Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Scholarships

In all animals, oxygenated blood is transported from the heart throughout the body by arteries, then smaller arterioles and eventually by capillaries, the smallest of blood vessels. Although this blood circulatory system is very stable, should one or more of these vessels become blocked or damaged as a result of disease, the vessels can respond by promoting the formation of new blood vessels from those already in existence. This process is called angiogenesis. Endothelial cells, which line all parts of this circulatory system that is in contact with blood, are critical cells in this growth of new vessels. Indeed, as a result of research into the role of endothelial cells in angiogenesis, several therapies to control angiogenesis have been developed and tested. Regrettably, despite these findings, focused control of angiogenesis in health and disease remains lacking. As a result, it is vital to further understand how endothelial cells drive angiogenesis and to use this knowledge to develop better more focused approaches to control this important process. It is hoped that such studies would allow angiogenesis to be increased when therapeutically advantageous, such as in cardiac ischemia when there is decreased blood flow to heart. Or therapeutically reduced when this was required, such as when trying to prevent blood flow to tumours in cancer development. Specifically, we aim to define the roles of critical inner-endothelial cell signalling molecules in angiogenesis. More precisely, we aim to study a process that we identified in conventional two-dimensional cell culture systems and compare the importance of our findings in tests using a three-dimensional cell culture system. Studying in this physiological context, we will be able to uncover more accurate therapeutics.