Vascular Biology

Dr. Ruslan Rafikov, Ph.D. is an internationally recognized scientist in the field of pulmonary hypertension, vascular biology, and acute respiratory distress syndrome. He has four primary research interests: 1) metabolic reprogramming events in vascular cells, 2) mitochondrial dysfunction due to impairment of oxidative phosphorylation and anaplerosis, 3) proliferative signaling in vascular cells due to activation of Akt and 4) free heme as a signaling molecule that regulates inflammation, endothelial barrier function and p38 MAPK-regulated pathways. Dr. Rafikov's laboratory works in a wide range of applications from protein structure-function studies to novel genetic models of pulmonary hypertension and acute lung injury. He is also interested in translational studies related to using metabolic reprogramming and machine learning for the diagnosis of chronic disease.