Cardiovascular Disease than Male Mice
Presenting Author: Soyoung Cheon (Trainee of Dr. Camilla Wenceslau)
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: Vascular Pharmacology I
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Oral Presentation:
Session Title: Symposium - ASPET Daily Datablitz - Tuesday
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Programming Society: American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics


Abstract Title: Concerted diurnal rhythms of gut microbiota with salt-sensitive hypertension and renal inflammation
Presenting Author: Juthika Mandal (Trainee of Dr. Bina Joe)
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: Diet, Nutrients and the Microbiome in Blood Pressure and Electrolyte Regulation
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Oral Presentation:
Session Title: Featured Topic - Diet, Nutrients and the Microbiome in Blood Pressure and Electrolyte Homeostasis and Allostasis
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Programming Society: The American Physiological Society

Also congratulations to the following high school through postdoctoral trainees who will be representing the department at the annual EB 2020 meeting. Congratulations to all!

Wenceslau Lab:

Abstract 1:
Title: Formyl Peptide Receptor-1 Activation is Crucial for Spontaneous and Salt-Induced Hypertension in Dahl Salt Sensitive Rats: Mitochondria vs. Microbiota
Presenting Author: Jonnelle Edwards
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: CV Section Young Investigators I
Session Day: Sunday, April 5, 2020
Programming Society: The American Physiological Society

Abstract 2:
Title: Female Rats Artificially Selected for Low and High Intrinsic Aerobic Capacity Swap Inflammatory Cascade in Resistance Arteries: Mechanisms of Cyclooxygenase-Derived Prostanoids
Presenting Author: Vaishnavi Aradhyula
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: Exercise, Health and Disease
Session Day: Sunday, April 5, 2020
Programming Society: The American Physiological Society

Abstract 3:
Title: Commensal microbiota are essential for vascular contractility mediated by actin polymerization
Presenting Author: Janara Furtado
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: Cardiovascular Disease and Metabolic Disorders II
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Programming Society: The American Physiological Society

Joe Lab:

Abstract 1:
Title: Gnotobiotic rats reveal an obligatory role of microbiota in blood pressure
Presenting Author: Saroj Chakraborty
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: CV Section Young Investigators II
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Programming Society: The American Physiological Society

Abstract 2:
Title: Sex differences in salt-responsive modulation of bile acids by microbiota regulates Hypertension
Presenting Author: Saroj Chakraborty
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: CV Section Young Investigators II
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Programming Society: The American Physiological Society

Abstract 3:
Title: &[beta]-Hydroxybutyrate (&[beta]OHB) Activates Gpr109a to Contribute to the Anti-vascular Aging Effect of Autophagy
Presenting Author: Cameron McCarthy
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: Heterocellular Communication in the Heart and Vasculature
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Programming Society: The American Physiological Society

Abstract 4:
Title: Reshaping commensal gut microbiota in early life lowers blood pressure potentially via a succinate mediated mechanism
Presenting Author: Saroj Chakraborty
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: Hypertension
Session Day: Tuesday, April 7, 2020
Programming Society: American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics

Abstract 5:
Title: A novel ex-vivo procedure for monitoring &[beta]-hydroxybutyrate (&[beta]OHB) production from isolated whole livers
Presenting Author: Avinash Singh
Poster Presentation:
Session Title: Liver Physiology and Pathophysiology
Session Day: Sunday, April 5, 2020
Programming Society: The American Physiological Society

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Congratulations to Dr. Tao Yang! He has been selected to serve on the editorial board of Hypertension. His term will last three years.

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Congratulations to Dr. Beng San Yeoh, who has accepted one of the Dean’s Postdoc to Faculty positions in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology. Congratulations Dr. Beng San Yeoh!

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Kudos to Dr. Tao Yang for two recent manuscripts being accepted for publication!

"Transcriptomic signature of gut microbiome-contacting cells in colon of spontaneously hypertensive rats"
Journal: Physiological Genomics.
Authors: Tao Yang, Hongbao Li, Aline C. Oliveira, Ruby Goel, Elaine M. Richards, Carl J. Pepine and Mohan K. Raizada

"Probiotics prevent dysbiosis and the rise in blood pressure in genetic hypertension: role of short-chain fatty acids"
Journal: Molecular Nutrition & Food Research
Authors: Iñaki Robles-Vera, , Marta Toral, Néstor de la Visitación , Manuel Sánchez, Manuel Gómez-Guzmán, Miguel Romero, Tao Yang , José L. Izquierdo-Garcia , Rosario Jiménez, Jesús Ruiz-Cabello , Eduardo Guerra-Hernández , Mohan K Raizada , Francisco Pérez-Vizcaíno , Juan Duarte

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Congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe and Blair Mell and  collaborators in Australia! Their manuscript was accepted for publication to Journal of Pediatric Surgery.
Title: Interplay between collagenase and undescended testes in Adamts16 knockout rats
Authors: Gulcan Sarila, Tuya Bao, Sanduni Amaya Abeydeera, Ruili Li, Blair Mell, Bina Joe, Angelique Catubig, John

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Congratulations to  Masters student, Ahmad Alimadadi (Dr. Bina Joe's Lab) for his first publication and Dr. Xi Cheng, corresponding author! Our manuscript was accepted for publication in Genes.
Title: Meta-analysis of Dilated Cardiomyopathy Using Cardiac RNA-Seq
Transcriptomic Datasets
Authors: Ahmad Alimadadi, Patricia Munroe, Bina Joe, Xi Cheng

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 Congratulations to Dr. Lauren Koch! She had a book chapter published in Rat Genomics – Here are the details:

Chapter 15 “Rat Models of Exercise for the Study of Complex Disease.”
Koch LG, Britton SL.
Methods Mol Biol. 2019;2018:309-317. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-9581-3_15.

Dr. Koch mentions “this book provides both a historical perspective on rat research through the years and practical information to support researchers either currently involved in genomic research or planning to begin such a project.”

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 Congratulations to Dr. Ritu Chakravarti and Lab! Their manuscript, “14-3-3zeta - A Novel Immunogen Promotes Inflammatory Cytokine Production” was accepted for publication in Frontiers in Immunology. 

Authors: Jenna McGowan, Cara Peter, Saurabh Chattopadhyay, and Ritu Chakravarti
Abstract: The presence of autoantibodies against 14-3-3z in human autoimmune diseases indicates its antigenic function. However, neither the cause nor the consequence of this newly-identified antigenic function of 14-3-3z protein is known. To address this, we investigated the immunological functions of 14-3-3z by studying ex vivo effects on human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) proliferation, polarization and cytokine production. Exogenous 14-3-3z promoted PBMC proliferation and T cell polarization towards increasing Th1 and Th17 populations. Significant increases in IFN-g and IL-17 levels were observed in the presence of 14-3-3z. A specific increase in Th1 cells and IFN-g production provided strong evidence for MHC class II presentation of 14-3-3z antigen. Particularly HLA-DRB1*0401 allele strongly promoted 14-3-3z-induced IFN-g producing cells. In contrast, prednisolone treatment inhibited 14-3-3z-induced both T cell polarization and cytokine production. Overall, we show that MHC presentation and adaptor functions of 14-3-3z participate in promoting IFN-g and IL-17 production, two of the cytokines commonly associated with autoimmune diseases. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report describing the ex vivo antigenic function of 14-3-3z with human PBMC, thereby providing the basis of its immunological role in human diseases.

