Jennifer Fang

Biography

My long-term research interest is to understand the intercellular communication signals that regulate vascular remodeling, and to further determine how these signals may be dysregulated in diseases of the cardiovascular system. Specifically, I have focused on endothelial gap junction proteins (connexins, Cx) and have helped elucidate a crucial role for them in vascular growth and remodeling during development and disease. I have described a novel, flow-sensitive Notch-Cx37-p27 signaling axis in endothelial cells that enables arterial specification during blood vessel development. I have further shown that Cx37 deletion profoundly rescues post-ischemic injury vascular growth and remodeling while Cx40 is necessary for this process. I also helped show that Cx43 supports endothelial cell proliferation, as well as recruitment and differentiation of perivascular cells, although this function is also supported by Cx45. Taken together, these data underscore a critical role for gap junction proteins in growth regulation of the vasculature, and I intend to continue this research on connexins in vessel remodeling with my current and future work. I recently helped to develop a microphysiological model of vascular malformation in Hereditary Hemorragic Telangiectasia, and my future work will explore how Cx37, Cx40, and Cx43 are dysregulated leading to defects in cell-cell communication in vessel remodeling and arteriovenous malformation.