The doctoral dissertation in the field of Molecular Medicine will be examined at the Faculty of Health Sciences.
What is the topic of your doctoral research? Why is it important to study the topic?
Type 2 diabetes and hyperlipidemia are major risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases (CVD) resulting in significant morbidity and mortality in patients, although the mechanistic insights are less explored. Despite advances in medical treatments and revascularization methods, heart failure and limb amputation rates are still much higher in patients with diabetes. With the growing epidemic of diabetes in Finland and globally, there is an unmet need to understand poor post-ischemic revascularization and repair in the presence of CVD risk factors like hyperlipidemia and diabetes to develop novel therapies.
What are the key findings or observations of your doctoral research?
Findings from this thesis work suggest a persistent endothelial and macrophage inflammation being critically involved in impaired adaptive tissue revascularization and repair during ischemia in type 2 diabetic and hyperlipidemic conditions. Furthermore, targeting endothelial cells and macrophages by dual inhibition of inflammatory and promoting anti-inflammatory phenotype using novel ApoA-I-POPS and LipoxinA4 therapies could rescue this defect. Collectively, this suggests potential benefit of these novel therapies in post-ischemic tissue recovery and repair in diabetic and hyperlipidemic patients.
What are the key research methods and materials used in your doctoral research?
This thesis work leveraged transcriptomic and lipidomic approaches to unravel cellular and molecular mechanisms underpinning an impaired post-ischemic tissue revascularization and evaluated novel immunomodulatory nanotherapies to rescue this impairment in clinically relevant mouse models.
The doctoral dissertation of Thota Durga Devi, MSc, entitled Impaired post-ischemic tissue repair in type 2 diabetic mouse models – Novel molecular mechanisms and therapies, will be examined at the Faculty of Health Sciences. The Opponent in the public examination will be Professor Józef Dulak of Jagiellonian University, Poland, and the Custos will be Professor Seppo Ylä-Herttuala of the University of Eastern Finland.
For further information, please contact:
Thota Durga Devi, MSc, durgat(a)student.uef.fi, 0449748604