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Congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe, students and colleagues who recently had a manuscript accepted for publication to JAHA: Journal of the American Heart Association! Title: Exposure to amoxicillin in early life is associated with changes in gut microbiota and reduction in blood pressure: Findings from a study on rat dams and offspring. Authors: Sarah Galla, PhD, Saroj Chakraborty, MS, Xi Cheng, PhD, Ji-Youn Yeo, PhD, Blair Mell, BS, Nathaline Chiu, BS, Camilla F. Wenceslau, PhD, Matam Vijay-Kumar, PhD, Bina Joe, PhD.

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Several students and faculty of the Department are engaged in providing research training to honors high school students of Ottawa Hill High School. Dr. Joe was recently featured on WTOL News featuring this UT- Ottawa Hills partnership, which is also supported with funds for a research class at the school by ProMedica. https://www.wtol.com/article/life/family-focus/local-high-school-students-work-with-researchers-on-cancer-dna/512-b98e6325-d366-4467-849d-e5bb766f408e

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 Dr. Bina Joe has been selected as the 2020 Distinguished Mayerson-DiLuzio Visting Professor of the Department of Physiology at Tulane University in New Orleans. This award is presented to an outstanding physiologist who is also recognized for their unique relationships with the Tulane Physiology department and faculty.  She will deliver a lecture and accept this award in late March. Congratulations!

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Women & Philanthropy at the University of Toledo has funded Dr. Bina Joe and therefore, our Department has newly renovated lab space with state-of-the-art equipment establishing germ-free models to conduct critical experiments in microbiome research.  Faculty, Staff and Students will host  a reception and meet and greet with members of the Women & Philanthropy group, followed by a presentation, demonstration and tour of the new lab on Friday, November 15, 2019 from 4:30-7:30 p.m.  The Lab is the first area of the Germ-Free Facility for Biomedical Research to come on-line. It will increase research opportunities and experimental learning in the College of Medicine. It will also establish increased capabilities centered around microbiome research as it impacts human health and focus attention on the ignored component of our bodies, i.e., microbiota.  

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Congratulations Dr. McCarthy, Dr. Wenceslau, Dr. Joe, Dr. Vijay-Kumar and Dr. Beng San Yeoh for their recent publications!.

Inflammation induces stress erythropoiesis through heme-dependent activation of SPI-C. Bennett LF, Liao C, Quickel MD, Yeoh BS, Vijay-Kumar M, Hankey-Giblin P, Prabhu KS, Paulson RF.  Sci Signal. 2019 Sep 10;12(598). pii: eaap7336. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.aap7336.

"Western-diet"-induced adipose inflammation requires a complex gut microbiota. Tran H, Bretin A, Adeshirlarijaney A, San Yeoh B, Vijay-Kumar M, Zou J, Denning TL, Chassaing B, Gewirtz AT. Cell Mol Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2019 Oct 5. pii: S2352-345X(19)30127-4. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmgh.2019.09.009. [Epub ahead of print]

Reconstitution of autophagy ameliorates vascular function and arterial stiffening in spontaneously hypertensive rats. McCarthy CG, Wenceslau CF, Calmasini FB, Klee NS, Brands MW, Joe B, Webb RC. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2019 Nov 1;317(5):H1013-H1027. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00227.2019. Epub 2019 Aug 30.

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 Congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe and colleagues! Their manuscript has been accepted for publication to Physiological Genomics. It is also selected to be featured as the cover article for the April 2020 edition!

Vertical selection for nuclear and mitochondrial genomes shapes gut microbiota and modifies risks for complex diseases. Contributing authors: Youjie Zhang, Sivarajan Kumarasamy, Blair Mell, Xi Cheng, Eric Morgan, Steven Britton, Matam Vijay-Kumar, Lauren Koch, and Bina Joe.  Physiological Genomics 

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 Congratulations to Dr. Cameron McCarthy! He has been selected to serve as a member of the Editorial Board of Hypertension. This is a big deal considering Hypertension is a top ranking journal in Cardiovascular Sciences. 

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Congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe! She received the Harriet Dustan Award sponsored by the Council on Hypertension. This award recognizes female investigators who make outstanding contributions in the field of Hypertension. The award was presented to her during the Hypertension Scientific Sessions in September in New Orleans.

Read more here:  http://news.utoledo.edu/index.php/09_27_2019/utoledo-hypertension-expert-receives-prestigious-american-heart-association-award

Several members and trainees also participated in the Council and received awards:

Dr. Bina Joe: recipient of Harriet Dustan award and delivered Harriet Dustan Award Lecture and  Poster Moderator of Clinical, Genetic and Epidemiological Mechanisms session
Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar: Presented data during the Recent Advances: Microbiome session and participated in the Trainee Onsite Poster Competition
Dr.  Lauren Koch: Participated in the Salt and Nutrition poster session and was a Moderator for Vascular Stiffness and Fibrosis session
Dr. Camilla Wenceslau: Participated in the CHAMP Lunch as a mentor and was Poster Moderator for Trainee Onsite Poster Competition
Dr. Sivarajan Kumarasamy: Poster Moderator for Trainee Onsite Poster Competition
Dr. Cameron McCarthy: Recipient of the Council on Hypertension New Investigator Award and presented data in the Vascular Biology and Function session and Poster Moderator for Pharmacology and Non-pharmacological Approaches session
Dr. Tao Yang: Recipient of the Council on Hypertension New Investigator Award and presented data in both the Hypertension in Pregnancy and Offspring session and Regulation of Blood Pressure by the Central Nervous System session
Usman Ashraf:  Presented data in Mechanisms in Chronic Kidney Disease and Fibrosis session and attended the CHAMP Lunch as a mentee
Jonnelle Edwards: Presented data in the Inflammation and Immune Mechanisms session and attended the CHAMP Lunch as a mentee
Shaunak Roy: Recipient of Council on Hypertension Trainee Advocacy Committee New Investigator Award and  presented data in the Vascular Stiffness and Fibrosis session and attended the CHAMP Lunch as a mentee
Jeremy Tomcho: Participated in Trainee Onsite Poster Competition and attended the CHAMP Lunch as a mentee

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A book chapter that Dr. Bina Joe wrote with Dr. John Rapp has been accepted for publication in Comprehensive Physiology.

