Basic Sciences Investigators
David Atkinson, Ph.D.
A Professor of Physiology and Biophysics, Research Professor of Biochemistry and Chair of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, is the past recipient of an Established Investigator of the American Heart Association. Dr. Atkinson is a member of the National Institutes of Health, Heart Lung and Blood Program Project Review Committee. Dr Atkinson directs a Program Project “Structural and Cell Biology in Cardiovascular Disease” and is the leader of a component project on “Lipoprotein Structure and Apolipoprotein Conformation” His research focuses on the molecular details of the structure, stability and dynamic properties of the plasma lipoproteins and their constituent apolipoproteins, particularly high density (HDL) and low density (LDL) lipoprotein. This information is vital to an understanding of the lipid interactions, apoprotein exchanges, lipoprotein cell-surface interactions, receptor-mediated lipoprotein uptake, and lipoprotein inter-conversions that form the basis of lipid transport and metabolism. A second focus concerns determination of the three-dimensional structure of intact LDL by cryo-electron microscopy and 3D-image reconstruction, with emphasis on the topology and the molecular conformation of the apo-B, protein component of LDL, at the lipoprotein surface.
Victoria M. Bolotina, Ph.D.
An associate professor of medicine and physiology, she is a recipient of multiple awards from the NIH and American Heart Association. She serves on the NIH and American Heart Association peer review committees. Her research focus is on ion channels and mechanisms of calcium signaling in the cardiovascular system. An integrative approach is used to unveil new mechanisms of vascular contraction and relaxation: patch clamp, high resolution confocal and deconvolution imaging, and molecular and biochemical techniques (including knock-out mice models) are used in her laboratory to study single channels and whole-cell currents, regulation of membrane potential, intracellular calcium and vascular tone, as well as expression, activity, and localization of several major determinants in calcium signaling cascades. The large part of her recent research is devoted to studying the mysterious store-operated channels and capacitative calcium influx pathway in variety of cell types, including (but not limited to) smooth muscle cells, cardiomyocytes, platelets, and T-lymphocytes.
Charles R. Cantor, Ph.D.
Director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology, and Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacology of Experimental Therapeutics, Dr. Cantor’s honors and awards include: Fellow of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Fresenius Award in Chemistry, Guggenheim Fellow, Fairchild Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the California Institute of Technology, the Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry, an Outstanding Investigator Grant from the National Cancer Institute, the Biochemical Analysis Prize of the German Society of Clinical Chemistry, the ISCO Award for Advances in Biochemical Instrumentation, the Sober Prize of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and the Emily Gray award from the Biophysical Society. He is a Member of the National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and an honorary member of the Biochemical Society of Japan. Dr. Cantor served as the Principal Scientist of the Human Genome Project from 1990-1992. He has served on numerous editorial boards, Government review committees, and industrial advisory committees.
Aram Chobanian, M.D., Provost, Dean
Medical Campus Provost and Dean of Boston University School of Medicine, has had a long-standing interest in hypertension and vascular biology. He has been honored as the recipient of the first Bristol-Meyers Squibb Lifetime Achievement Award in Hypertension, the Modern Medicine Award for Distinguished Achievement, the Award of Merit of the American Heart Association (AHA), the Abbott Award of the American Society of Hypertension, and the Freis Award of the National High Blood Pressure Program. He has chaired several scientific committees including the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Task Force on Research in Hypertension; the Fourth Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure; the Food and Drug Administrations’s Cardiorenal Advisory Committee; the NHLBI’s Advisory Committee on Hypertension and Arteriosclerosis; and the Council for High Blood Pressure Research of the AHA. He is the Chairman of the Seventh Joint National Committee on Detection, Evaluation and Treatment of High Blood Pressure. He has been a member of the Advisory Committee of the NHLBI. Dr. Chobanian has been on the editorial boards of The New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of Hypertension, Blood Pressure, Hypertension Research, and the Journal of Vascular Biology. He was elected to the Association of American Physicians and the American Society for Clinical Investigation.
Richard A. Cohen, M.D.
