Paula Bernal
Year started program: 2003
Program name: Cell Biology And Molecular Physiology
2003 - MS, Biomedical , Universidad de los Andes

Coming from a different background both academically and culturally, I was very pleased to found a program so big in options and heart. The people in the program are very open and the city comfortable and interesting to live in. The chance to rotate through so many different labs allowed me to get a wider view of biomedical research and really explore my options. At the end of my rotations I just had to say that live cell imaging literally opened up my eyes. Being a see-to-believe person, I feel really fortunate to have found such an incredible work space full of possibilities and a very interesting subject to work on.

Hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction promotes the redistribution of blood flow to better ventilated areas of the lung in order to optimize gas exchange. We have recently shown that not only the smooth muscle layer but the endothelium actively constricts in response to hypoxia. My main interests are to understand how zinc and calcium could mediate endothelial contraction using novel optical live cell imaging tools and in addition, determine the structural changes underlying the hypoxia-induced contractile response by examining cytoskeletal dynamics and focal adhesion changes.

Bernal PJ, Leelavanichkul K, Bauer E, Cao R, Wilson A, Wasserloos KJ, Watkins SC, Pitt BR, St Croix CM. Nitric-oxide-mediated zinc release contributes to hypoxic regulation of pulmonary vascular tone. Circ Res. 2008 Jun 20;102(12):1575-83

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