 |
|
I originally came
to Chapel Hill in 2001, just after graduating from Liberty
University in Lynchburg, VA with a BS in Biology.
I worked as a research technician in the laboratory of Dr.
Chris Mack for a little under two years before joining the department
as a graduate student in the Fall of 2003. In the Mack lab, we are interested
in the signaling and transcriptional mechanisms involved in the regulation
of smooth muscle cell (SMC) differentiation.
|
|
|
SMC's, the cells that
line blood vessels and the GI tract, retain a plasticity that allows them
to alternate between proliferative and differentiated contractile states
throughout the life of an organism. While this is a great asset in terms
of injury response and repair, it also plays an important role in pathological
conditions such as hypertension and atherosclerosis. A better understanding
of the mechanisms that control the switching between these states will
aid in our understanding of these cells, and eventually in the treatment
of cardiovascular disease.
|
|
|
Outside Interests: listening
to things, watching things, taking naps, whitewater kayaking, eating at
buffets, not eating onions, riding my bike, standing around, not eating
onions.
|
|
|
Return to Pathology
Graduate Student Homepage
|
