Michael Simons, M.D. Professor of Medicine; Cardiology Section Chief; Director, Angiogenesis Research Center
Studies extracellular matrix and growth factor interactions with endothelial cells in the control of angiogenesis; role of syndecan- 4 signaling in regulating endothelial cell adhesion and migration; control of FGF signaling; interactions with other proteins, including PDZ in the signaling cascade; function of a novel family of angiogenic peptides, PR39. His work on novel mechanisms of proteasomedependent protein degradation has opened a new area of investigation of small moleculedependent selective regulation of proteasome function.

Kiflai Bein, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)
Studies molecular basis of capillary- tube and blood-vessel formation; role of transforming growth factor-beta signaling.

Ebo de Muinck, M.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Physiology; Director, Preclinical Research Labs
Studies role of CD13, a cellsurface molecule, in activating angiogenic responses. He also works on the development of molecular imaging tools for angiogenesis research.

Armin Helisch, M.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)
Studies mechanisms in compensatory growth of collateral arteries; femoral artery ligation in mice, a technique he helped to establish as a postdoctoral fellow. His work has led to a realization of the importance of preexisting collateral vessels, and he did the first in vivo magnetic resonance images of growing collateral vessels in mice.

Arie Horowitz, D.Sc. Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)
Studies intracellular signaling in endothelial cells during cell migration and

These are rat endothelial cells stained for tubulin (green), syndecan-4 (red), and caveolin (blue).

angiogenesis; processes linking endocytosis and cell migration, including the role of the PDZ protein synectin; role of a synectinbinding growth factor in regulating cell migration and endocytosis; directional cues in endothelial cell migration delivered through the semaphorin pathway.

Karen Moodie, D.V.M. Research Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)
Studies potential roles for cell and gene therapy in myocardial functional improvement in large- and small-animal studies.

Mary Jo Mulligan-Kehoe, Ph.D. Research Assistant Professor of Surgery (Vascular Surgery)
Studies interactions with angiogenic molecules in the extracellular matrix of vascular endothelial cells using truncated recombinant PAI-1 proteins; signaling pathways and mechanisms contributing to the rPAI- 123 protein (anti-angiogenic in vivo for breast cancer).

Justin Pearlman, M.D. Professor of Medicine and Radiology; Director, Advanced Imaging Center

Studies imaging approaches to identification, mapping, and functional characterization of collateral beds in the ischemic myocardium; has pioneered novel MR-based methods. His lab is extending these techniques to mouse models of angiogenesis and is a core MR lab for several multicenter trials of therapeutic angiogenesis.

Marcus Post, M.D., Ph.D. Visiting Associate Professor of Medicine and Physiology
Studies role of hepatocyte growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor in coronary and peripheral angiogenesis. He is an internationally recognized expert in animal studies of vascular remodeling.

Nicholas Shworak, M.D., Ph.D. Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology)
Studies molecules called heparan sulfate proteoglycans, which control cell signaling events; role of heparan sulfates in blood coagulation and atherosclerosis; biology of blood clotting; heart-valve disease.

Radu Stan, M.D. Assistant Professor of Pathology and Microbiology and Immunology
Studies endothelial structures involved in vascular permeability in normal and disease states; the regulation and function of components of endothelial microdomains, such as lipid rafts, caveolae, transendothelial channels, fenestrae, and vesiculo- vacuolar organelles. He discovered PV-1, the first marker for the endothelial stomatal and fenestral diaphragms.

Zhenwu Zhuang, M.D. Research Assistant Professor of Medicine and Radiology
Studies molecular mechanisms of post-angioplasty restenosis at the genetic level in rats and transgenic mice; develops advanced imaging techniques in the Preclinical Research Labs.