T. Cooper Woods, PhD

Research in my laboratory aims to elucidate the impact of co-morbidities such as Diabetes Mellitus and Chronic Kidney Disease on the progression of cardiovascular disease. A focus of this research is toward understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the increased intimal thickening seen in the diabetic population. These studies are currently examining the how the presence of diabetes promotes the acceleration of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration, two components of intimal thickening, through increases in specific microRNAs. Additional projects focus on the development of biomarkers for the identification of patients at high risk for cardiovascular disease and complications following angioplasty.