Speaker Profile
Zorina S. Galis

Zorina S. Galis PhD

Vascular Medicine, Pathology, Physiology and Biophysics
Bethesda, Maryland, United States of America

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Zorina Galis, Ph.D. is the Chief of Vascular Biology and Hypertension at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) /National Institutes of Health (NIH). She received her Ph.D. in Pathology from McGill University School of Medicine, Montreal, Canada. Dr. Galis had previous undergraduate training in Physics and graduate training in Biophysics and Cell Biology from the University of Bucharest, Romania. Dr. Galis is also a member of the Biomedical Engineering Department, formed jointly in 1998 by the Emory School of Medicine and the Georgia Institute of Technology. She also holds an adjunct position at the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Biology. Dr. Galis is a vascular biologist with a special interest in factors that regulate physiological and pathological reshaping of vascular tissue. Of special interest is the pathological weakening of vascular tissue due to enzymes specialized in the degradation of the extracellular matrix, called matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs). During atherosclerosis, the weakening of diseased blood vessels ultimately leads to disruption of plaques, a process shown to be responsible for the great majority of heart attacks and strokes. Similarly, degradation of the extracellular matrix of engineered blood vessel constructs can compromise their utility. However, maintaining the intrinsic ability to reshape in response to stimuli is essential to maintain the proper function of native and artificial blood vessels. Thus, understanding the factors that regulate vascular remodeling is essential for the prevention and treatment of vascular diseases. Within the Departments of Medicine and Biomedical Engineering, and in her own laboratory, Dr. Galis trains post-doctoral fellows, as well as graduate and undergraduate students.