Hanjoong Jo, Ph.D.
Coulter Distinguished Chair Professor
Associate Chair for Emory Biomedical Engineering
Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University and Georgia Tech
Seminar Information
Atherosclerosis is the major underlying cause of myocardial infarction and stroke. It occurs preferentially in arterial regions exposed to disturbed flow (d-flow) by mechanisms involving broad changes in the expression of coding and non-coding genes. Using the partial carotid ligation model of atherosclerosis in mice and gene array and "bulk" RNA sequencing studies, we revealed the roles of flow-sensitive genes and microRNAs in endothelial dysfunction and atherosclerosis. Furthermore, these results showed that targeting mechanosensitive genes and "athero-miRs" provide a new treatment paradigm in atherosclerosis. Recently, we carried out single-cell RNAseq and ATACseq studies using the partial carotid ligation model of atherosclerosis. The single-cell study results and additional validation studies revealed that d-flow reprograms endothelial cells to proatherogenic phenotypes, including EndMT and endothelial-to-immune cell-like transition. I will discuss the implications of these results in atherosclerosis.
Dr. Hanjoong Jo is Wallace Coulter Distinguished Chair Professor and Associate Chair in Wallace Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) at Emory University and Georgia Tech and Professor of Medicine at Emory University. He directs the Cardiovascular Mechanobiology, Therapeutics, and Nanomedicine Lab. His lab studies the mechanisms by which mechanical force of blood flow regulates vascular endothelial function, which leads to atherosclerosis and aortic valve disease. Based on the mechanobiological studies, his lab develops novel therapeutics by targeting flow-sensitive genes and nanotechnology to treat cardiovascular disease safely and effectively. He has published >200 peer-reviewed papers and written three books as editor. He is an elected fellow of the American Association for Advancement of Science, the Biomedical Engineering Society, American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering, American Heart Association, and American Physiological Society. He received the Bernard and Joan Marshall Distinguished Investigator Award from the British Society Cardiovascular Research. He serves as Associate Editors of Atherosclerosis Journal, Frontiers in Cardiovascular Physiology, and Cardiovascular Engineering and Technology (CVET), and editorial board members of several leading journals.
EDUCATION:
B.S., Korea University, Seoul, South Korea, 1984
Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University, 1989
Postdoctoral fellow, Washington University, 1989-1990
Postdoctoral fellow, The University of Alabama at Birmingham 1990-1992
EMPLOYMENT:
1995-2000 Assistant Professor, Pathology and BME (Secondary), UAB
2000-2006 Associate Professor, Dept of BME and Dept of Medicine, Emory & Georgia Tech
2006-present Professor, Dept of BME and Dept of Medicine, Emory University & Georgia Tech