"Dissecting Epistatic QTL for Blood Pressure in Rats: Congenic Strains Versus Heterogeneous Stocks, a Reality Check"
John P. Rapp and Bina Joe*

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Dr. Ritu Chakravarti has reached out to McCord Junior High School in Sylvania to mentor a Science Teacher, Ms. Mary Janelle Low. Dr. Chakravarti’s application with Ms. Low as the mentee was selected by the American Association of Immunology for their nationwide ‘High School Teachers Summer Research Program in Immunology’. This is an outreach program to popularize immunology in schools. Generally 6-7 applications are selected every year nationwide. This summer, look out for Ms. Low as she will shadow Dr. Charkravarti. Mrs. Low has to come up with a plan to incorporate her experience in her classroom. Congrats on the great community outreach effort, Dr. Chakravarti!

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Dr. Bina Joe was invited to present a ‘State-of-the-art’ Lecture at the Canadian Hypertension Congress held in Edmonton, Canada from Sept 25-28. My talk was titled ‘Pressure from the Bugs Within: Microbiomic and Metabolomic effects on hypertension’. 

The Canadian Hypertension Congress is Canada’s largest national scientific and educational conference of its kind and is designed to incorporate today’s needs and expectations of scientists, researchers, and clinicians. This year’s theme was  “A Whole-Patient Approach” and covered the topics in hypertension and adjacent conditions for whole-patient care listed here:

• Cardiovascular Disease (Stroke,      Heart Failure, Atrial Fibrillation)
• Dementia
• Diabetes
• Thresholds & Targets
• Kidney Disease
• Obesity

The Congress brings together leading minds from various disciplines and specialties, with more than 500 of Canada’s leading hypertension scientists and researchers, specialists, physicians, pharmacists, nurses, dietitians, health experts, and public health officials in attendance.

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Dr. Bina Joe, Distinguished University Professor and Chair of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, is featured in The Academic Minute, which is available as a podcast from NPR, on the Academic Minute website and shared on Inside Higher Ed, features researchers from colleges and universities in the US and all around the world, bringing updates on what’s new and exciting in the academy and how academic research contributes to solving the world’s problems and to serving the public good. The Academic Minute is also available at: 

 

 

 

http://news.utoledo.edu/index.php/09_23_2019/utoledo-researchers-take-over-national-academic-research-program-this-week

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Congratulations to Dr. Xi Cheng! He was awarded as an APS Publications Star Reviewer - well done!

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Congratulations to Drs. Bina Joe, Camilla Wenceslau and Cameron McCarthy! They have all been invited by the American Journal of Hypertension to become members of their Editorial Board. The initial terms, starting January 2020 are for three years, with the possibility of additional three year terms.

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The Department welcomed 4 high school students from Northview High School into the newly developed College Credit Program which started this fall semester.  The program provides exposure to basic science research in the biomedical sciences.  We welcome Shrey Gupta, Evangelina Louis, Daven Sarikonda, and Avinash Singh who will be working in the Laboratories of Drs. Chakravarti, Vijay-Kumar, and Joe.

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Friday, August 23rd, the Department welcomed five new students into the Molecular Medicine Track.  They are from 5 different countries representing 3 continents! There was a short presentation by Drs. Joe and Beavis followed by lunch and fellowship. The MOME Track students joining us this fall are pictured below from left:
 
Juthika Mandal                                              PhD (from Bangladesh)
Xue Mei                                                        PhD (from China)
Fathima Dhilhan Mohammed Faleel  PhD (from Sri Lanka)               
Emily Waigi                                                    MSBS (from Kenya)  
Syed Hasan                                                    MSBS (from USA)

Welcome!

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Congratulations to Dr. Tao Yang! He has been selected to receive the HTN New Investigator Award at the AHA Conference on Hypertension in New Orleans to be held in September for his abstract titled, "Maternal high blood pressure control persistently alters gut-brain communication and attenuates hypertension of offspring". This award includes a monetary prize plus complimentary registration to the conference. His abstract has also been selected for podium presentation at the Council for the same abstract as well as another abstract titled, "Gut dysbiosis impairs serotonergeic gut-brain axis and increased blood pressure". Well done!

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 Congratulations to Dr. Cameron McCarthy from the Joe Lab! His manuscript was accepted for publication in AJP Heart and Circulatory Physiology. Reconstitution of autophagy ameliorates vascular function and arterial stiffening in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Cameron McCarthy, Camilla Wenceslau, Fabiano Calmasini, Nicole Klee, Michael Brands, Bina Joe, and R. Clinton Webb

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Congratulations to Blair from the Joe Lab! Her manuscript was accepted in PLOS One. QTL mapping of rat blood pressure loci on RNO1 within a homologous region linked to human hypertension on HSA15. Blair Mell, Xi Cheng, Bina Joe

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A warm welcome to Dr. Tao Yang and Dr. Guannan Zhou! They are from the University of Florida. Dr. Tang is a Dean’s Postdoctoral to Faculty Fellow and will be working in the Joe lab.  Dr. Yang is funded for his research on microbiota through the Biocodex  foundation.  Dr. Zhou is a Postdoctoral Fellow and will be working in Dr. Lauren Koch’s lab.

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Kudos to Dr. Cameron McCarthy! He has been selected to receive the HTN New Investigator Travel Award of the Hypertension 2019 Scientific Sessions! The award will be presented to him during a ceremony in New Orleans.  ABSTRACT: Control 59, Beta-Hydroxybutyrate Synthesis Contributes to the Anti-Vascular Aging Effect of Autophagy Well done!

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Hearty congratulations to Dr. Cheng! His grant titled Genome-wide investigation of circular RNAs in alcohol-related phenotypes using the Hybrid Rat Diversity Panel, has been funded by the NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) Center of Excellence in Omics, Systems Genetics, and the Addictome.

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 The APS published a feature about Dr. Bina Joe's work on their website. View the whole article here:  https://www.the-aps.org/detail/person/bina-joe-phd?SSO=Y

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 Congratulations to Dr. Cameron McCarthy, he has been notified that their abstracts for the AHA 2019 Scientific Sessions Council for Hypertension have been accepted for oral presentation. The meeting takes place in New Orleans, September 5-8.

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 Dr. Bina Joe has been selected to receive the Harriet Dustan Award sponsored by the Council on Hypertension. This award recognizes female investigators who make outstanding contributions in the field of Hypertension. The award will be presented during the Hypertension Scientific Sessions in September in New Orleans.

