Collaborators

• John Olson Jr., MD, PhD
• Nichole Mercier, PhD
• Gregory Zipfel, MD
• Timothy Eberlein, MD
• Aaron Bobick, PhD

• Scott Berceli, MD, PhD
• Treena Arinzeh, PhD
• Christopher Chen, MD, PhD
• Oliver Aalami, MD
• Derrick Dean, PhD
• Hui Meng, PhD

• Luis Sanchez, MD
• Jessica Wagenseil, DSc
• Ralph Damiano Jr., MD
• Justin Sacks, MD, MBA
• Joshua Osbun, MD
• Guy Genin, PhD

• Stacey Liekweg, MBA
• Il Luscri, PhD
• Richard Clark
• Stephen Wu, PhD, MBA
• Brian Kinman, MBA
• Michael Regan, MBA
• Erica Barnell, MD, PhD
• Bart Hamilton, PhD

Hong Chen, PhD: Dr. Chen’s research is on focused ultrasound (FUS) technology that is developing sono-delivery techniques that aim to deliver drugs noninvasively to targeted tissue while minimizing systemic toxicity. She is also developing sono-release, which is pioneering work that aims to develop ultrasound-enabled blood-based liquid biopsy techniques for noninvasive and spatiotemporally controlled tissue diagnoses.

Jianmin Cui, PhD: Dr. Cui has decades of expertise in the study of molecular and biophysical mechanisms of ion channel activation and how disease-associated mutations impact these mechanisms in the setting of cardiovascular disease. He has studied two ion channel families in particular that include KCNQ/I_Ks K⁺ channels and BK type voltage and Ca²⁺ activated K⁺ channels, which his team has targeted for antiarrhythmic therapies.

Nathaniel Huebsch, PhD: Dr. Huebsch’s research focuses on fundamentally understanding how mechanical cues originating at cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix contacts influence signaling and fate with special interest in how those cues affect heart development and disease, and how to leverage those cues to engineer 3D models of human tissue for disease modeling and drug discovery, and to design new biomaterials for tissue regeneration.

Christine O’Brien, PhD: Dr. O’Brien’s research is developing preventative methods for women’s cardiovascular disease. She is developing light-based technologies designed for point of care real-time assessments that can be used to generate label-free or exogenous molecular contrast. Tools under development include laser speckle imaging that yields quantitative measures of perfusion.

Jonathan Silva, PhD:   Dr. Silva is a professor of biomedical engineering. His laboratory focuses on developing translational technology to address challenges facing arrhythmia patients and the physicians who treat them. Dr. Silva is the co-inventor, co-founder and CTO of SentiAR, Inc, a venture-backed software device spinout from WU.  His laboratory evaluates molecular approaches, such as voltage-clamp fluorometry to understand how the conformational dynamics of the Na+ channel regulate the cardiac action potential.

Alexandra Rutz, PhD: Dr. Rutz is focused on bridging living systems and technologies through the design of materials that makes more seamless connections between tissues and cardiovascular devices. New approaches help address issues of foreign body responses and help prevent device breakdown and failure. Her team uses 3D and porous electronic scaffolds for tissue engineering that are capable of electronic monitoring of stimulating seeded cells. Current investigations include assessment of scaffolds of cardiac cells that are remodeling around electrophysiological devices.

Quing Zhu, PhD:  Dr. Zhu is an expert in combining ultrasound and near infrared (NIR) imaging modalities for novel diagnostic imaging techniques. Her lab is developing co-registered ultrasound and photoacoustic microscopic imaging techniques. These technologies can be translated for diagnoses of vascular tissue perfusion assessments.

Jennifer N. Avari Silva, MD: Dr. Silva is director of electrophysiology and professor of cardiology at WUSM, and serves as the Faculty Fellow in Entrepreneurship for WUSM. Her research focuses on using digital health in cardiac electrophysiology as well as adopting emergent technologies in clinical and translation electrophysiology in cardiac patients. Recently, her team developed mixed reality technologies in interventional procedures. Her team is now developing new technology using mixed reality/ultrasound technology for ultrasound guided procedures.

Sharon Cresci, MD: Dr. Cresci is the associate director of the WUMS/BJH Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center. The focus of her research is the association of genetic variation with clinical outcomes in patients with cardiovascular disease, in the variable response to pharmacologic treatment, and in defining the functional mechanism of these associations. The ultimate goal of her research is to promote and advance precision medicine approaches with a specific focus on identifying clinical, molecular, genetic and environmental factors that can help diagnose, treat, and improve outcomes in patients with HCM.

Linda Peterson, MD: Dr. Peterson’s laboratory focuses on the causes of obesity-related cardiac dysfunction, particularly alterations in myocardial perfusion. Her team has expertise in various myocardial perfusion techniques, including positron emission tomography, echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging, magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and whole-body substrate kinetics.

