Kazuyo Kegan, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD

Primary Research:

The goal of Dr. Kegan’s research program is to understand the mechanisms, regulation, and functional outcomes of immune responses in the pulmonary vasculature during the development of pulmonary hypertension. She has strong expertise in vascular biology and has focused on the role of inflammatory mediators in pulmonary angiogenesis, vasculogenesis, and remodeling, particularly under hypoxic conditions.

Dr. Kegan is currently working to determine the mechanisms by which vascular injury and the subsequent immune response by macrophages contribute to disease progression in pulmonary hypertension using in vivo pathophysiology, in vitro cellular and molecular biology, and genetic and biochemical approaches. Clinical samples from patients with pulmonary hypertension also are utilized to uncover the relevant signaling pathways that might reveal new therapeutic targets. She is principal investigator of a research program with the ultimate goal of identifying new therapeutic targets to treat pulmonary hypertension.

Lab Web Site: http://anesthesiology.hopkinsmedicine.org/research-home/kazyuo-yamaji-kegan/

Members of the laboratory:

Huang Huang, Ph.D. (Postdoctoral Fellow)
Kazuyo Kegan, Ph.D. (PI)
Mayumi Nakahara, M.D., Ph.D. (Visiting Scientist)

Recent Publications:

• Johns RA, Takimoto E, Meuchel LW, Elsaigh E, Zhang A, Heller NM, Semenza GL, Yamaji-Kegan K.* Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α is a critical downstream mediator for hypoxia-induced mitogenic factor (FIZZ1/RELMα)-induced pulmonary hypertension. Arterio Thromb Vasc Biol. 2016. 36(1):134-44. PMID: 26586659

Collaborative Relationships: Dr. Roger Johns (Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine) and Dr. Takanari Inoue (Department of Cell Biology) at Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine

Laboratory Motto:  Be passionate about what you do.