Research Projects
As a physician-scientist, Dr. Brozovich's long-term objective is to identify new targets for rational drug design for the treatment of vascular disease. To that end, our lab has several ongoing research projects to better understand the molecular mechanisms that regulate the contractility of both smooth and cardiac muscle in health and disease.
Our current research projects include:
- The regulation of smooth muscle and nonmuscle myosin in vascular smooth muscle, and the implications for vascular tone. Our hypothesis is that nonmuscle myosin contributes to the regulation of vascular tone. Our hope is that this research will improve the understanding of the molecular basis of hypertension in patients.
- Understanding the mechanism for the resting vasoconstriction and decreased sensitivity to nitric oxide in patients with heart failure. Our hypothesis in this research project is that changes in protein expression underlie the vascular defects in heart failure. With this research, we hope to learn more about the molecular basis for response or resistance to medical therapy in patients with heart failure.
- Understanding the mechanism that produces the increase in pulmonary vascular resistance and decrease in nitric oxide mediated vasodilation in idiopathic pulmonary hypertension. Our hypothesis is that hypercontractility of the pulmonary vasculature produces pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Our ultimate goal of our research is to develop novel therapeutics to improve treatment options for patients with PAH.
- Defining the expression of the contractile proteins and other proteins involved in modulating contractility in cardiac muscle. We hypothesize that changes in protein expression underlie the contractile defects in heart failure. Our goal is to improve understanding of the molecular basis for response or resistance to medical therapy in patients with cardiovascular conditions.