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Stacey Rodenbeck, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Biology

Disciplines

  • Biology

Research Interests

  • I completed my Ph.D. in Cellular and Integrative Physiology while working in the lab of Dr. Michael Sturek at Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, IN. While there, I developed an intense interest in “broken” biology and the ways in which “breaking” normal biological patterns in one body system would affect other body systems. Metabolic syndrome is defined as the clustering of metabolic conditions, including central obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, hyperinsulinemia, and glucose intolerance. Interestingly, these metabolic conditions are also risk factors for cardiovascular complications. In particular, I am interested in teasing out the contributions of these risk factors to aberrant intracellular calcium handling in the smooth muscle cells lining the coronary arteries. These changes in calcium handling are associated with increases in atherosclerotic plaque formation, which in turn contributes to mortality due to myocardial infarction.