麻豆传媒

Department: Kinesiology
Assistant professor at Southwestern University

Christopher Minson has been performing research on human adaptations to environmental extremes, biomarkers of cardiovascular health, and autonomic-vascular regulation for over 20 years at the University of Oregon. He has consistently been funded through the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, and numerous other funding groups.

The overarching goal of his work is to better understand the basic mechanisms of blood pressure and blood flow regulation, and to find novel ways to improve cardiovascular and metabolic health. He has a long-standing interest in the health benefits of environmental exposure including heat therapy as novel approaches for treatment of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Particular areas of interest for Dr. Minson include topics related to women鈥檚 health and aging. He is also interested in the physiology of athletic performance, and has worked with many professional sports teams, Olympic athletes, collegiate and age-group competitive athletes in the U.S. and around the world.

Dr. Minson graduated with a B.S. degree in Psychology from the University of Arizona in 1989. In 1993, he received his Master鈥檚 degree in Exercise Science from San Diego State University. He then went to The Pennsylvania State University where he graduated with a Ph.D. in Exercise Science. He subsequently trained as a post-doctoral fellow at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota in the Department of Anesthesiology. He has received research awards from the American Physiological Society and the American College of Sports Medicine, Mentor Awards from the Medical Research Foundation of Oregon and the University of Oregon, and was a recipient of a University of Oregon Faculty Excellence Award.

Dr. Minson is Director of the Human Cardiovascular Control Lab and Co-Director of the Exercise and Environmental Physiology Labs. He is also a Founder of the Bowerman Sports Science Center, and serves on the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Applied Physiology, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, and Temperature潞.

Qualifications
Doctor of Philosophy (University of Queensland)

Professional memberships
and associations
Board Member of International Society of Exercise and Immunology (www.isei.dk)
Member of American Physiological Society (www.the-aps.org)
F1000 Prime Faculty Member (Muscle & Connective Tissue)
Associate Editor of Exercise Immunology Review
Editorial Board Member of Frontiers in Sports and Exercise Nutrition
Senior Research Affiliate, Queensland Academy of Sport
Honorary Senior Research Fellow, School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland

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Dr. Samuelson鈥檚 research program examines the development and function of epithelial cells in stomach and intestine.  We are interested in how basic developmental pathways, growth factors and immune modulators function to regulate epithelial cell proliferation and differentiation in normal physiology and disease. Our approach is to use genetically engineered mouse models and organ culture systems to interrogate pathways regulating epithelial cell homeostasis.  Recent studies have focused on the importance of Notch signaling for regulating stem and progenitor cells.  In the intestine, we have determined that Notch plays a fundamental role in cell lineage choice between absorptive enterocytes and secretory cell types (goblet, endocrine, Paneth). These studies identified Atoh1 and Neurogenin3 as key transcriptional effectors regulating secretory cell differentiation. More recent findings demonstrate a distinct function for Notch signaling to maintain the intestinal stem cell. We have also shown that Notch regulates cellular proliferation and cell fate determination in the stomach, thus suggesting that this signaling pathway plays a fundamental role for epithelial cell renewal in the gastrointestinal tract.

The Samuelson lab studies the development and function of  the gastrointestinal system, focusing on epithelial cell homeostasis in stomach and intestine. In the gut, stem and progenitor cells continuously generate differentiated cell types to maintain and replenish these tissues. Multiple growth factors and morphogens, such as Notch, Wnt, Hedgehog and gastrin regulate proliferation and epithelial cell specification, although their mechanisms of action are poorly understood. Our current focus is directed to the Notch signaling pathway and its function in tissue homeostasis and regeneration after injury. We have determined that  Notch  directly targets gastrointestinal stem cells to regulate the balance of cellular proliferation vs. differentiation.  We utilize a variety of modern experimental approaches and take advantage of genetically-engineered mouse models, mouse and human organoids and human cancer-derived cell lines to understand fundamental mechanisms of gastrointestinal stem cell function. 

Dr. Jill P. Smith is a clinician scientist and professor of medicine at Georgetown University and a member of the Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center. She also is a staff physician in gastroenterology and hepatology at the DC Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Her passion has always been bench-to-bedside, or translational, research. She was recruited to Georgetown University from the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, to establish a translational research program in gastrointestinal cancer.

Her basic science research for over two decades has focused on cholecystokinin receptors and other G-protein coupled receptors, which are proteins that sit on the surface of a cell and transmit signals from outside to inside the cell. Her research focuses on pancreatic cancer and hepatocellular carcinoma in understanding the mechanisms involved with carcinogenesis (what makes cancer form) and developing novel strategies for therapy or cancer prevention.