Stacey Rentschler, MD, PhD: Dr. Rentschler is an associate professor of cardiovascular diseases. The focus of her laboratory is understanding mechanisms of regulation of cardiac electrophysiology. Her team is developing techniques to reprogram and adopt new electrical phenotypes. Reactivation of these mechanisms provides new avenues for regenerative medicine and treatment of arrhythmias in the form of a biological pacemaker.

Sumanth Prabhu, MD: Dr. Prabhu is Lewin Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Diseases and chief of the Division of Cardiology. His research focuses on mechanisms underlying inflammation and immune cell activation in the setting of heart failure. His team is translating new therapeutic approaches to alleviate inflammation and promote cardiac repair.

Gwendalyn Randolph, PhD: Dr. Randolph is a professor of pathology and emmunology. Her laboratory focuses on the dynamics of macrophages and HDL, including their trafficking out of various organs through blood vessels and lymphatics. Her team has developed methods to evaluate the dynamics and cellular trafficking into atherosclerotic lesions. She has also developed approaches to study HDL trafficking from plaques.

Mohamed Zayed, MD, PhD, MBA: Dr. Zayed’s laboratory studies a wide range of human vascular specimens, performs a broad range of molecular and biochemical assays, and is expert at various tissue histomorphometric analyses. His laboratory’s multi-disciplinary background in pharmacology, lipid research, and murine genetics, is used to explore mechanisms of vascular lipogenesis, atheroprogression, arterial aneurysmal disease, and deep venous thrombosis.

Christian Zemlin, PhD:   Dr. Zemlin’s laboratory studies cardiac arrhythmia mechanisms, particularly the mechanisms and treatments of atrial fibrillation. His team uses both optical mapping with voltage-sensitive fluorescent probes and extracellular electrodes to monitor cardiac electrical activity. He is particularly interested in the surgical treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and how developing new ablation techniques based on electroporation can improve clinical outcomes.

Ralph Damiano Jr, MD: Dr. Damiano’s laboratory is well-established with continuous extramural funding since 1991, including >20 years as PI on the R01 “Surgical Treatment of Arrhythmias” that is still active to date. His team is focused on evaluating electrophysiological consequences of surgical ischemia, strategies for myocardial protection during cardiac surgery using hyperpolarized arrest, and the surgical treatment of atrial fibrillation. His team has also developed a robust and reproducible canine model of severe MR, which is used to evaluate how structural and electrophysiological changes occur during severe MR.

Katherine Holzem, MD, PhD: Dr. Holzem is an Assistant Professor Surgery and has experience with cardiovascular imaging and 3D printing technology in vascular modeling. Her primary focus is evaluating tibial arterial disease and vascular calcifications.

Marcus Foston, PhD: Dr. Foston is an associate professor and Director of Diversity Initiatives at the MSOE. His research program develops novel biocompatible materials with extraordinary properties using lignocellulosic biomass for new biomaterial. He is a faculty fellow in the NSF funded Center of Engineering Mechanobiology, which aims to train a new generation of scientists and engineers in the emerging discipline of mechanobiology, and leads MSOE’s successful efforts to recruit talented trainees from diverse backgrounds.

Fuzhong Zhang, PhD: Dr. Zhang’s group focuses on using synthetic biology strategies to develop adhesives and therapeutics for treatment of cardiovascular diseases. Recently his group engineered a novel hybrid protein consisting of the zipper-forming domains of an amyloid protein, flexible spider silk sequences, and a dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA)-containing mussel foot protein (Mfp). Such hybrid proteins can be used to repair vascular tissue in the setting of disease or injury.

Ramesh Agarwal, PhD: Dr. Agarwal’s laboratory is expert at fluid dynamic computations and flow simulations. His team is evaluating different models of both arterial and venous flow simulations across stenoses, aneurysms, or other vascular pathologies. He has designed ex vivo systems to help translate theoretical findings and facilitate reproducibility of testing.

Guy Genin, PhD: Through the CEMB, Dr. Genin’s team are evaluating bio-inspired structures to define mechanobiology principles that can be used for designing novel medical devices for cardiovascular pathologies. His team is currently developing novel endovascular technology that can navigate through tortuous arterial and venous vascular anatomies, as well as new adhesive approaches to surgical wound closure and healing.

Jianjun Guan, PhD: Dr. Guan’s laboratory is investigating the repair and regeneration of cardiovascular tissue – such as infarcted hearts after myocardial infarction, dilated hearts after pressure overload-induced heart failure, and limbs after critical limb ischemia. His team is investigating polymer synthesis and modification, controlled release of drugs, proteins and oxygen scaffolds, and tissue constructs that include stem cells and differentiation factors.

Jessica Wagenseil, PhD:  Dr. Wagenseil’s laboratory studies the mechanics of large arteries with a focus on elastic fibers in disease and development. Diseases that her team studies include thoracic aortic aneurysms due to genetic mutations in elastic fiber proteins, hypertension, and arterial stiffening associated with elastic fiber fragmentation. Her team uses mouse models of human disease to investigate how changes in biomechanics and mechanobiology promote disease progression or could be used for possible treatment strategies.

