Dr. Mengmeng Chang

Education:

MD and BA., Clinical Medicine, English, Shandong First Medical University

PhD, Medical Sciences - Cardiovascular Biology, University of South Florida

Bio:

My current research endeavors focus on the function of the microcirculation and lymphatic vessels and determining the single cell transcriptome of human and rat mesentery in health and disease models. I am currently working on two projects. First, how sphingosine-1-phosphate and apolipoprotein M impact microvascular barrier function are under investigation. In this project we are evaluating the ability of these two mediators to ameliorate microvascular leakage of plasma proteins in response to hemorrhagic shock and resuscitation, and how they might impact the junctions and glycocalyx of endothelial cells. The second project is to investigate how metabolic syndrome impacts lymphatic pumping and lymph flow. For this, the obese and lean Zucker rat models are used to evaluate lymphatic function and network structure. We are using single cell RNA-Seq and follow-up biochemical studies to identify potential mechanisms underpinning metabolic syndrome-induced lymphatic dysfunction