A professor of medicine and of physiology, he is the Jay and Louise Coffman Professor of Medicine, Director of the Vascular Biology Unit, member of the Vascular Medicine Section, and the Co-principal Investigator of the Boston University Cardiovascular Proteomics Center. He is a former AHA Clinician Investigator and AHA Established Investigator. Past president of the American Federation for Medical Research and Board of Trustees of the American Federation for Medical Research Foundation, which he founded during his tenure as an officer of the Society. Dr. Cohen is distinguished by his elections to the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Association of American Physicians, and as a Fellow of the Cardiovascular Section of the American Physiological Society. He is a member of the editorial board of the American Journal of Physiology: Heart and Circulatory Physiology and Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. Dr. Cohen is a past member of the NIH Experimental Cardiovascular Study Section and currently serves as an ad hoc reviewer for several NIH review groups. The research in the Vascular Biology Unit which Dr. Cohen directs involves the effect of vascular diseases on the function of arteries with special emphasis on the effect of disease on endothelium-derived nitric oxide and its signaling mechanisms within vascular cells. The role of oxidative post-translational protein modifications on proteins including the sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase, sirtuin-1, and p21ras in cell signaling and disease are current interests.
Wilson S. Colucci, M.D.
The Thomas J. Ryan Professor of Medicine and Professor of Physiology, he is Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at Boston Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine, Co-Director of the Cardiovascular Center at Boston Medical Center, and Head of the Myocardial Biology Unit at Boston University School of Medicine. He is the author of over 160 peer-review publications, as well as numerous reviews, chapters and books dealing with the pathophysiology of myocardial failure. He has received the Clinician-Scientist and Established Investigator Awards of the American Heart Association, the Medal of Merit from the International Society of Heart Research, and was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation. He is a member of several American Heart Association Councils, including Basic Science, High Blood Pressure, and Circulation, and is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a member of the Association of University Cardiologists. He is a member of the Executive Council of the Heart Failure Society of America, an organization of which he is a founding member. He has been a member of numerous peer-review groups and currently is the Co-chairman of the American Heart Association, Northeast Affiliate, Scientific Peer Review Committee, and a member of the National Institutes of Health Cardiovascular and Renal Study Section.
Judith Ann Foster, Ph.D.
A professor of biochemistry and research professor of medicine, her research concerns the regulation of elastic fiber synthesis in the development and repair of pulmonary and cardiovascular tissues. Elastic fibers play a key functional role in maintaining the essential elasticity of alveolar and arterial walls. In vivo destruction of these fibers is a significant factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and pulmonary emphysema. An important approach to understanding disease processes that alter elastic fibers is to develop in vivo cell culture models which mimic disease abnormalities in a defined and controlled environment. These cell models (aortic smooth muscle cells and pulmonary interstitial fibroblasts) can be used to define specific molecular events involved in the cellular response to injury and subsequent repair processes. Insight into transcriptional, post-transcriptional, translational, and post-translational mechanisms accompanying cell responses can lead to the design of credible intervention strategies pertinent to clinical applications.
Jane E. Freedman, MD
A Professor of Medicine, Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, she is a current recipient of several awards from the NIH. She is the past recipient of a Clinical Investigator Development Award from the NIH, an Established Investigator Award from the AHA as well as numerous other grants. Dr. Freedman has received young investigator awards from both the AHA and the ACC, and has been elected to the A.S.C.I. Dr. Freedman is an Associate Editor for Circulation, Editor-in-Chief of Cardiovascular Drug Reviews and Research and on the editorial boards of several journals including Circulation Research and Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. The major research initiatives in Dr. Freedman’s laboratory emphasize the regulation of pathways contributing to atherothrombotic disease and how these factors contribute to acute coronary syndromes. Dr. Freedman is funded by the NHLBI to study gene expression in circulating cells in the Offspring Cohort at the Framingham Heart Study.
Haralambos Gavras, M.D.
A professor of medicine, he is Chief of the Hypertension Section at Boston University School of Medicine. He was the first investigator to introduce the use of angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors for the treatment of hypertension and heart failure. Dr. Gavras is a former AHA Established investigator. He was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation and has served on the NIH’s Cardiovascular and Renal Study Section and on many scientific advisory committees. He is a past Chairman of the American heart Association’s Hypertension Council, a past president of the Inter-American Society of Hypertension, and the current president of the American Society of Hypertension. Dr. Gavras has received numerous honors and awards from national and international societies for his research on the role of the renin-angiotensin system and its inhibition in the treatment of hypertension and heart failure. He is also on the editorial boards of several medical journals, including Hypertension and the Journal of Hypertension
Irene Gavras, M.D.
A professor of medicine and member of the Hypertension Section, has been responsible for the clinical aspects of the Section’s research activities, such as evaluation of the hemodynamic, metabolic, and humoral results of administration of angiotensin antagonists, vasopressin antagonists, etc. in patients with hypertension and/or heart failure. She has served on the NIH’s Cardiovascular Study Section B, on the Program Committee, the Publication Committee and Chairman of the Professional Education Committee of the American Heart Association’s Hypertension Council, as well as the Program Committee of the American Society of Hypertension, and is on the editorial board of Hypertension.
