Administrative Accomplishments
I have been a member of ASPET since 2000 and have been a member of the Cardiovascular Division Programming Committee since 2017. This committee reviews abstracts and evaluates symposia proposals to help ensure an exciting and cutting-edge program at the annual meeting.
As chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences I have worked to boost research productivity and grantsmanship within the department. During my tenure as department chair, the number of students enrolled in our M.S. program in Pharmaceutical Sciences has doubled. In addition, our PharmD program is in the second year of a substantial curricular revision. I have been responsible for leading the effort to reshape the curriculum and for completing the “behind the scenes” tasks that are required to and keep things on track with this curricular transition.
I recently stepped into the role of interim Associate Dean of Academic and Curricular Affairs at the Marshall University School of Pharmacy. As Associate Dean, I have worked with faculty to implement new initiatives to assist struggling students. I am also leading an effort to initiate new programs at both the undergraduate and graduate levels within the School of Pharmacy.
I have also served the scientific community as a member of study sections for the NIH and the American Heart Association.
Research Areas
My lab is investigating the impact of fetal exposure to methamphetamine on the adult cardiovascular system. We have found that prenatal exposure to methamphetamine causes adult female offspring (but not their male siblings) to become hypersensitive to myocardial ischemic injury. We have also identified sex-dependent changes in the vasculature and in perivascular adipose tissue of adult animals that were prenatally exposed to methamphetamine. Our data suggest that prenatal exposure to methamphetamine may increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disorders during adulthood.
Our lab is also interested in understanding the role of regulator of G protein signaling (RGS) proteins in the heart. We have found that disrupting interactions between Gαi2 and RGS proteins protects the heart from ischemic injury. We have also identified RGS6 as a cardioprotective signaling molecule in the ischemic heart. Our data suggest that RGS proteins could potentially provide new therapeutic targets to protect the heart from ischemic injury.
ASPET Activities
- Member of ASPET Cardiovascular Division Programming Committee, 2017 – present
- Judge, ASPET Division of Cardiovascular Pharmacology poster competition, 2019
- I have attended every ASPET / Experimental Biology meeting since 2000 except for 2005 when my son was born around the time of the meeting.
Other Society Memberships/Activities
- American Heart Association
- AHA study section: Career Development Award 2021
- AHA study section: Transformational Project Award, 2018, 2019
- NIH study section (Mechanisms of Emotion, Stress, and Health Study Section), 2017
- Ad hoc reviewer for Hypertension, and Journal of the American Heart Association