Richard Schulz

Biography

Richard Schulz is a professor belongs to the department of Pharmacology from the university of Alberta.

Research Interest

The Schulz lab has expertise in cardiovascular pharmacology and pathophysiology, particularly in relation to understanding the impact of oxidative stress. Many cardiovascular diseases involve an increase in oxidative stress to the heart and blood vessels, including ischemic heart disease, reperfusion injury, heart failure and shock. SchulzLabOur lab investigates the role of specific molecules and how they contribute to oxidative stress damage. Specifically we are interested in the roles of nitric oxide, superoxide and peroxynitrite in both cardiac and vascular injury relating to the activation of the immune system as well as in myocardial ischemia and reperfusion injury. We have discovered that some of these reactive oxygen species mediate their damaging effects through activation of an enzyme called matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) within the cardiac myocyte. Although MMP-2 was previously thought to act only on extracellular targets, our lab has discovered that MMP-2 also targets (and subsequently damages) intracellular proteins. Our short-term objective is to understand the contribution of each of these molecules in the development of acute heart failure. Our long-term objective is to develop and test specific pharmacological treatments to protect the heart from oxidative stress injury (e.g. matrix metalloproteinase or nitric oxide synthase inhibitors, superoxide or peroxynitrite scavengers).