James Hamilton, Ph.D.
A professor of biophysics and physiology, research professor of medicine, and Director of the NMR Facility, is the Director of the Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy and Imaging Center. Dr. Hamilton pioneered applications of NMR spectroscopy for the noninvasive analysis of lipid structures and compositions in atherosclerotic plaques (ex vivo). Current research integrates the NMR analysis with images of plaques, both in vivo and ex vivo. The long-term goals of projects on atherosclerosis are to provide robust interpretations of MR images of plaques, and to distinguish in human arteries vulnerable plaques from stable plaques in vivo before plaque rupture occurs. A second major area of research is the transport of fatty acids in plasma, in membranes, and inside cells. His group has studied the binding of fatty acids to albumin and to intracellular fatty acid binding proteins (FABP) and determined high-resolution tertiary structures of FABP by NMR spectroscopic methods. New fluorescence approaches were developed in his research program to determine how fast fatty acids move across membranes and how fast they enter cells. Dr. Hamilton is a founding organizer of the international workshop, Fatty Acid Uptake Into the Brain. Currently Dr. Hamilton is Associate Editor for Lipids and Obesity Research and a member of the Editorial Board of Journal of Lipid Research.
Victoria L. M. Herrera, M.D.
A pediatric cardiologist trained at Children’s Hospital Boston, Harvard Medical School, is Professor of Medicine, and Director for the Ultrasound Micro-Imaging Core. She was a former NIH Physician Scientist Awardee and received the Syntex Scholar’s Award for excellence in Cardiovascular Research for work done at the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute. She was a member of the NIH Task Force for Hypertension, AHA Massachusetts Affiliate study section, NIH Cardiovascular-A Study Section, AHA North American Consortium Study Section, and Hypertension editorial board. Currently, she is on the editorial board for Physiological Genomics, and reviewer for NIH program project grants. Her research program focuses on an integrative molecular-genetic analysis of mechanisms underlying the acceleration of coronary artery disease and strokes by hypertension-hyperlipidemia interactions, fetal programming of adult-onset vascular diseases, endothelial injury/repair balance in aging and vascular diseases. More recently, in collaboration with Dr. Nelson Ruiz-Opazo, new research studies focus on the investigation of the dual endothelin-1/VEGFsp receptor as an angiogenesis player relevant to cancer, aging and regenerative medicine.
Michael T. Kirber, Ph.D.
An associate professor of medicine and Director of the Whitaker Digital Imaging Microscopy Center, his research involves development of advanced imaging systems for use in fluorescence microscopy, and the study of the relationships existing between ion channel activity, intracellular calcium, and the contractile state of smooth muscle. He has studied mechanisms linking the activity of cation-selective mechanically gated ion channels to voltage gated calcium-selective channels and the release of calcium from intracellular storage sites in smooth muscle, processes which may be essential to certain myogenic responses. His research also involves spontaneous local release of intracellular calcium, known as calcium sparks. He performed the first three dimensional imaging of calcium sparks, which suggested the existence of microdomains within the cell which are important in determining the relationship between calcium sparks and spontaneous outward currents which they can generate.
Peter B. O¡¯Connor, Ph.D.
An assistant professor of biochemistry, is the assistant director of the BUSM Mass Spectrometry Resource, and project leader for Cryogenic FTMS development within the BUSM Cardiovascular Proteomics Center. Dr. O¡¯Connor studies mass spectrometry methods and instrumentation for proteomics and glycomics analysis of cardiovascular systems. The primary focus is on developing and improving the ability to use high performance matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization to ionize tryptic digest mixtures of relevant isolated proteins and use fourier transform mass spectrometry to generate high performance mass spectra for identifying the proteins and sites of their posttranslational modifications in a highly automated fashion. Of particular interest and relevance in cardiovascular proteomics is the process known as ¡°oxidative stress,¡± which involves free-radical modification of proteins. High performance mass spectrometry has the ability to determine exactly the structure of these modifications, which can be correlated with what is known from gas phase free radical reactions induced by electron capture dissociation.
Katya Ravid, D.Sc., Ph.D.