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Nineteen High School students, 47 volunteers and 5 days is what it took to successfully complete the first Pre-Med Summer Camp organized by our Department! The camp was led by Dr. Ritu Chakravarti.  We had raving reviews from both the students and their parents on the content and organization of this camp. Students came from places as far as California, Texas, Indiana and also from several schools in the Toledo area. Besides getting exposure to the clinical facets, they appreciated the opportunity to conduct hands-on experiments in genomic medicine for a whole week! Sincere thanks to the 5 laboratories that participated: Dr. Chakravarti, Dr. Wenceslau, Dr. Kumar, Dr. Kumarasamy and Dr. Joe. Special thanks to faculty, staff and students of the UT community who also contributed their time for our camp.

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Dr. Bina Joe was recently awarded a grant in the amount of $65,000 from Women & Philanthropy for the Women & Philanthropy Gnotobiotic (Germ-Free) Rat Facility for Biomedical Research.

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 The Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine’s annual World Hypertension Day display was a successful day of bringing hypertension awareness to staff and visitors of the Health Science Campus. Many stopped to check their blood pressure and to receive additional information regarding hypertension and high blood pressure. A big thank you to CHPM trainees, Rachel Golonka (Kumar Lab) and Stephanie Clark (Joe Lab) and CHPM secretary, Melody Knotts for making this activity a success!

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 May 20th Dr. Joe had the pleasure of speaking at the Toledo Rotary Club, Downtown Toledo. The talk was titled ‘Pressure from the Bugs Within’. It was well attended by about 250 Rotarians and others and was well received in the community.

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May 2-4, 2019 many members and trainees from our Department and the Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine had the opportunity to attend the 2nd annual Gull Lake Regional Hypertension meeting. It was a valuable experience networking with other researchers in the hypertension field from around the Ohio/Michigan areas. Many of our Department members and trainees presented their research. It was a delight to hear from the organizers from Michigan State University and Faculty members from other Institutions that our student presentations were among the best. This, to me, speaks volumes to the significant improvements in training our students, especially through the TLC. Congratulations to the individual PIs who put their time and effort in conducting cutting-edge research and for being excellent mentors.

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 Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 Lustgarten-Thermo Fisher Scientific Memorial Award. He will be recognized and presented with this award at the AAI Annual Meeting – IMMUNOLOGY 2019TM (May 9-13), in San Diego, CA. 

Established to honor the memory of AAI member Joseph Lustgarten, Ph.D., this award is intended to advance the career of a mid-career scientist who attends the AAI annual meeting and presents an outstanding abstract specifically in the area of immune regulation. This award is generously supported by Thermo Fisher Scientific.  Congratulations!

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Congratulations to Dr. Sivarajan Kumarasamy and Lab! Their manuscript, “SAR and molecular mechanism studies of monoamine oxidase inhibition by selected chalcone analogues” was accepted for publication to the Journal  of Enzyme Inhibition And Medicinal Chemistry.

The authors are:  Shalaby, Raed; Petzer, Jacobus P. ; Petzer, Anel; Ashraf, Usman; Atari, Ealla ; Alasmari, Fawaz; Kumarasamy, Sivarajan; Sari, Youssef; Khalil, Ashraf Abd El Sabour.

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Dr. Ritu Chakravarti is a recipient of a 2019 AAI Early Career Faculty Travel Grant to attend the AAI Annual Meeting – IMMUNOLOGY 2019TM (May 9-13), in San Diego, California.

Congratulations!

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Dr. Bina Joe had the opportunity to attend an Honors Class Research Celebration of the Ottawa Hills High School held at the ProMedica Steel Plant in Downtown Toledo.  About 10 years ago, Mr. Jeremy Nixon, the Honors Biology Teacher at Ottawa Hills High School spent his summer conducting research in her laboratory as part of an NSF funded program. Since then, he has developed a Research Class where select high school students are required to conduct research as part of their honors curriculum. Dr. Hill and Dr. Hinds from the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology also participated in mentoring some of these young people.

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Dr. Ritu Chakravarti recently presented her study, “Characterizing antigenic functions of 14-3-3z-A Novel autoantigen” at the Annual Meeting of American Association of Immunologists in San Diego, CA. She also received an Early Career Faculty Travel grant from AAI. Congrats!

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Saroj Chakraborty, trainee of Dr. Bina Joe from the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, was recently featured in the newest edition of The Science Breaker on his work about the relationship between metabolism and hypertension. The article can be viewed here:

https://www.thesciencebreaker.org/breaks/health-physiology/a-novel-mechanism-of-metabolic-regulation-of-blood-pressure

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 Congratulations to  MOME Track MD/PhD candidate Sarah Galla (Joe Lab) for placing 2nd in oral presentation at the 2019 Graduate Research Forum and MOME Track PhD candidate Rachel Golonka (Vijay-Kumar Lab) for placing 3rd poster presentation!

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Congratulations to Dr. Camilla Wenceslau and Dr. Cameron McCarthy! They were both invited and have accepted to join the AJP-Heart and Circulatory Physiology Editorial Board! Their terms begin January 2019.

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CHPM Members, Drs. Steven Haller and David Kennedy from the Department of Medicine recently traveled to Seoul, South Korea, at the 49th Scientific Meeting of the Korean Society of Hypertension in conjunction with the International Society of Hypertension and Hypertension Seoul 2018. The theme was “Understanding Hypertension Pathophysiology from Bench to Bedside”. Drs Haller and Kennedy were invited to give lectures and Dr. Haller spoke on “Pathophysiology of Renal Fibrosis,” while Dr. Kennedy spoke on “Mechanisms of Cardiorenal Syndrome.”

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Since its inception in 2012, the Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine (CHPM), recently recognized by the University of Toledo as a Spotlight Area of Unique Distinction, has promoted interdisciplinary research, education and public awareness in the field of hypertension and associated cardiometabolic diseases. Researchers at CHPM have now made groundbreaking discoveries that link gut microbiota to blood pressure regulation, obesity and liver cancer. 

- Dr. Bina Joe’s lab (Distinguished University Professor and Chair, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology) has pioneered the link between gut microbiota –bacteria residing in the gut- and the genetics of hypertension (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25829393). Over the past few years Dr. Joe’s group has been studying the relationship between metabolites produced by the gut microbiota and the function of organ systems that regulate blood pressure. This research has the potential to unravel novel targets, either at the bacterial level or within the host that can be used to treat or even prevent high blood pressure. Dr. Joe was recently awarded a $2.64 million grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (http://utnews.utoledo.edu/index.php/09_10_2018/professor-awarded-2-6-million-research-grant-to-further-examine-link-between-gut-bacteria-and-high-blood-pressure).

- Specific pharmacologic treatment of salt-sensitive hypertension remains a challenge. Within this context, Dr. Joe’s lab recently identified a salt-responsive metabolite, beta-hydroxybutyrate, as a key regulator of blood pressure which can attenuate hypertension and protect kidney function despite high salt intake. This work was published in the prestigious journal Cell Reports (https://www.cell.com/cell-reports/fulltext/S2211-1247(18)31503-1).

