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Joel Morrisett
Baylor College of MedicineDepartment: MedicineAddress: Brown-Fondren Bldg, A601 The Methodist Hospital 6565 Fannin Street Houston, TX 77030 Phone: 713-798-4164 Fax: 713-798-4121 Email: morriset@bcm.tmc.edu Web: www.bcm.edu/biochem/?PMID=3769 |
Education
B.S. Chemistry, Davidson College (1964)
Ph.D. Chemistry, Univ North Carolina-Chapel Hill (1968)
Postdoc: Chemistry/Biophysics, Stanford University (1970-71)
Honors
Chemstrand Fellowship (1965), Enka Fellowship(1966), Union Carbide Fellowship(1967)
NIH Postdoctoral Fellowship(1970-71), AHA Establlished Investigatorship(1974-79)
Atherosclerosis and Vascular Biology Training Grant(1997-2002),
Pfizer Visiting Professorship in Cardiovascular Medicine (2000, 2002)
Research Topic
Imaging, Genomics, and Proteomics of Human Atherosclerosis
Research Description
Atherosclerotic lesions in the cardiovascular system range in severity from the limited fatty streak to the extensive complicated plaque. Between these extremes are lesions which are especially vulnerable to disruption at their surface, often leading to thrombosis and vessel occlusion. The non-invasive detection of these lesions in vivo provides valuable information for guiding appropriate medical and surgical intervention, as well as monitoring drug therapy over time. Our research involves integrated studies on the atherosclerotic lesions in human carotid arteries. A primary objective is to develop and refine in vivo MRI to a state where it can accurately quantify physical dimensions of carotid lesions at specific sites throughout the vessel. Data from image slices is used to generate 3D arterial profiles showing the volume, radial, position, and linear location of each plaque. A second objective is to develop in vivo MRI to a level where it can detect, discriminate among, and quantify specific chemical components of lesions (calcified, lipid-rich, fibrotic, necrotic, and thrombotic areas). 3D contour plots, parametric imaging, and feature space analysis are used to identify and measure these components. MRI images are calibrated by histologic and morphometric methods, using conventional and microarray tissue techniques. A third objective is to use laser capture microdissection (LCM) to isolate specific cell types (e.g. SMC, mφ, EC, osteoblast, osteoclast) and quantify constituent marker proteins associated with specific processes in carotid atherosclerosis (e.g. cell adhesion, cell proliferation, apoptosis, angiogenesis, proteolysis, calcification, lipid inclusion) and determine the effect of LDL-C lowering and HDL-C elevating drug therapy on them. A fourth objective is to localize and estimate the expression of genes controlling the synthesis of distinctive marker proteins in carotid lesion cells and determine the effect of lipid altering drugs on them by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and RNA expression profiling on DNA and oligonucleotide microarrays.
Selected Publications
- Morrisett, J.D., Abdel-Fattah, G. Hoogeveen, R.C., Mitchell, E., Ballantyne, C.M., Pownall, H.J., Opekun, A.R., Jaffe, J.S., Oppermann, S. and Kahan, B.D. (2002). Effects of sirolimus on Plasma Lipoproteins and Fatty Acid Metabolim in Renal Transplant Patients. J. Lipid. Res., in press.
- Morrisett, J.D., Vick, W., Sharma, R., Lawrie, G., Safi, H., Ezell, E., Schwartz, J., Hunter, G., Gorenstein, D. (2003). Discrimination of components in atherosclerotic plaques of human carotid endarterectomy specimens by magnetic resonance imaging ex vivo. Mag. Reson. Imag. 21: 465-474.
- Adams, G.J., Vick, G.W., Bordelon, C.B., Insull, W. and Morrisett, J.D. (2002). An algorithm for quantifying advanced carotid artery atherosclerosis in humans using MRI and active contours. Proc. SPIE Med. Imaging pp. 1448-1458.
- Morrisett, J.D. and Karmonik, C. (2002). Frontiers in diagnosis of carotid atherosclerosis: quantitation of lesions by high resolution magnetic resonance imaging. Lipid Disorders Update 2: 1-14.
- Morrisett, J.D. and Insull, W. (2001). Evaluating Atherosclerotic Lesions by Magnetic Resonance Imaging: From Dimensional to Compositional Quantitation. Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 21: 1563-1564.
- Gaubatz, J.W., Hoogeveen, R.C., Hoffman, A.S., Ghazzaly, K.G., Pownall,H.J., Guevara, J., Koschinsky, M.L. and Morrisett, J.D. (2001). Isolation, quantitation, and characterization of a stable complex formed by Lp[a] binding to triglyceride rich lipoproteins. J. Lipid. Res. 42: 2058-2068.
- Hoogeveen, R.C., Ballantyne, C.M., Pownall, H.J., Opekun, A.R., Hachey, D.L., Jaffe, J.S., Oppermann, S., Kahan, B.D. and Morrisett, J.D.(2001). Effect of Sirolimus on the Metabolism of ApoB-100 Containing Lipoproteins in Renal Transplant Patients. Transplantation 72: 1244-1250.
Lab Members
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Last edited on: September 22, 2009