Graduate Faculty
Leonard M. Anderson, Ph.D.
Research Interest: Cardiovascular genomics; Vascular smooth muscle cell fate determination from pluripotent
stem cells.
Email: landerson@msm.edu
Mohamed A. Bayorh, Ph.D.
Research Interest: Cardiovascular, neurochemical, and signal transduction pathways in the action of
polyunsaturated fatty acids, vasoactive substances, and drugs of abuse.
Email: mbayorh@msm.edu
Aurelian Bidulescu, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Interest: Epidemiology of cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, oxidative stress, and
abdominal obesity. Ethnic health disparities.
Email: abidulescu@msm.edu
Margaret Colden-Stanfield, Ph.D.
Research Interest: Cardiovascular pharmacology; membrane biophysics; immunology; leukocyte-endothelial
cell interactions; pathogen-endothelial cell interactions.
Email: mstanfield@msm.edu
Byron Ford, Ph.D.
Research Interest: Cellular and molecular mechanisms of atherosclerosis, neuroprotection, and stroke.
Email: bford@msm.edu
Minerva Garcia-Barrio, Ph.D.
Research Interest: Molecular biology. Regulation of gene expression in vascular smooth muscle cells.
Email: mgarcia-barrio@msm.edu
Sandra Harris-Hooker, Ph.D.
Research Interest: Loss of endothelial cells and intimal proliferation of smooth muscle in the pathogenesis
of atherosclerosis.
Email: sharris-hooker@msm.edu
Rigobert Lapu-Bula, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Interest: Echocardiography.
Email: rlapu@msm.edu
Deborah A. Lyn, Ph.D.
Research Interest: Genetic markers and mechanisms associated with a susceptibility to cardiovascular
and infectious diseases.
Email: dlyn@msm.edu
Shobu Namura, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Interest: Cerebrovascular functions and their sequelae after stroke.
Email: snamura@msm.edu
Elizabeth Ofili, M.D., M.P.H.
Research Interest: Ethnic disparities in cardiovascular health. Clinical research.
Email: eofili@msm.edu
Qing Song, M.D., Ph.D.
Research Interest: Molecular mechanisms of genetic susceptibility to cardiovascular disease, obesity,
and diabetes.
Email: qsong@msm.edu
Myrtle Thierry-Palmer, Ph.D.
Research Interest: Vitamin D metabolism and function; calcium endocrine system, salt sensitivity, space
biology.
Email: mthierry-palmer@msm.edu
Verna Welch, Ph.D.
Research Interest: Gender, geographic, racial and social determinants of cardiovascular outcomes; and
the underlying mechanisms linking risk factors to cardiovascular disease.
Email: vwelch@msm.edu
Evan F. Williams, Ph.D.
Research Interest: Role of nucleoside transporters in cardiovascular function, ocular purinergic systems.
Email: ewilliams@msm.edu
Qinglin Yang, Ph.D.
Research Interest: Molecular mechanisms of cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure using cardiac-specific
transgenesis, molecular and cell biology and cardiac pathophysiology.
Email: qyang@msm.edu
Xueying Zhao, Ph.D.
Research Interest: Epoxygenase metabolites and endothelial dysfunction.
Email: xzhao@msm.edu