I have a broad background in cell and developmental biology, with specific training and expertise in manipulating the mouse embryo, making mouse knock-out/transgenic models and phenotype analysis on cardiovascular system. Defining these mechanisms will be the only way in which we will someday be able to prevent the diseases from occurring. Using state-of-the-art approaches, I have generated numerous conditional floxed mouse alleles including Tie1, Tie2, Ndrg4 and Ndrg2, and point mutant allele for Tie1. These animal models are valuable for understanding mechanisms of cardiac-vasculature development. My research at VUMC in the recent 10 years has focused primarily on the roles of two transmembrane protein receptor tyrosine kinases Tie1 and Tie2 in cardiovascular development including heart chamber formation, valve remodeling and lymphatic development and how understanding these developmental mechanisms can help us understand the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease. 

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