Research Interests

My lab investigates interactive signaling between non-phagocytic (i.e., endothelial cells) and phagocytic cells (i.e., monocytes/macrophages) in regulating tissue function. We seek to understand how stressors (such as ligands for G-protein coupled receptors or toll-like receptors) on these cell types trigger metabolic and epigenetic changes to alter tissue function under physiological setting versus pathological (i.e., cancer) settings.

Specific projects are:

1. Investigate the non-canonical function of the tumor suppressor, PTEN, in generating a reparative and anti-inflammatory population of endothelial cells that maintain normal tissue function.
2. Investigate the role of focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in maintaining cellular tension and epigenetics.
3. Determine mechanisms inducing the synthesis of GPCR, S1PR1, and how it determines physiological versus pathological angiogenesis.
4. Investigate the role of S1P and cAMP metabolism in macrophages in dictating tissue macrophage phenotype and inflammatory function.

Postdoctoral Positions and Rotations Available

• Postdoctoral positions available. Please send CVs and contact references.
• Graduate Student Rotations available.

To discuss rotation projects or to apply for postdoctoral positions, send me an email at dmehta@uic.edu.

Selected Awards and Honors

• 1998-2001: Member NIH Respiratory Integrative Biology and Translational Research Study Section
• 2003-2009: Giles Filley Award for Excellency in Physiology, American Physiological Society
• 2010-2014: Member NIH NHLBI RIBT Study Section
• 2014- Associate Editor, The American Journal of Physiology-Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology

1. Tauseef M, Knezevic N, Chava KR, Smith M, Sukriti S, Gianaris N, Obukhov AG, Vogel SM, Schraufnagel DE, Dietrich A, Birnbaumer L, Malik AB, and Mehta D. TLR4 activation of TRPC6-dependent calcium signaling mediates endotoxin-induced lung vascular permeability and inflammation. J. Exp Med .209(11):1953-68, 2012. PMCID: PMC3478927.
2. Weber EW, Han F, Tauseef M, Birnbaumer L, Mehta D. TRPC6 is the Endothelial calcium channel that regulates leukocyte transendothelial migration during the inflammatory response. JEM 2015, 212(11):1883-99. PMCID:PMC4612081
3. Akhter MZ, Joshi JC, Ragunathrao BR, Maienschein-Cline M, Proia RL, Malik AB, and Mehta D. Programming to S1PR1+ Endothelial Cells Promotes Restoration of Vascular Integrity. Circulation Research. 2021; 129:221–236. PMID: 33926208.
4. Chavez A, Schmidt TT, Yazbeck P, Rajput R, Desai B, Sukriti S, Giantsos-Adams K, Knezevic N, Malik AB and Mehta D. Role of Tyr143 phosphorylation of S1PR1 in downregulating endothelial cell surface expression and responsiveness of SIPR1. J Cell Science, 128(5):878-87, 2015. PMCID: PMC4342577.
5. Rajput C, Tauseef M, Farazuddin M, Yazbeck P, Amin MR, Amin Br V, Sharma T, Mehta D. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 36(2):380-8, 2016. PMCID:PMC4732888.
6. Srivastava Nityanand, Tauseef Mohammad, Amin Ruhul, Joshi Bhagwati, Joshi Jagdish Chandra, Kini Vidisha Kini, Klomp J, Li W, Knezevic Nebojsa, Barbera Nicolas , Siddiqui S, Obukhov A, Karginov A, Levitan I, Komarova Y and Mehta D. Noncanonical function of long myosin light chain kinase in increasing ER-PM junctions and augmentation of SOCE. FASEB J, 2020, 4(9):12805-12819. PMCID: PMC7496663.
7. Rayees S, Joshi JC, Tauseef M, Anwar M, Baweja S, Rochford I, Joshi B, Hollenberg MD, Reddy SP and Mehta D. PAR2-Mediated cAMP Generation Suppresses TRPV4-Dependent Ca(2+) Signaling in Alveolar Macrophages to Resolve TLR4-Induced Inflammation. Cell Rep. 2019;27:793-805. PMCID: PMC6485424
8. Joshi JC, Joshi B, Rochford I, Rayees S, Akhter MZ, Baweja S, Chav KR, Tauseef M, Abdelkarim H, Natarajan V, Gaponenko V, Mehta D. SPHK2-generated S1P in CD11b+ macrophages blocks STING to suppress the inflammatory function of slveolar macrophages. Cell Rep. 2020;24;30(12):4096-4109 PMID:32209471
9. Rochford I, Joshi JC, Rayees S, Anwar M, Akhter MZ, Yalagala L, Banerjee S, Mehta D. Evidence for reprogramming of monocytes into reparative alveolar macrophages in vivo by targeting PDE4b. Am J Physiol Lung Cell Mol Physiol. 2021; 321 (4):L686-L702. PMID: 34318714. Selected for APSselect
10. Rayees S, Rochford I, Joshi JC, Joshi B, Banerjee S, Mehta D. Macrophage TLR4 and PAR2 Signaling: Role in Regulating Vascular Inflammatory Injury and Repair. Front Immunol 2020 Sep 18;11:2091. PMID: 33072072