As a Professor of Practice and the Director of Global Humanitarian Policy, Kirsten brings 20 years of experience working in the humanitarian sector. She currently co-leads a large humanitarian research initiative focusing on building evidence and policy solutions to supporting conflict and disaster responses around the world. 

She has led major policy processes and authored numerous high-profile reports that have been implemented by partners such as the Red Cross, United Nations, and Government donor agencies. She also serves as an advisor to the World Economic Forum, Sesame Workshop, and the Humanitarian Innovation Fund. She has written peer-reviewed articles and been the guest editor of Journal special editions focused on humanitarian crises. In 2019 she co-authored the book Understanding the Humanitarian World. 

Her career also includes long-term field postings and operational deployments to numerous emergencies including the international responses to Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, the Ethiopian Famine, the South African Regional Food Crisis, the Liberian War, the Tsunami in Indonesia, Hurricane Katrina, the Pakistan Earthquake, the Timor-Leste Security Crisis, and the Global Food Crisis. She has also served in leadership roles such as the Chief of Policy Analysis at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and as the Humanitarian Advisor to President Clinton in his role as the UN Special Envoy for 2010 Haiti Earthquake. 

She is the winner of the State of Virginia Outstanding Faculty Award, University of Virginia All-University Teaching Award, and the Batten School Excellence in Engagement in Public Policy and Leadership Award. She holds degrees from Dartmouth College and the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University.

Lucy Bassett is a Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia鈥檚 Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy and co-Director of the Humanitarian Collaborative, an applied research initiative focused on improving humanitarian response. Bassett鈥檚 research focuses on understanding how to best support young children in humanitarian and low-income contexts. Her recent work has involved evaluating the impact of programs for refugee and migrant children, assessing training and professional development needs for preschool teachers and school leaders, identifying models for childcare in emergency contexts, and understanding conditions of families and young children on the US/Mexico border. As of Fall 2022, she is launching a new project funded by the Lego Foundation to elevate children鈥檚 voices in emergency contexts and share their stories and experiences.

Before joining the University of Virginia, Bassett spent ten years as an education and social protection specialist with the World Bank leading projects and research on education and social protection at the World Bank, in countries from Bangladesh to Haiti and Serbia and Cameroon. Her practitioners鈥� perspective is further grounded by previous work at UNICEF, the World Food Programme, Save the Children, the International Food Policy Research Institute, and Peace Corps.

Bassett holds many high-level, international advisory roles. For example, she is a member of the Inter-agency Network for Education in Emergencies Early Childhood Development Working Group, Early Childhood Development Action Network Knowledge Fellows Steering Committee, and Research Forum on Early Childhood in Emergencies Steering Committee. She is also expert reviewer for numerous initiatives, such as the Lego Foundation鈥檚 Build a World of Play and American Institute of Research鈥檚 Scholars and Leaders Awards. In addition to her expertise in global early childhood research and practice, Bassett brings real-world experience as a pre-K teacher.

In addition to her expertise in international early childhood development, education, and childcare, Bassett focuses on feminist approaches to public policy and programming, co-creation and community engagement, and contemplative pedagogy. She won a University of Virginia All-University Teaching Award in 2021.

Professor Lashley鈥檚 research lies at the intersection of strategic management, entrepreneurship, and organizational theory. Her research focuses on questions related to organizational social evaluations such as stigma, reputation, and status, particularly in entrepreneurial firms. She is also interested in how organizations and their audiences use language to affect social evaluations. Her work on firms' efforts to reduce stigma in the marijuana industry has been published in Administrative Science Quarterly. Kisha has also has expertise in the supplier diversity, and has startup experience.

My research focuses on the characterization of spontaneous hypertension in a novel model Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus, the African Green Monkey. As an Old World non-human primate, the African Green Monkey is highly similar to humans in terms of physiology, gene structure, social hierarchy, and behavior. I am specifically interested in the connections between the sympathetic nervous system and the adaptive immune system and their contributions to blood pressure control in this novel animal model.

