The Davis Lab works to to improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with cardiovascular disease and aortic aneurysms through rigorous scientific research and compassionate clinical care. Ultimately, our aim is to develop effective new therapeutic modalities for the treatment of patients with aortic aneurysmal disease.
Led by Dr. Frank M. Davis, the Davis Laboratory studies the pathological mechanisms that drive aortic aneurysm development. We are interested to better understand the role of immune cell infiltration and vascular smooth muscle cell dysfunction within the arterial wall during pathological aortic dilation. Our team of scientists explores this using a complement of biochemical assays, in vivo animal models, and biobank of vascular tissue specimens. Our vascular clinical team translates its findings from bench-to-bedside through ongoing clinical research trials. Ultimately, our aim is to develop effective new therapeutic modalities for the treatment of patients with aortic aneurysmal disease.
Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) represent the abnormal dilation of the aorta present in approximately 6% of men over 65 years old and usually remain asymptomatic until they progress to aortic rupture. Rupture of an AAA, and its associated catastrophic physiological insult carries a mortality in excess of 80%. Recent studies suggest there may be greater than 1 million people living today in the United States with an AAA for which there remains no medical therapy.
Within the Davis Laboratory, we employ a wide range of standard and advanced techniques, including tissue analysis, cell-based experiments, mouse models of aortic disease, and single-cell transcriptome/multiomics analysis. Additionally, we also pursue translational studies investigating the clinical relevance of the mechanisms we uncover in the laboratory through surgical samples and clinical diagnostic imaging.