-  While studying the benefits of the refined soluble fiber inulin, a probiotic, in combating obesity-associated complications, Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar (Director of the UT Microbiome Consortium and Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology) and his research team have recently found that after six months on inulin-enriched diet mice develop cholestatic liver cancer. Remarkably, this seems induced by dysregulation of fiber fermentation by the gut microbiota. These seminal findings were published in the prestigious journal Cell (https://www.cell.com/cell/fulltext/S0092-8674(18)31176-0).

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 Congratulations to Dr. Sivarajan Kumarasamy and lab! Their manuscript, "COUP-TFII Revisited: Its Role in Metabolic Gene Regulation" was accepted in Steroids journal. Authors are: Usman M Ashraf, Edwin R Sanchez and Sivarajan Kumarasamy.

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We are pleased to announce the addition of two adjunct faculty members to the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and the Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine. These appointments significantly enhance the footprint of our Center in human hypertension research.

 Dr. Patricia Munroe is a Professor from The William Harvey Research Institute at the Queen Mary University of London (https://www.qmul.ac.uk/whri/people/academic-staff/items/munroepatricia.html) and Dr. Sandosh Padmanabhan is a Professor from the Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences at University of Glasgow (https://www.gla.ac.uk/researchinstitutes/icams/staff/sandoshpadmanabhan/). They are world leaders in hypertension research and in the field of Precision Medicine and Translational Physiology. Dr. Munroe was named a Thomson Reuters Highly Cited Researcher and has also been listed in the 2015 World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds.  Dr. Padmanabhan has won several awards as well and works in association with Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak’s research group in the University of Glasgow.

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We are pleased to announce that Ms. Hannah Saternos, a graduate student of Dr. Wissam Aboualaiwi-who is an NIH-funded member of the Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine in the College of Pharmacy, has received an American Heart Association (AHA) pre-doctoral grant for two years starting 01/01/2019. Dr. Saternos’ grant scored in the 11.65 percentile and the funding pay line was at 39 percentile. Congratulations on both the mentee and mentor for a job well done!

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Congratulations to Dr. Vijay Kumar and his students, Beng and Rachel!  Their manuscript has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Innate Immunity. The title is, “The Iron Tug-of-War between Bacterial Siderophores and Innate Immunity” and the authors are: Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar (Corresponding Author), Rachel Golonka(Co-author), Beng San Yeoh (Co-author).  Well done!

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Congratulations to Saroj (Dr. Bina Joe's lab) and collaborators, for having their manuscript accepted to Cell Reports! The title of the manuscript is, “Salt-responsive Metabolite, b-hydroxybutyrate, Attenuates Hypertension” and the authors are: Chakraborty, S, Galla, S, Cheng X, Yeo, J, Mell, B, Singh V, Yeoh BS, Saha P, Mathew, AV, Vijay-Kumar, M, Joe B.  Well done!

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Dr. Bina Joe, Chair of Physiology and Pharmacology was recently featured in the International Society of Hypertension’s Women in Hypertension Spotlight. See more here:  http://ish-world.com/womens-spotlight/i/Dr-Bina-Joe/

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The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute awarded Dr. Joe a $2.64 million grant to study the role of gut microbiota in hypertension. Dr. Joe pioneered the discovery of the link between gut microbiota and inherited hypertension. The new grant titled ‘Genetic, Epigenetic and Dietary Salt effects on Microbiota and Hypertension’ aims to follow up on this pioneering discovery to study the various mechanisms by which gut microbiota contribute to the inheritance and progression of salt-sensitive forms of inherited hypertension. Other faculty collaborators on this grant are Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar and Dr. Ritu Chakravarti.

Congratulations!

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Congratulations to Sarah Galla from Dr. Bina Joe’s lab! Her work has been featured in a press release from the APS. Congratulations and well done! http://www.the-aps.org/mm/hp/Audiences/Public-Press/2018/49.html

Congratulations to Dr. Saurabh Chattopadhyay and Dr. Terry Hinds! The National Institutes of Health awarded Dr. Saurabh Chattopadhyay (Medical Microbiology & Immunology) and Dr. Terry Hinds (Physiology and Pharmacology) a grant (R21)to study  the function of Interferon Regulatory Factor 3 (IRF3) in alcoholic liver diseases (ALD) titled, “How Non-Transcriptional IRF3 Prevents ALD”. Dr. Chattopadhyay is Principal Investigator and  Dr. Hinds is Co-Investigator.

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Congratulations to Dr. Cam McCarthy! He was awarded a post-doc grant from the American Heart Association and funding was effective July 1, 2018. The title of his grant is, “Decreased autophagy leads to proteotoxicity and senescence in hypertension-associated premature vascular aging”.

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Congratulations to Dr. Vijay Kumar and Lab! Their manuscript, “Myeloperoxidase Deficiency Attenuates Systemic and Dietary Iron-induced Adverse Effects, has been accepted for publication in The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. Authors are: Xia Xiao, Piu Saha, Beng san yeoh, Jennifer Hipp and Matam Vijay-Kumar.

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The National Heart Lung and Blood Institute awarded Dr. Bina Joe, Distinguished University Professor and Chair of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and Director of the Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine, a major, $2.64 million, grant to study the role of gut microbiota in hypertension.  Dr. Joe pioneered the discovery of the link between gut microbiota and inherited hypertension.  The new grant titled ‘Genetic, Epigenetic and Dietary Salt effects on Microbiota and Hypertension’ aims to follow up on this pioneering discovery to study the various mechanisms by which gut microbiota contribute to the inheritance and progression of salt-sensitive forms of inherited hypertension.  Other faculty collaborators on this grant from the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology are Dr. Matam Vijay-Kumar, Associate Professor & Director of the UT Microbiome Consortium and Dr. Ritu Chakravarti, Assistant Professor.

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Dr. Bina Joe, from the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and the Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine, delivered the Keynote Address titled ‘Manipulating Microbiota for the treatment of Hypertension: Hype?” at the 2018 Michigan Hypertension Meeting, held May 3-4, 2018 in Gull Lake, MI. Also invited for oral presentations were faculty and fellows from the Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine, Dr. Lauren Koch, Dr. Xi Cheng, Mr. Saroj Chakraborty and Ms. Sarah Galla.

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 A special thanks to all the CHPM members and trainees and everyone who participated in the American Heart Walk and activities this year! Whether you made a monetary contribution or walked or ran in the 5K, your contributions and participation are greatly appreciated! (And congrats to Dr. Aboualaiwi, who placed 4^th overall in the 5K and 1^st in his age group!) Thanks again everyone!

