GEMS Integrative and Translational Physiology Faculty

Integrative and Translational Physiology Research Concentration Leadership:

• Carlos Stocco (Director of Graduate Students)
• Dan Shaye
• Waddah Alrefai

The Integrative and Translational Physiology Research Concentration provides a unique training perspective that focuses on tissues and organs functioning within an organism. Training stresses the study of biological systems at many levels ranging from molecules and genes, to cells, organs, and organisms. Graduate students in this concentration are prepared to address mechanistic questions in both humans and model organisms with the ultimate goal of linking molecular information to function.

Research in this concentration involves elements of Molecular and Structural Biology, Cell Biology, Genetics, and Medicine. Because physiology is central to medicine, students in this concentration will be well-trained to study issues directly relevant to human disease, which will prepare them for futures in the research, medical and biotechnology sectors. Some of the areas explored by the laboratories in this concentration are: inflammation and cardiovascular disease, the cytoskeleton in endothelial cells, cell-cell interactions in thrombosis and vascular inflammation, liver fibrosis and alcoholic liver disease, lung vascular homeostasis and lung disease, metabolism and diabetes, fat tissue function and development, angiogenesis and vascular development, infertility, and cardiac function and metabolism in heart disease. Our diverse group of faculty is united by a common interest in integrative function, with the overall goal of providing students with a deep understanding of physiology to solve basic and translational problems in biology and medicine.