My research focuses on the involvement of mitochondrial dysfunction in disease and the mechanisms by which aberrant mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) metabolism contributes to disease progression. My experience in this area began during my doctoral work, which focused on discovering factors contributing to mtDNA maintenance. During my postdoctoral training, I developed methods for characterizing mitochondrial dysfunction affecting respiratory complex assembly and described the primary mechanism of mtDNA compaction (i.e., condensation). After establishing my lab, I developed methods to identify changes in mtDNA content and organization to detect alterations in mitochondrial metabolism in multiple disease conditions. I am the Director of the Center for Metabolism and Mitochondrial Medicine and a member of the Vascular Medicine Institute (VMI) and the Division of Cardiology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. I am also a Research Health Scientist at the Veterans Administration Pittsburgh Health System, where we study metabolic mechanisms of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction using animal models. I am also the Chair-Elect of the Scientific Advisory Board for the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation (UMDF). Our lab is interested in the impact of space exposure on mitochondrial function and damage, and potential mechanisms of mitochondrial protection.
