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Arshad Rahman, Ph.D.

Contact Information

Phone Numbers

Office: (585) 275-5948

Research Labs

Faculty Appointments

Biography

Research

My laboratory has a long-standing interest in endothelial cell biology and lung physiology especially as it relates to molecular analysis of signal transduction and gene regulation, and in vivo gene delivery to the lung endothelium. Specifically, we want to know how the otherwise "antiadhesive, anticoagulant, and relatively restrictive (semipermeable)" microvasculature is rendered into a "proadhesive, procoagulant, and leaky" one during acute lung injury (ALI). We have made contributions to the understanding of regulation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-?B), a master regulator of inflammation that is implicated in regulating these phenotypes of microvasculature during ALI and other inflammatory conditions. Another area of my research focuses on understanding the regulation and function of endothelial cells (EC) autophagy and its relationship with EC inflammation in the context of ALI. Our novel and exciting findings that autophagy and inflammation are linked in the lung endothelium and collaborate in causing lung injury form the basis of our ongoing research to identify the mechanistic link between these two fundamental processes (autophagy and inflammation), and address the relevance of this linkage in the pathogenesis of ALI.

More recently, we have been focusing on Spleen Tyrosine Kinase (Syk) and Mechanistic/Mammalian Target of Rapamycin (MTOR) as critical mechanistic targets for modulation of ALI pathogenesis. The Syk project seeks to clarify the mechanism by which Syk regulates EC dysfunction (permeability and inflammation) in ALI and evaluate the therapeutic efficacy of Syk inhibition against evolving ALI in mice with sepsis. The MTOR project builds logically on our prior work and seeks to clarify the role of MTOR in ALI and evaluate the preventive and therapeutic efficacy of modulation of MTOR signaling against ALI. In a nutshell, the research in my lab uses genetically modified mice, primary cell cultures, and multidisciplinary approaches ranging from biochemical, cellular, and molecular biology to in vivo gene delivery (cell-specific transfer of genes and shRNA to endothelial cells in the lung) and multiple mouse models of ALI to identify viable therapeutic targets and mechanisms to limit ALI.

Credentials

Education

1981
BSc | AM University
Chemistry

1984
MSc | AM University
Biochemistry

1988
PhD | AM University
Biochemistry

Post-doctoral Training & Residency

1993 - 1995
Senior Research Associate, Department of Pharmacology, Rush Medical Center, Chicago, IL

1992 - 1993
Research Associate, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Northwestern University Medical School, Chicago, IL

Publications

Journal Articles

8/1/2023
Rahman A, Jacobson A, Tetreault T, Goodrich E, Rogerson A, Samora J, Bellamy J. "Letter to the Editor: Equity360: Gender, Race, and Ethnicity: Sex and Fairness in Sports." Clinical orthopaedics and related research.. 2023 Aug 1; Epub 2023 Aug 01.

12/20/2022
Leckenby JI, Patel AU, Patel S, Rahman AA, Haque S, Grobbelaar AO. "Free functional platysma transfer for restoration of spontaneous eye closure in facial paralysis: an analysis of anatomy, imaging, and clinical outcomes." Plastic and reconstructive surgery.. 2022 Dec 20; Epub 2022 Dec 20.

10/21/2022
Millar MW, Fazal F, Rahman A. "Therapeutic Targeting of NF-?B in Acute Lung Injury: A Double-Edged Sword." Cells.. 2022 Oct 21; 11(20)Epub 2022 Oct 21.

Books & Chapters

2007
Chapter Title: Nuclear Factor-kappaB Signaling in Endothelium
Book Title: Endothelial Biomedicine
Author List: Bijli KM, Rahman A
Edited By: Aird WC
Published By: Cambridge University Press 2007

1996
Chapter Title: Transcriptional regulation of endothelial adhesion molecule gene expression by oxidants and cytokines.
Book Title: Nitric Oxide and Radicals in the Pulmonary Vasculature. Proceedings of the VII
Author List: Rahman A, Roebuck KA, Malik AB
Edited By: Weir EK, Archer SL, Reeves JT
Published By: Futura Publishing Co. 1996 in New York, NY

1993
Chapter Title: Strand scission in DNA induced by dietary flavonoids: role of Cu(I) and oxygen free radicals.
Book Title: Glimpses in Plant Research XI: Medicinal Plants; New Vistas of Research-Part 2
Author List: Rahman A, Fazal F, Hadi SM
Edited By: Govil JN, Singh VK, Hashmi S
Published By: Today and Tomorrow's Printers and Publishers 1993 in New Delhi, India

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