Profile
Dr. Martinez-Lemus' research is broadly focused on cardiovascular and metabolic disorders with emphasis in vascular remodeling and the geometric reorganization of wall components in blood vessels. Vascular remodeling plays an important role in numerous physiological and pathological phenomena, from vasculogenesis and angiogenesis to vascular stiffening and arteriosclerosis. It particularly plays a preponderant role in the incidence of life-threatening cardiovascular events associated with obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and aging. His experience in this area of biomedical science is extensive. Dr. Martinez-Lemus has a long history of performing research investigating the mechanisms that promote specific functional and structural changes in all components of the vascular wall. He has been continuously funded by intramural funds from the American Heart Association, the National Science Foundation, the NIH, and industry to perform cardiovascular research from his postdoctoral years to present day. Dr. Martinez-Lemus' research has provided the foundation of current paradigms in vascular stiffening and remodeling that indicate structural and mechanical changes in vascular smooth muscle cells, endothelial cells, and the vascular extracellular matrix are essential in the early stages of the remodeling process.
Over the years, he has successfully administered funded projects and produced peer-reviewed publications that are highly cited. Of particular importance is Dr. Martinez-Lemus' experience and success at interacting with multiple investigators with expertise in diverse disciplines to study cardiovascular pathophysiology. His collective experience and history of collaboration has allowed him to expand his research endeavors from the use of state-of-the-art molecular, animal modeling and imaging techniques to performing studies in human subjects.
Academic Information
Office
134 Research Park
Columbia, MO 65211
United States
Research Interests
- Vascular Physiology with emphasis on the mechanisms responsible for the acute and chronic control of vascular diameter in the microcirculation.
Areas of Expertise
- Vascular Remodeling
- Endothelial cell biology
- Vascular smooth muscle cell biology
- Extracellular matrix biology
- Oxidative stress
- Hypertension
- Diabetes vasculopathies
- Cellular mechanotransduction
- Atomic force microscopy
- Confocal and multiphoton microscopy
- Intravital microscopy, image processing.
Education & Training
Fellowship
Cardiovascular Research Institute, Texas A&M University
Post-Graduate School
MS, Auburn University; PhD, Texas A&M University; DVM, National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City
Awards & Honors
- 2014 Honored as Fellow of the American Physiological Society (Cardiovascular Section).
- 2004 Awarded travel expenses by NHLBI, NIH to attend the XIIIth International Vascular Biology Meeting in Toronto, Canada.
- 2002 Received a Research Career Enhancement Award by the American Physiological Society.
Associations
- Member of the European Society for Microcirculation, the American Physiological Society, the Poultry Science Association, and the Microcirculatory Society.
- Associate Editor for the Physiology Section of the journal Poultry Science