Abdul Sheikh, Ph.D.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a devastating disease characterized by elevated blood pressure in the blood vessels of the lung. In PH, the right heart pumps against the increased pressure in the lungs, which eventually results in its failure. In lungs with PH, the small blood vessels, which normally have no muscle in the walls, develop abnormal muscle formation. Dr. Sheikh and team will attempt to identify key steps in abnormal lung blood vessel muscle formation using a mouse model of human PH.