Qiu Zhengjian

Biography

Dr. Chiu has conducted innovative researches on the effects of shear stress on interactions of vascular endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells, as well as circulating leukocytes. He established a new experimental model for the study of the effects of flow-induced shear stress on co-cultures of endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells, with the capability of performing live microscopic studies under dynamic states, including the imposition of various patterns of flow. With a series of original and elegant experiments, Dr. Chiu has shown that the co-culture of endothelial cells with smooth muscle cells induces the expression of various adhesion molecules and chemokines in endothelial cells and enhances the adhesion of circulating leukocytes to endothelium. These co-culture induced effects are mediated by various flow patterns and are inhibited by the application of laminar shear stress, and Dr. Chiu demonstrated that the anti-inflammatory action of laminar shear stress is mediated through modulating endothelial gene expression. These results made major contributions to the understanding of the interactions among blood cells, endothelial cells, and smooth muscle cells; no one has ever succeeded in studying these complicated interactions, especially under various flow patterns. Dr. Chiu’s ground-breaking findings not only have elucidated the molecular and cell biological bases of mechanotransduction, but also have significant implications in the understanding of the interplays between cellular/molecular and mechanical factors in the modulation of inflammatory state and atherogenesis of the vasculature. Such findings have important bearings on a variety of key clinical disorders such as myocardial infarction, stroke and intermittent claudication

Research Interest

vascular biology, cellular and molecular biology, experimental biology, fluid mechanics, and tissue engineering