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Physiology Faculty Research Interests

Ioannis Dragatsis, PhD
Professor - Department of Physiology

idragatsis@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Animal models to elucidate the mechanisms that lead to neuronal degeneration in Familial Dysautonomia and Huntington's disease and to test therapeutic strategies.

Zheng Fan, PhD
Professor - Department of Physiology

zfan@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: To understand the structure and function of ion channels, specifically studying inwardly rectifying potassium channels.

Rajeshwary Ghosh, PhD
Assistant Professor - Department of Physiology

rghosh7@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Delineating the mechanisms of protein degradation pathways (macroautophagy, chaperone-mediated autophagy and proteasomal pathways) in the amelioration of cardiac pathologies.

Ki-Suk Kim, PhD
Assistant Professor - Department of Physiology

kkim50@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Investigating the whole-body metabolism through the lens of bariatric surgery study and endocrine physiology. 

Jonathan Jaggar, PhD
Maury Bronstein Endowed Professor - Department of Physiology

jjaggar@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Physiological functions and pathological alternations in vascular ion channels.

Djamel Lebeche, PhD
Professor - Department of Physiology

dlebeche@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Diabetic cardiomyopathy, functional-molecular genomics and cardiometabolic disorders, calcium signaling, myocardial bibrosis, genetic instability, heart failure, and Investigational drug discovery for heart failure, diabetes, and ER stress complications. 

Salvatore Mancarella, PhD
Associate Professor - Department of Physiology

smancare@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Understanding the cellular signaling that drives maladaptive heart remodeling and heart failure.

Helena Parfenova, PhD
Professor - Department of Physiology

hparfeno@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: We investigate the roles of endogenous carbon monoxide and hydrogen sulfide in regulating blood-brain barrier permeability and in promoting survival of neurovascular cells during cerebral vascular insult caused by oxidative stress in the neonatal brain.

Kaushik Parthasarathi, PhD
Associate Professor - Department of Physiology

kparthas@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Inflammatory responses in lung microcirculation; Role of junctional proteins as mediators of proinflammatory signaling.

Gadiparthi Rao, PhD
George and Elizabeth Malloy Professor - Department of Physiology

rrao2@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Gene regulation, cell signaling and vascular wall remodeling; Phospholipases, eicosanoids, cytokines and endothelial cell barrier function and pathological angiogenesis

Radhakrishna (RK) Rao, PhD
Professor - Department of Physiology

rrao2@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Regulation of epithelial tight junctions and adherens junctions by intracellular signal transduction with special emphasis on protein phosphorylation.

Zhongjie Sun, MD, PhD, FAHA
Professor and Chair Thomas A Gerwin Chair of Excellence - Department of Physiology

zsun10@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Molecular mechanism of hypertension and diabetes; epigenetic regulation of cardiovascular and renal function.

Donald Thomason, PhD
Professor - Department of Physiology
Dean - College of Graduate Health Sciences

dthomason@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Mechanisms controlling potassium content and volume of muscle

Gabor Tigyi, MD, PhD
Harriet Van Vleet Endowed Professor - Department of Physiology

gtigyi@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Lipid growth factors in health and disease with a particular emphasis on drug discovery of anti-metastatic lipids. We are particularly interested in developing radiomitigators that protect animals from lethal levels of irradiation.

Junwang Xu, PhD
Associate Professor - Department of Physiology

jxu61@uthsc.edu

Research Interests: Wound healing, response to injury, and regenerative medicine, specifically elucidating the mechanisms involved in the regenerative response, the role of stem cells in tissue repair, and the correction of abnormal healing in the adult.

Rahima Zennadi, PhD
Associate Professor - Department of Physiology

rzennadi@uthsc.edu

Research Interests:  Sickle cell disease (SCD), aging, and on blood-Brain-Barrier (BBB) integrity.

 

 

 

May 30, 2024