Research Interests:
Physiology
Hypertension
Adaptive Immune System
women's health
Science Education

Dr. Lynn Dengel is a board-certified and fellowship-trained surgical oncologist specializing in breast cancer and melanoma. She is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology at the University of Virginia and practices as a breast and melanoma surgeon at Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital in Charlottesville, Virginia. Dr. Dengel cares for patients in a robust multidisciplinary fashion, utilizes state of the art technology, incorporates up-to-date research findings and takes time to provide education and counseling to her patients to provide outstanding clinical care. Dr. Dengel is recognized by her peers as an expert in breast disease and melanoma. She serves as a committee member for both the Society of Surgical Oncology and the American Society of Breast Surgeons. She has authored and co-authored several articles in leading peer-reviewed publications, including the Annals of Surgical Oncology, Journal of Clinical Oncology, and Annals of Surgery. Dr. Dengel has received recognition for her outstanding research, including the Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO Merit Award, supported by Susan G. Komen for the Cure, and the Harvey Baker Traveling Fellow Award from the Society of Surgical Oncology. Research expertise: Dr. Dengel’s research and expertise include translational studies and clinical trials investigating the immune environment at tumor sites and mechanisms that may bolster innate immune response. She is the Principal Investigator of a clinical trial investigating focused ultrasound ablation combined with immunotherapy in advanced solid tumors. Dr. Dengel also serves as lead investigator in multiple studies investigating patient decision making, specifically aiming to improve the process of shared decision making and decreasing decisional regret for patients considering prophylactic mastectomy. Training and education: Dr. Dengel completed a breast surgery fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York after finishing her general surgery residency at the University of Virginia Hospital Medical Center in Charlottesville, VA, where she received the Award of Academic Excellence from the department of surgery. Dr. Dengel received her medical degree from the Georgetown University School of Medicine in Washington D.C. where she graduated cum laude and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society. Prior to medical school, she received her undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College.

Ongoing studies in Dr. Jackson鈥檚 laboratory seek to understand how arterioles in the microcirculation sense their environment and how changes in the environment alter the contractile function of vascular muscle cells in the walls of these microvessels to lead to changes in blood flow and blood pressure. Using techniques such as intravital videomicroscopy, single cell contraction, immunocytochemistry, single cell quantitative RT-PCR, fluorescence microscopy, calcium imaging, patch clamp recording, pressure myography and conventional microelectrode methods, the Jackson lab seeks to understand the role played by smooth muscle and endothelial cell ion channels in the regulation of calcium signaling and vascular smooth muscle tone in arterioles related to the local regulation of blood flow in the microcirculation, and the impact of aging and disease states, such as hypertension and obesity, on these processes.

The primary focus of our lab is developing therapeutics and identifying biomarkers for neuromuscular and neurological pathologies. Specifically on utilization of small, naturally occurring molecules termed extracellular vesicles. Extracellular vesicles are released from most, if not all, cells in the body into the extracellular environment and contain a variety of molecular cargo (RNA, protein, microRNA, etc.). Further, extracellular vesicles deliver molecular cargo to neighboring and distant recipient cells. Our lab reverse engineers extracellular vesicles to contain therapeutic cargo, and then utilize the naturally delivery capabilities of extracellular vesicles to deliver cargo to tissues of interest. Separately, during pathological conditions cells release extracellular vesicles with a unique molecular signature and our lab examines these molecular signatures for identification of potential novel biomarkers. Research Interests: Understanding the role of EVs in physiological and pathological processes Utilizing EVs from circulation and other body fluids as biomarkers of presence of disease, progression of disease, and effectiveness of therapeutics and treatments Engineering EVs for targeted therapeutic delivery

Pascale Lane, MD, of Edmond, Oklahoma serves as a professor of pediatrics in the section of pediatric nephrology at the Oklahoma University Health Sciences Center (OUHSC). She received her MD from the University of Missouri in Kansas City and trained in pediatrics at Rush Medical College in Chicago. Her fellowship in nephrology was at University of Minnesota. Dr. Lane joined the faculty at OUHSC in 2011. In 2008, the American Society of Nephrology selected her as founding editor of ASN Kidney 麻豆传媒, its national magazine. Dr. Lane is the author of The Promotion Game: Your Guide to Success in the Academic Medical Center (Pascale Lane, 2014).

Dr. Lane is a member of many professional organizations in nephrology and associated scientific disciplines. She performs and publishes both basic, clinical and educational research, teaches in the lecture hall and clinic and cares for patients in her specialty. Other interests include faculty development, particularly writing skills, research administration and the evolving role of social media in medicine and science. She also founded Academic Women for Equality Now as a project for Vision 2020.

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Larissa A. Shimoda, PhD is a Professor of Medicine and Director of Bench Research in the Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine Department. Dr. Shimoda received her undergraduate and graduate degrees in Biomedical Engineering from Marquette University. She pursued fellowship training in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine during which time she successfully competed for an individual Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award and an American Lung Association fellowship award.