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Dr. Bina Joe, from the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and the Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine, delivered the Keynote Address titled ‘Manipulating Microbiota for the treatment of Hypertension: Hype?” at the 2018 Michigan Hypertension Meeting, held May 3-4, 2018 in Gull Lake, MI. Also invited for oral presentations were faculty and fellows from the Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine, Dr. Lauren Koch, Dr. Xi Cheng, Mr. Saroj Chakraborty and Ms. Sarah Galla.

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Congratulations to Dr. Ritu Chakravarti, joint faculty member of Physiology and Pharmacology and CHPM member, who received funding from the University of Toledo Rocket Fuel Fund for a collaborative project to build a composite sensor that can measure real-time reactive oxygen species in tissues and liquids. This exemplary collaboration is with Dr. Kim, College of Engineering faculty member, who has an interest in developing electrochemical sensors, while Dr. Chakravarti is an expert on reactive oxygen species. The title of the project is “Time Electrochemical Sensor for Detecting Free Radicals” and the funding is for one year.

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Congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe and lab! Their manuscript, “Fine mapping of epistatic genetic determinants of blood pressure on rat chromosome 5”, was accepted for publication in the Journal of Hypertension. The authors are: Harshal Waghulde, Resmi Pillai, Xi Cheng, Ying Nie, Blair Mell, Bina Joe

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Congratulations Vazquez's lab!! The manuscript: "Reduced calcification and osteogenic features in advanced atherosclerotic plaques of mice with macrophage-specific loss of Trpc3: Obligatory requirement for Trpc3 in a novel macrophage-associated BMP-2 dependent calcification mechanism" by Prabhatchandra Dube, Chikkamenahalli Lakshmikanth, Lutz Birnbaumer and Guillermo Vazquez, has been accepted for publication in Atherosclerosis, a prestigious journal of the European Atherosclerosis Society.

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Congratulations to Dr. Ritu Chakravarti, joint faculty of the Department of Phys/Pharm, whose manuscript entitled, “Bioinformatic Analysis Reveals New Determinants of Antigenic 14-3-3 Proteins and A Novel Antifungal Strategy” by Jenna McGowan, Jacqueline Kratch, Saurabh Chattopadhyay, Bina Joe, Heather R. Conti, and Ritu Chakravarti was accepted for publication in PLOS ONE!

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Congratulations to Prabhat Dube (Vazquez Lab) who successfully defended his dissertation.  Well done, Prabhat – you did a great job!

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Congratulations to Dr. Wissam AbouAlaiwi and his students on the acceptance of their manuscript entitled ” "Distribution and Function of the Muscarinic Receptor Subtypes in the Cardiovascular System" (PG-00062-2017R2) in Physiological Genomics. Please note that this manuscript has been majorly handled by the students both graduate and undergrads. The student authors with their names in the order as they appear in the manuscript are below.

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“Hannah C. Saternos, Daniyah A. Almarghalani, Hayley M. Gibson, Mahmood A. Meqdad, Raymond B. Antypas, Ajay Lingireddy and Wissam A. AbouAlaiwi”.

Congratulations to Dr. Wissam Aboualaiwi, CHPM member, who was elected as FAHA (Fellow of the American Heart Association) during the AHA Council on Hypertension held in San Francisco, September 14-17th.

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Congratulations to Prabhat Dube (Vazquez Lab), he is the winner of the UTRA Scholarship award! His scientific and community accomplishments confirmed that he was the top choice by a large margin. Congratulations again, on this prestigious award and thank you for all of your hard work and professional career as a doctoral student in the University of Toledo (College of Medicine and Life Sciences) Biomedical Science Program within the Molecular Medicine Track. Well done!!

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Congratulations to the Joe Lab! Their manuscript has been accepted for publication in PLOS Genetics.
"Positional cloning of quantitative trait nucleotides for blood pressure and cardiac QT-interval by targeted CRISPR/Cas9 editing of a novel long non-coding RNA" Xi Cheng, Harshal Waghulde, Blair Mell, Eric E. Morgan, Shondra M. Pruett-Miller, Bina Joe

Well done!

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Congratulations to Dr. Xi Cheng and Dr. Bina Joe! Their manuscript, "Circular RNAs in Rat Models of Cardiovascular and Renal Diseases" was accepted for publication in Physiological Genomics. Congratulations to Dr. Haller, whose manuscript, “Circulating CD40 and sCD40L Predict Changes in Renal Function in Subjects with Chronic Kidney Disease" Jeffrey X. Xie, BS, Helen Alderson, MD, James Ritchie, MD Philip A. Kalra, MD, Yanmei Xie, MA, Kaili Ren, Ph.D, Hanh Nguyen, MA, Tian Chen, Ph.D, Pamela Brewster, MA, Rajesh Gupta, MD, Lance D. Dworkin, MD, Deepak Malhotra, MD, Ph.D., Christopher J. Cooper, MD, Jiang Tian, Ph.D., Steven T. Haller, Ph.D. was accepted for publication in Scientific Reports.

 He also received a grant from The University of Toledo Medical Research Society. Well done!

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Congratulations Prabhat (Vazquez lab)! The paper entitled: "EVIDENCE FOR CONSTITUTIVE BONE MORPHOGENETIC PROTEIN-2 SECRETION BY M1 MACROPHAGES: Constitutive auto/paracrine osteogenic signaling by BMP-2 in M1 macrophages" Prabhatachandra Dube, Lutz Birnbaumer, Guillermo Vazquez has been accepted for publication in Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications.

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Congratulations to CHPM trainee, Jeffery Xie, for successfully defending his thesis! His advisors were Dr. Jiang Tian and Dr. Steve Haller.

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 Congratulations to CHPM Trainee, Xie Cheng, for successfully defending his thesis! His advisor was Dr. Bina Joe.

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Dr. Zahoor Shah received an AHA grant for two years starting from July 1, 2017 titled: “Cofilin and Inflammation in hemorrhagic brain injury”. Congratulations!

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Congratulations to CHPM trainee, Prince Ampem, for successfully defending his thesis! His advisor was Dr. Guillermo Vazquez.

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Dr. David Kennedy, whose R01 grant proposal "Counter regulatory mechanisms of cardiotonic steroids in cardiorenal syndrome" has been funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute! Congratulations Dr. Kennedy!!

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Congratulations to Fawaz Alasmari (student in Dr. Sari’s lab) and Drs. Sari and Drummond for this new publication! The manuscript entitled “Effects of chronic inhalation of electronic cigarettes containing nicotine on glial glutamate transporters and α-7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in female CD-1 mice” has been published in Progress in Neuropsycopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry and set the ground for two grant submissions from Dr. Sari’s group.

Dr. Sari acknowledges the important role of the Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine in facilitating integration of research talent and effort and promoting collaborative research, of which this project constitutes a superb example!

Congratulations Dr. Sari and Dr. Drummond for your success and best of luck with your grants!

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Congratulations to CHPM trainee, Sumeet Solanki! Sumeet successfully defended his thesis April 3, 2017. His Advisor was Dr. Guillermo Vazquez.