Patricia Weisensee, PhD: Dr. Weisensee’s thermal fluids research group focuses on developing a fundamental understanding of the interplay of fluid dynamics and heat transfer of droplets and other multi-phase system interactions on engineered surfaces. Ongoing studies are evaluating flow dynamics of blood (colloidal fluid) in soft microfluidic devices. Interventions for treatment of cardiovascular diseases often include the removal or deposit of solid matter, which alters flow dynamics. Her team aims to develop a better physical description on these complex multi-phase fluid dynamic systems.

Eric Leuthardt, MD, MBA: Dr. Leuthardt’s team has >50 patented vascular technologies. His team is currently developing a novel multi-modal venous thrombectomy catheter that can treat deep venous thrombosis using agitation and sequestered lytic therapy. He is also developing new stent designs for arterial aneurysmal disease.

Gregory Zipfel, MD: Dr. Zipfel’s laboratory studies the mechanisms that drive acute and chronic cerebrovascular diseases. His team is particularly interested in understanding the molecular pathways that contribute to the formation of cerebrovascular aneurysms and subsequent rupture, as well as the contribution of vascular oxidative stress to neurovascular angiopathies. He is translating some of these discoveries for early phase clinical trials.

Joshua Osbun, MD: Dr. Osbun is an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, Program Director of Endovascular Surgical Neuroradiology, and Program Director of the neurosurgery residency at WU. His laboratory uses theoretical modeling and 3D printed models to evaluate endovascular catheter flexural rigidities across variably angulated aortic arch and neuro-arterial anatomies.

Ananth Vellimana, MD: Dr. Vellimana’s laboratory is studying molecular imaging technology to evaluate progression of neurovascular atherosclerosis, and its cognitive implications. His team is exploring the targeting of specific inflammatory molecules in atherosclerosis to assess vulnerability and risk of progression.

Justin Sacks, MD, MBA: Dr. Sacks is developing foundational techniques for performing sutureless microvascular anastomoses. The traditional hand-sew technique of 1-2 mm blood vessels is time-intensive, resource-intensive, and requires a highly specialized skill-set. His research team is developing a 3D printed technology that can approximate free vascular ends with no sutures, with the goal of reducing operative time and achieve comparable patency results to hand-sewn vascular anastomoses. Ongoing studies include prototyping and in vivo bio-feasibility studies.

Alison Snyder-Warwick, MD: Dr. Snyder-Warwick’s research has identified the importance of VEGF for terminal Schwann cell viability at sites of tissue injury. Her team investigates the interactions between VEGF, angiogenesis, endothelial cells, and Schwann cells. They are also developing novel tissue regeneration techniques using hydrogels and viral vectors.

Xiaowei Li, PhD: Dr. Li’s research program aims to create bioengineering platforms for tissue regeneration after ischemic injuries. He is specifically focused on developing biomaterials such as hydrogels, nanoparticles, and nanofibers to repair injured tissue and rebuild blood vessel networks. He recently demonstrated the formation of well-structured vascular networks within injected hydrogels in ischemic lesions.

Pamela Woodard, MD: Dr. Woodard is developing nanoparticle molecular imaging techniques using PET-CT and PET-MR to evaluate atheroprogression in the peripheral arterial system. She is conducting first-in-human studies to determine what makes asymptomatic atherosclerotic plaques more vulnerable for rupture and progression.

Patricia Pereira, PhD: Dr. Pereira’s laboratory aims to determine the functional role of membrane trafficking pathways during the process of microvascular formation. She is using whole-body molecular imaging to reveal new information about mechanisms of membrane dynamics to understand how genetic factors modulate target availability. The preclinical discoveries made in her laboratory are combined with retrospective and protective clinical studies, which poise the technology for further clinical translation.

Jie Zheng, PhD: Dr. Zheng is an expert in magnetic resonance imaging with >25 years of experience in development and clinical translational application of innovative imaging techniques for cardiovascular system assessment. He pioneered the development of quantitative methods for assessment of myocardial oxygenation without exogenous contrast. His team is currently expanding efforts to develop contrast-free imaging technologies of the vasculature.

Monica Shokeen, MD: Dr. Shokeen is part of a multi-disciplinary collaboration that is developing a custom-built Fluorescence Molecular Tomography (FMT) system to detect molecular events that lead to unstable lesions heralding plaque rupture. Second, she is evaluating the use of a novel nanoparticle construct for targeted molecular imaging of cardiovascular abnormalities using positron emission tomography (PET).

Yongjian Liu, PhD: Dr. Liu and his team evaluate the role of chemokines and their receptors in human atherosclerosis. His team is developing imaging tools that could help to better understand chemokine biology in human vascular disease pathogenesis, laying the foundation for new diagnostic and treatment paradigms. He has developed novel imaging agents targeting chemokine receptors and other disease-relevant targets in atherosclerosis and assessing their potential for translation in first-in-human clinical studies.