Swapnil K. SonkusareSwapnil Sonkusare is an Associate Professor in Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics and a Resident Faculty in the Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. His research focuses on the regulaion of blood flow and blood pressure by calcium signaling mechanisms in the vascular wall. He has investigated vascular calcium channels in health and disease throughout his scientific career. His main goals are to define the abnormalities in vascular calcium signaling mechanisms in cardiovascular disorders and to identify novel therapeutic targets. His laboratory routinely uses high-end calcium imaging, superresolution imaging, patch-clamp electrophysiology, vascular assays, mouse models of vascular disorders, and transgenic mice. Current NIH- and AHA-funded studies in my laboratory use this unique combination of techniques to address 1) new calcium signaling mechanisms that control vascular contractility and blood pressure in systemic and pulmonary vasculature; 2) contribution of impaired vascular calcium signaling and vascular inflammation to obesity-induced hypertension. Read More Read Less