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Congratulations to Dr. Ritu Chakravarti for receiving a 2017 Trainee Travel Award to present her work at the upcoming Central Society for Clinical and Translational Research and Midwestern Section American Federation for Medical Research combined Annual Meeting, which will be held at The Mid-America Club in Chicago, IL, April 20-21 2017.

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Our Center conducts funded research by the NHLBI/ National Institutes of Health and the American Heart Association. We support the Go Red day. https://www.goredforwomen.org/fight-heart-disease-women-go-red-women-official-site/about-go-red/

Why is the red dress the symbol of women and heart disease?

In 2003, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the AHA and other organizations committed to women’s health joined together to raise awareness of women and heart disease. The NHLBI introduced the red dress as a national symbol for women and heart disease awareness and the AHA adopted this symbol to create synergy among all organizations committed to fighting this cause.

By working together to advance this important cause, the AHA, NHLBI and other women’s health groups will have a greater impact than any one group could have alone.

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Congratulations to CHPM trainee, Harshal Waghulde! Harshal successfully defended his thesis on August 1, 2016. His advisor was Dr. Bina Joe. 

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Congratulations Dr. Bina Joe! In 2014 the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute convened a Working Group (WG) to discuss new emerging aspects of the impact of salt on human health and disease, with emphasis on hypertension.  The WG brought together experts from a variety of scientific backgrounds. Dr. Bina Joe was among those experts and as part of this WG, she co-authored the recently released WG's review report published in Hypertension. Please, find the link to the full article below, and join us in congratulating Dr. Joe for such a high distinction!

National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Working Group Report on Salt in Human Health and Sickness: Building on the Current Scientific Evidence. Oh YS, Appel LJ, Galis ZS, Hafler DA, He J, Hernandez AL, Joe B, Karumanchi SA, Maric-Bilkan C, Mattson D, Mehta NN, Randolph G, Ryan M, Sandberg K, Titze J, Tolunay E, Toney GM, Harrison DG.

http://hyper.ahajournals.org/content/68/2/281.full

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Please enjoy a new video highlighting the 'Hot topics in Hypertension' session of the American Heart Association Council on Hypertension Annual meeting held in Orlando, FL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5GMmXcHQ8o&list=PLzCpCvMeTCs42B2_xHhm_2LBJNQW5Wp3j&index=6

Our Chair and Director, Dr. Bina Joe, was an invited speaker at this session and she is interviewed about the topic of 'Microbiota and Hypertension'.

The associated executive summary of the Working group  of the NHLBI on 'Microbiota and Hypertension' is available at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/research/reports/role-microbiota-blood-pressure-regulation-executive-summary

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Congratulations to Dr. Brahma Raju Mopidevi for being awarded a New Investigator Research Recognition Award from the APS journal Physiological Genomics -the Physiological Genomics Group!! Dr. Mopidevi is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and member of the Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine. The Award will be presented at the Experimental Biology 2016 Physiologic Genomic Group Luncheon and Awards Ceremony which will be held on Monday, April 4, 2016 from 12:30-1:30 PM at The Old Spaghetti Factory.

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Congratulations Dr. David Kennedy, Assistant Professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and member of CHPM, for receiving the Central Society for Clinical and Translational Research Early Career Development Award! The Central Society for Clinical and Translational Research (CSCTR) is one of the oldest and largest academic medical societies in the Midwest. It was created by distinguished academic physicians in the Midwest to advance medical science and disseminate this science to the members by publishing research for national and international distribution and by sponsoring scientific meetings. The CSCTR provides annual Early Career Development Awards to support the research of outstanding new investigators who are conducting translational research within a clinical department or hold an appointment in a clinical department. Additional information can be found at www.CSCR.com

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On Thursday January 14th, at a Faculty Recognition Ceremony held at the Radisson at UTMC Mahogany Room, Dr. Bina Joe, Professor and Chair of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and Director of the Center for Hypertension and Precision Medicine, received the 2015 College of Medicine and Life Sciences Dean’s Award for Research Excellence in Sustained Research. Congratulations Dr. Joe!

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Congratulations Prabhat Dube, graduate student in the Molecular Medicine track and trainee of the CHPM (Dr. Vazquez's lab), for having his research published in the Toledo Blade. Below is the link to Prabhat’s article: 

 http://www.toledoblade.com/Medical/2016/01/04/Understanding-the-slow-journey-of-struggling-arteries.html

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Congratulations Dr. Wissam Aboualaiwi, Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology at UT College of Pharmacy and active member of CHPM, who has received the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) New Investigator Award grant.

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Dr. Patrick Mulrow, who was chairman of the Department of Medicine and a leading researcher in hypertension at the former Medical College of Ohio, now University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, died Thursday December 3, 2015, at Jupiter Medical Center, Florida. 

Read more at http://www.toledoblade.com/Deaths/2015/12/06/Dr-Patrick-Mulrow-1926-2015-MCO-chairman-a-noted-researcher-of-hypertension.html 

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Congratulations to Prince Ampem, graduate student in the Molecular Medicine track and trainee of the CHPM (Dr. Vazquez's lab), for having his research published in the Toledo Blade. Below is the link to Prince’s article: http://www.toledoblade.com/Medical/2015/09/07/UT-discovering-new-ways-to-combat-clogged-arterie.html

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Congratulations to Sumeet Solanki, graduate student in the Molecular Medicine track and trainee of the CHPM (Dr. Vazquez's lab), for having his research published in the Toledo Blade. Below is the link to Sumeet's article: http://www.toledoblade.com/news/2015/05/04/Heart-Attacks-The-view-from-inside-your-arteries.html

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Congratulations to Sumeet Solanki in Dr. Vazquez's lab for being awarded a pre-doctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association.

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Congratulations to Ying Nie who successfully defended her Ph.D. thesis on May 1, 2015, "Positional Mapping for Blood Pressure Loci on Rat Chromosome 9" Advisor: Dr. Bina Joe

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Congratulations to Resmi Pillai who successfully defended her Ph.D. thesis on April 30, 2015, "High Resolution Substitution Mapping for Genetic Elements Controlling Blood Pressure Located on Rat Chromosomes 5 and 10" Advisor: Dr. Bina Joe.

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Congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe, she received the Outstanding Research Award at the Outstanding Faculty & Advisor Awards Ceremony on April 27, 2015.

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Congratulations to Dr. Terry Hinds, along with colleagues at University of Mississippi Medical Center and Montclair State University, published "Biliverdin Reductase Isozymes in Metabolism" in the High-impact Journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism.  Note that Dr. Hinds was able to involve two Medical Students in preparing this review, and they are among the authors.  This is a great way to get medical students [including MSBS students] and other students productively involved.

