LaTronya McCollum
Fifth Year Student, 2007-2008
Education: B.S. (Biological Sciences), 2000, Hampton University; M.S. (Biology), 2003, North Carolina Central University
Graduate Program: Physiology and Pharmacology
Laboratory Department: Hypertension and Vascular Research Center
Email: lmccollu@wfubmc.edu
Advisor: Dr. Ann Tallant
“I decided to pursue a graduate career at Wake Forest University in the department of Physiology and Pharmacology because of the wealth of opportunities to interact with excellent faculty and acquire hands on training in state-of-the art facilities. This department emphasizes an individually tailored program to benefit the professional goals of each student. I was drawn to the Hypertension and Vascular Disease Center because of the cutting edge research that aims to investigate not only the molecular physiological role of hypertension, but also strives to translate these findings to the community to promote wellness and public awareness.”
Research Interests:
My current research aims to characterize the effects of Angiotensin-(1-7) on cardiac fibroblast cell growth. Increasing numbers of cardiac fibroblasts, due to damage, results in changes in expression of extracellular matrix proteins of the heart. Changes in expression these proteins compromises the structure of the heart and leads to myocardial stiffness and ventricular dysfunction. Ang-(1-7), a peptide hormone with anti-hypertensive and anti-proliferative effects, is found in the heart and may play a role in cardiac function. Therefore we propose that Ang-(1-7) will reduce the overexpression of these extracellular matrix proteins in cardiac fibroblasts, thereby improving the heart’s capacity to effectively supply the body with blood.