Dr. Bina Joe, an internationally recognized leader in the field of genetic determinants of hypertension, will discuss her work and its historical perspective at the University Monday, Nov. 13.
“Precision Medicine for Hypertension: A Journey Through 40 Years of Research at The University of Toledo” is the title of her talk, which will take place at 4 p.m. in Collier Building Room 1000A on Health Science Campus.
Joe
She was named a Distinguished University Professor this year and also serves as chair in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology in the College of Medicine and Life Sciences. In addition, Joe is the director of the Center for Hypertension and Personalized Medicine.
Her work has helped identify risk factors associated with high blood pressure, which plays a major role in cardiovascular and renal disease.
“My presentation will highlight knowledge gained from pioneering studies and discuss the individualized approach for future clinical management of hypertension,” Joe, who joined the University in 2001, said. “This journey on researching the genomic and thereby inherited aspects of hypertension has not only revealed novel genes that are not currently targeted in the clinic for treating hypertension, but also led us to understand the rather surprising link between the other genomes of gut bacteria to have a definitive role in regulating blood pressure. I will be detailing some of these pioneering studies that have opened a field of new possibilities in combating hypertension by altering gut bacteria.”
Since 2004, Joe has received sustained research funding from the National Institutes of Health totaling more than $20 million. She is the principal investigator of two active grants from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute totaling more than $7 million. She has published more than 70 papers in peer-reviewed journals, including the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Cell, Public Library of Science Genetics and Nature Communications. In 2015, she was named editor-in-chief of Physiological Genomics, a journal of the American Physiological Society, and is a member of the editorial board of Hypertension.
For her groundbreaking work, Joe received the 2010 American Society of Hypertension’s Young Scholars Award and the 2014 American Heart Association’s Council on Hypertension Lewis K. Dahl Memorial Lecture Award.
“It is humbling to be recognized by my colleagues and peers who nominated and selected me for this honor. Being named ‘Distinguished’ to me is to be recognized for the distinguished work of dedicated young trainees in the laboratory,” Joe said. “I am blessed to be surrounded by trainees and colleagues with insatiable passion and relentless persistence, which brings much joy along the way on our journey to reveal the many marvelous secrets of Mother Nature.”
Following the lecture, a reception sponsored by the Office of the Provost will be held.