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Congratulations to Dr. Guillermo Vazquez's laboratory, who's work entitled "Increased Size and Cellularity of Advanced Atherosclerotic Lesions in Mice with Endothelial Overexpression of the Human TRPC3 Channel" (authors:  Smedlund K, Birnbaumer L, Vazquez G) has been accepted for publication in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA.

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Congratulations to Dr. Chris Drummond, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Jiang Tian's lab, for having his abstract "MicroRNA 29b and Cardiotonic Steroid-Induced Cardiac Fibrosis in Adult Cardiac Fibroblasts",selected for oral presentation at the American Physiological Society (APS) organized session, "Trainee Highlights in Physiological Genomics" at the Experimental Biology 2015 Meeting.

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Congratulations to Xi Cheng, a graduate student in Dr. Bina Joe's lab, for having his abstract "A CRISPR/Cas9 System Based Targeted Disruption of a Novel Rat Long Non-coding RNA in a Rat Genetic Model of Hypertension," accepted for oral presentation at the American Physiological Society (APS) organized session, "Trainee Highlights in Physiological Genomics" at the Experimental Biology 2015 Meeting.

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Congratulations to Harshal Waghulde, a graduate student in Dr. Bina Joe's lab, for having his abstract "Development of Novel Gper-1 Knock-out Rat Model Using a Modified CRISPR/Cas9 Technology," accepted for oral presentation at the American Physiological Society (APS) organized session, "Physiological Effects of Sex Chromosome Complementation and Chromosome Y Genetic Variants" at the Experimental Biology 2015 Meeting.

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Congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe, New Publication in Nature Communications "Cross-talk between two transcription factors regulates blood pressure"  See article in the March 2015 JCCTR Newsletter

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Congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe for being named the Shining Star Award winner for Outstanding Research by the Office of the Provost at the University of Toledo.   View Video

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Congratulations to Dr. Bina Joe for the appointment as Editor-in-Chief of an American Physiological Society journal. Dr. Joe will assume office as the Editor of Physiological Genomics from July 1, 2015.

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Congratulations! to Robert Lee who successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis on November 13, 2014, "Alpha 7 Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor:  Novel Role in Macrophage Survival and Murine Atherosclerosis" Advisor: Dr. Guillermo Vazquez

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Congratulations! to Anita Rana, Ph.D., she has been selected to receive a Basic Cardiovascular Sciences (BCVS) Abstract Travel Grant to attend the AHA Scientific Sessions 2014 in Chicago, IL, November 15-19, 2014.  This award recognizes meritorious work by young investigators, encourages participation in the AHA Scientific Sessions and provides a small stipend to help defer the council's international presenters' travel expenses to present research at the AHA Scientific Sessions.

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Congratulations! to Brahma Raju Mopidevi, Ph.D., on being selected for the Kidney Council New Investigator Travel Award for the abstract he submitted, "A Genetic Variant of Human Aldosterone Synthase Gene Causes Salt-Dependent High Blood Pressure in Transgenic Mice".  The High Blood Pressure Research (HBPR) 2014 Scientific Session will be held at the Hilton San Francisco, September 9-12, 2014.  Dr. Mopidevi's abstract is among the top 10 percent of the accepted abstracts.  He will present a poster presentation at the Scientific Sessions 2014, Chicago, IL, November 15-19, 2014.

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Congratulations! to Bina Joe, Ph.D. who has been named the 2014 Lewis K. Dahl Memorial Lecturer by The American Heart Association's Council on High Blood Pressure Research (soon to be Hypertension).  The Lewis K. Dahl Memorial Lecture was established in 1988 by the Council for High Blood Pressure Research in honor of Dr. Dahl's pioneering work on the relations between salt, the kidney, and hypertension, and his establishment of a major genetically based experimental model of hypertension, the Dahl salt-sensitive rat.  Dr. Joe will attend the conference in San Francisco, CA, September 9-12, 2014.

Video - 2014 Lewis K Dahl Memorial Lecture Bina Joe, PhD, FAHA

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Congratulations! to Dr. Sivarajan Kumarasamy, Assistant Professor, and newly appointed faculty member in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology.

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Congratulations! to Bina Joe, Ph.D. who has been selected as the recipient of the American Physiological Society (APS) Physiological Genomics Distinguished Service Award.  This award is given to recognize those who have made outstanding contribution to the development of the APS Physiological Genomics group.

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 Congratulations to Terry Hinds, Ph.D. who has been named to the Editorial Board of the Journal of Diabetes Research.

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Congratulations to Resmi Pillai graduate student in Dr. Bina Joe's Laboratory who has won the Young Investigator Award from the American Physiological Society (APS), which is awarded to the first author of the best paper published in an APS journal-Physiological Genomics in 2013.  Title of publication:  "Isolation and high-throughput sequencing of two-closely linked epistatic hypertension susceptibility loci with a panel of bicongenic strains", Resmi Pillai, Harshal Waghulde, Ying Nie, Kathirvel Gopalakrishnan, Sivarajan Kumarasamy, Phyllis Farms, Michael R. Garrett, Santosh S. Atanur, Klio Maratou, Timothy J. Aitman, Bina Joe.  Physiological Genomics - Published 11 June 2013 Vol. no. DOI: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00077.2013  

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Congratulations to Moustafa Sayed who successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis on March 28, 2014, "Effects of Na/K-ATPase Pump and its Ligands on the Differentiation of Bone-marrow Stem Cells" Advisor:  Dr. Jiang Tian

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Congratulations to Varunkumar Pandey who successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis on August 28, 2013, "The effect of glucocorticoids on regulation of the human angiotensinogen gene and blood pressure." Advisor: Dr. Ashok Kumar.

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Congratulations to Dr. Meenakshi Kaw, Assistant Professor, and newly appointed faculty member in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology.

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Welcome! to Dr. Ahmad Mushtaq, Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology & Therapeutics, Khyber Medical College in Peshawar, Pakistan.  Dr. Mushtaq is sponsored by a Khyber Medical College Visiting Scholar program, a long standing exchange program between the College of Medicine and Khyber Medical College that is sponsored by Dr. S. Amjad Hussain.  Dr. Mushtaq will be working with Dr. Guillermo Vazquez for the next 3 months.

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 Welcome! to Danielle Rice...SURF (Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship) in the laboratory of Dr. Guillermo Vazquez.  Danielle will receive training in techniques used to study mechanisms of endoplasmic reticulum stress-induced apoptosis in coronary endothelium. 

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 Congratulations! Ph.D. graduates spring 2013

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Congratulations!  New Investigator Research Award presented to Dr. Guillermo Vazquez, April 2012. Dr. Guillermo Vazquez, Ph.D., Associate Professor, was presented with the New Investigator Award at the Faculty Recognition Reception on April 17, 2012.  Dr. Nader Abraham, Department Chairman, presented the award to Dr. Vazquez.