Research Interests

• Portal hypertension and vascular biology of the liver

• Portal hypertension is one of the most detrimental complications of liver diseases. Our goal is to understand the mechanisms of portal hypertension in liver cirrhosis and develop therapies that ameliorate detrimental consequences, such as varices and ascites, associated with portal hypertension. Lymphangiogenesis is the growth of lymphatic vessels. Any changes in the properties of lymphatic vessels are associated with pathogenesis of tumor metastases, ascites formation, liver fibrosis/cirrhosis and portal hypertension. We are interested in how the lymphatic vascular system in general and lymphangiogenesis in particular are mechanistically related to the pathogenesis and maintenance of liver diseases.