Postgraduate Research Student
- 2001-date: Postgraduate Research Student, School of Biotechnology, Dublin City University.
- 1997-2001: B.Sc. in Cell and Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science, University College Dublin.
Ongoing Research
- Role
of the Notch receptor ligand-signaling pathway in determining vascular
smooth muscle cell proliferation in response to mechanical stimulation
Vascular smooth muscle cell fate decisions, (proliferation, migration, differentiation and apoptosis), play an important role in neointimal formation during the pathogenesis of hypertension, intimal hyperplasia, atherosclerosis and the arterial response to injury. Vascular cell fate decisions are hallmarks of the response of phenotypically distinct vascular smooth muscle cells to hemodynamic forces following injury. Since these cell fate decisions are also apparent during vascular remodeling of the embryonic vasculature, albeit in response to a different stimulus, and since intimal cells resemble the immature 'pup' cells during embryogenesis, we propose that control of these cell fate decisions following injury may share a similar 'arbiter', namely the Notch receptor-ligand signaling pathway.
Notch receptor-ligand interactions are a highly conserved mechanism, originally described in developmental studies using Drosophila, that regulate intercell communication and direct individual cell fate decisions. Using a novel perfused transcapillary co-culture in conjunction with the Flexercell® Tension Plus™ FX-4000T™ system to subject vascular cells to pressure and cyclic strain, we propose to evaluate the role of the Notch receptor ligand-signaling pathway in determining vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation in response to mechanical stimulation following injury. Specifically, we propose to;
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(i) determine Notch receptor/ligand expression and signaling in vascular smooth muscle cells following pressure-induced vascular proliferation in vitro
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(ii) to determine the role of Notch receptor/ligand expression and signaling in mediating pressure induced vascular smooth muscle proliferation in vitro
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(iii) to determine the role of vascular smooth muscle cell phenotype in dictating Notch receptor/ligand induced vascular smooth muscle proliferation in vitro.
