The regression of atherosclerosis: Insights from mouse models & theranostic nanoparticles

Speaker:

Edward A. Fisher, MD, MPH, PhD

Leon H. Charney Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, 

Depts. of Medicine, Pediatric, Cell Biology, Microbiolog

Abstract:

Dr. Fisher’s laboratory has a longstanding interest in two major areas. One is the cell biology of the assembly and secretion of the macromolecular complexes that transport lipids made in the liver to other tissues, where they are used for a number of essential purposes. Some of the strongest risk factors for cardiovascular disease - the leading killer not just in the U.S. but worldwide - are related to the levels of certain lipoproteins in the blood. Thus, information about the mechanisms on how they are formed is of great value in understanding how to regulate the levels of cardiovascular disease-causing lipoproteins. Recently, his team has discovered factors that coregulate lipoprotein assembly and secretion and the formation of the types of lipid droplets that can accumulate to cause “fatty liver”, a serious and increasingly common health problem associated with obesity.    The other major research area is the underlying cause of cardiovascular disease, namely atherosclerosis, the buildup of cholesterol-filled cells that form plaques, such as in the coronary arteries. These plaques can rupture and cause a heart attack. Dr. Fisher’s group has pioneered mouse models of atherosclerosis and molecular approaches so that we can discover the key factors that will return a diseased artery back to a healthier state. They have discovered that reducing the levels in the blood of certain lipoproteins coupled with resolving the inflammation of the immune cells in the plaques is the optimal combination to achieve this. They are now extending these studies to the molecular level to identify specific therapeutic targets to human plaques and to clinically relevant conditions known to increase plaque inflammation and the risk of cardiovascular disease, such as obesity, insulin resistance, and diabetes.

Dr. Fisher received his MD from NYU, which was followed by a residency in Pediatric Medicine at Duke University Hospital. He further honed his expertise with an MPH from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a PhD in biochemistry and nutrition from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Dr. Fisher completed fellowships in Gastroenterology at Boston Children’s Hospital and Medical Genetics at the NIH, with a post-doctoral focus on molecular genetics. Under his leadership, NYU’s Preventive Cardiology Center and Vascular Biology Research Program have advanced innovative research bridging basic science and clinical cardiovascular disease prevention. Dr. Fisher has received numerous awards and honors, including the Eastman Visiting Professorship at Oxford (2010-2011) and the Hugh Sinclair Lectureship at the British Atherosclerosis Society (2017). Funded by NIH throughout his career, he has established himself as a leading figure in cardiovascular medicine.