Dr. Shimoda has been active in various scientific and academic society committees. She is the past Chair of the Respiration Section and a current Councilor for the American Physiological Society and has served as the Chair of the Nominating and Planning Committees of the Pulmonary Circulation Assembly of the American Thoracic Society. She has been a permanent member of study sections for both the American Heart Association and National Heart Lung and Blood Institute of the NIH.

Dr. Shimoda鈥檚 research focuses on vascular physiology and pathobiology of the lung. In particular, her work examines non-canonical roles for ion channels and transporters in mediating the pathogenesis of pulmonary hypertension. Another interest is regulation of endothelial barrier function, with a focus on calcium signaling pathways. She has authored more than 100 publications and has given invited research lectures nationally and internationally. Her research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health for the past 20 years and she has been awarded the Giles F. Filey Memorial Award and the Henry Pickering Bowditch Lectureship of the American Physiological Society.

Lacy Alexander鈥檚 research utilizes the human cutaneous circulation to examine the underlying signaling mechanisms mediating microvascular dysfunction in diseases, as well as the influence of drug-interventions.

Dr. Alexander utilizes in vivo and in vitro approaches using the human cutaneous circulation to examine the underlying signaling mechanisms mediating microvascular dysfunction with primary human aging, hypercholesterolemia, and essential hypertension.

Education
Ph.D., 2007, Kinesiology, The Pennsylvania State University
M.S., 2002, Human Physiology, University of Oregon
B.S., 2000, Human Physiology and General Science, University of Oregon

Specializations
Mechanisms underlying vascular dysfunction with cardiovascular disease
Pharmacological and lifestyle interventions in vascular dysfunction
Control of human skin blood flow
Grants and Research Projects
Dr. Alexander鈥檚 research interests include examining in vivo and in vitro mechanisms of microvascular dysfunction in cardiovascular disease populations included primary aged, essential hypertension, and hypercholesterolemic humans. Using the cutaneous circulation as a model for examining mechanisms of microvascular dysfunction, the broad focus of her current projects includes examining 1) the roles of arginase in nitric oxide synthase uncoupling in human vasculature with hypercholesterolemia and hypertension, 2) inflammation-induced alteration in vasodilatory signaling with essential hypertension, 3) the role of reactive oxygen species in altering vasoconstriction and vascular remodeling with hypertension, and 4) the effects of common platelet inhibitors (including aspirin and Plavix庐) on microvascular function in human skin as they relate to basic mechanisms of skin blood flow and functional thermoregulatory outcomes.

Assistant Professor with a demonstrated history of working in the higher education industry. Skilled in Cardiovascular Physiology, Human Subjects Research, Data Analysis, Laboratory Skills, and Science Communication. Strong research professional with a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) focused in Kinesiology from Penn State University.

Area:
Human Physiology
Specialization:
mechanisms of microvascular function and dysfunction, exercise physiology, interventions

The Williams lab studies the evolution of metabolic physiology in ectotherms, using insects as models. We are interested in the mechanisms and consequences of metabolic responses to emerging winter environments. This is important because winter climate change is altering energy balance, phenology, and cold stress in overwintering organisms leading to cascading biological impacts that carry over into the growing season and affect survival and fitness. The ability to adapt or acclimate metabolic systems to compensate for changing winter conditions will strongly determine organismal responses to winter climate change. However, we know little about the mechanisms underlying metabolic plasticity in ectotherms, nor the evolutionary potential of metabolic systems on macro or micro scales. As climate change leads to the emergence of novel climates, we can no longer rely on bioclimatic envelope models to predict organismal responses to climate change; we need a mechanistic and predictive understanding that explicitly includes winter processes. 

We use an integrative 鈥済enes to fitness鈥� approach through the lens of intermediary metabolism and metabolic physiology to find the genes that influence overwintering energetics, from the level of naturally segregating variation within populations, through inter-population local adaptation, to interspecific divergence. This provides a novel framework for predicting ecological and evolutionary responses to winter climate change based on a mechanistic understanding of metabolic physiology. Addressing genotype 鈥� phenotype interactions through the lens of intermediary metabolism is advancing our understanding of the genetic control of complex, fitness-relevant traits.

Christopher Musco is an Assistant Professor in the Computer Science and Engineering department at NYU鈥檚 Tandon School of Engineering. Christopher鈥檚 research focuses on the algorithmic foundations of data science and machine learning. He studies methods for efficiently processing and understanding data, often working at the intersection of theoretical computer science, numerical linear algebra, and optimization.

Christopher received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and B.S. degrees in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from Yale University. 

Research Interests: Scalable machine learning, foundations of data science, numerical linear algebra, theory of algorithms, randomized algorithms, sketching and streaming