Matrix Metalloproteinases and Tissue Remodeling in Health and Disease: Target Tissues and Therapy

Dr. Raouf Khalil is an MD PhD who is very interested in scientific research. After receiving his MD, he joined the graduate school and received his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Miami, Florida. After doing postdoctoral training at Harvard University, he joined the faculty at University of Mississippi Medical Center. He then moved back to Harvard where he is now Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School and the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Dr. Khalil has long been interested in vascular physiology and cell biology. The main focus of his research laboratory is to study the cellular mechanisms of vascular tone under physiological conditions and the changes in these mechanisms in pathological conditions such as coronary artery disease, salt-sensitive hypertension, hypertension in pregnancy, preeclampsia, pulmonary hypertension, and chronic venous disease. State-of-the-art equipment to study various aspects of the vascular system at the whole animal, tissue, cellular, and molecular level are available in his laboratory. Powerful techniques such as physiological bioassays, radioimmunoassays, mRNA and protein analysis, cell and organ culture, immunofluorescence, digital imaging and confocal microscopy are also available. Dr. Khalil's research projects include investigation of endothelium-dependent mechanisms of vascular relaxation, calcium-dependent and calcium-independent mechanisms of vascular and uterine contraction, role of protein kinases and phosphatases in vascular and uterine smooth muscle contraction, mechanisms of sex differences in vascular tone, the role of endothelin in salt-sensitive hypertension, and the role of matrix metalloproteinases in hypertension in pregnancy, preeclampsia, pulmonary hypertension, and chronic venous disease.

1. The Role of Matrix Metalloproteinases in Development, Repair, and Destruction of the LungsAmanda Y. Hendrix and Farrah Kheradmand2. Matrix Metalloproteinases in Kidney Disease: Role in Pathogenesis and Potential as a Therapeutic TargetAlan R. Parrish3. Regulation of Matrix Metalloproteinase in the Pathogenesis of Diabetic RetinopathyRenu A. Kowluru and Manish Mishra4. Matrix Metalloproteinases in Normal Pregnancy and PreeclampsiaJuanjuan Chen and Raouf A. Khalil5. Matrix Metalloproteinases, Neural Extracellular Matrix, and Central Nervous System PathologyCiro De Luca and Michele Papa6. Matrix Metalloproteinases in Bone Resorption, Remodeling, and RepairKatiucia B.S. Paiva and José M. Granjeiro7. Matrix Metalloproteinases and Synovial Joint PathologyCharles J. Malemud9. Metalloproteinases in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Potential Therapeutic Targets to Improve Current TherapiesYoshifumi Itoh9. The Roles of Matrix Metalloproteinases in Pancreatic CancerAnna M. Knapinska, Christie-Anne Estrada and Gregg B. Fields10. Matrix Metalloproteinase Inhibitors as Investigational and Therapeutic Tools in Unrestrained Tissue Remodeling and Pathological DisordersJie Liu and Raouf A. Khalil