A professor of biochemistry and medicine and the Scientific Director of the Central Transgenic Facility at Boston University School of Medicine, is a recipient of awards from the American Heart Association and NIH. Dr. Ravid has served on review panels for both agencies and is a member of the Editorial Board of Blood Journal. She is the co-author and editor of two scientific books related to her expertise in gene regulation in the hematopoietic system. Her research focuses on the genetic and signaling mechanisms regulating proliferation and ploidy formation in bone marrow cells, focusing on platelet development and vascular smooth muscle polyplidization, as well as on the role of adenosine receptors in vascular and platelet function. Her studies on gene product targeting to platelets of transgenic mice for the purpose of gene manipulation and gene therapy bear on the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis and have attracted great attention.
Nelson Ruiz-Opazo, Ph.D.
A professor of medicine, is fellow of the AHA Councils of Arteriosclerosis and Basic Science, and former member of the AHA National Molecular Signaling I study committee. He serves as reviewer for NIH special review study sections and was a past AHA Established Investigator. His research program focuses on an integrated molecular-genetic analysis of essential hypertension and associated target organ complications (i.e.: renal disease, cardiac hypertrophy and vascular cognitive impairment) using classical genetics and related genomic approaches. His studies include genetic rat models of essential hypertension and spatial learning and memory. His research also includes genetic association studies in selective human populations. The molecular characterization of novel angiotensin II, vasopressin and endothelin receptors in his laboratory has provided additional bases for ongoing investigation of their respective physiologic and pathophysiological roles in cardiovascular and neurobiological functions such as in learning and memory. These focused studies are complemented with classical QTL (quantitative trait locus) analysis and congenic rat development that are currently being performed to identify QTGs (quantitative trait genes) influencing blood pressure, cardiac hypertrophy, renal disease and learning and memory. Together with Dr. Victoria L. M. Herrera, Dr. Ruiz-Opazo has pioneered the production of transgenic rat models at BUSM.
Una Ryan, Ph.D.
O.B.E., Research Professor of Medicine, is President and Chief Executive Officer of AVANT Immunotherapeutics, Inc., a publicly traded Massachusetts biotechnology company engaged in the discovery, development, and commercialization of products that harness the human immune system to prevent and treat disease. She is a past president of the Council on Cardiopulmonary and Critical Care of the American Heart Association. She was formerly Chairman of Pathology A, a Study Section of the NHLBI, and has served on numerous NIH and AHA review and advisory committees. She is the recipient of an NIH MERIT Award, was an Established Investigator of the AHA, and was a Howard Hughes Investigator. Dr. Ryan currently serves on the Boards of both the Biotechnology Industry Organization and the Massachusetts Biotechnology Council, as well as the Whitehead Institute Board of Associates, and is an organizer of the NATO Advanced Study Institute. In 2002 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awarded Dr. Ryan the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for her services to research, development and promotion of biotechnology.
Donald M. Small, M.D.
A professor of physiology and biophysics, biochemistry and medicine, and Chairman of the Department of Physiology and Biophysics, has received the Distinguished Achievement Award and the William Beaumont Prize of the American Gastroenterological Association and the Eppinger Prize for his now-classical work on bile and gallstone formation. Dr. Small was Chairman of the AHA’s Council on Arteriosclerosis and George Lyman Duff Lecture in 1986 and an elected member of the Association of American Physicians, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the American Society of Biological Chemists. He currently is a member of the editorial boards of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology and is an editor of Current Opinions in Structural Biology, (Lipids) and Chairman of the Advisory Board of Journal of Lipid Research.
Kenneth Walsh, Ph.D.
A professor of medicine, and Director of the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, is the past recipient of an Established Investigator of the American Heart Association and has received the Irvine F. Page Investigator Award from the Council on Arteriosclerosis. Currently Dr. Walsh is a fellow of the Council on Basic Cardiovascular Research and the recipient of a MERIT Award from the NIH for studies on autoimmunity and atherosclerosis. His research uses mouse genetic and viral gene transfer approaches to explore the signaling and transcriptional regulatory pathways that control pathological and physiological growth responses within the cardiovascular system. Dr. Walsh has published over 100 peer-reviewed papers as well as numerous review articles and chapters.
Vassilis I. Zannis, Ph.D.
A professor of medicine and biochemistry, was recruited to the Institute in 1984 to head the new Molecular Genetics Unit. Dr. Zannis is an Established Investigator of the American Heart Association. He has made novel contributions in the lipoprotein field that include apolipoprotein synthesis; post-translational modifications and genetic variations; the genetics of apolipoprotein E and its involvement in type III hyperlipoproteinemia; and the cloning of cDNA¡¯s and/or genes for apoA-I, apoE, and apoCIII. He and colleagues determined the complete cDNA sequence for apoB and apoA-IV and have studied the structure and functions of several apolipoproteins, and the regulation of expression of their genes.
