Health Science Center biochemist Reto Asmis to speak at UTSA Sept. 15

Reto Asmis

Reto Asmis

Share this Story

(Sept. 8, 2010)--The academic community is invited to attend a technical seminar, "Phytonutrients as Atheroprotective Compounds: Novel Mechanisms and Targets," featuring Reto Asmis, professor of clinical laboratory sciences and biochemistry and director of clinical laboratory sciences at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Hosted by UTSA and the Health Science Center, the seminar is 4 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 15 in the Biotechnology, Sciences and Engineering Building Multifunction Room (2.102) on the UTSA Main Campus.

Asmis will describe his research about the mechanisms underlying chronic inflammatory diseases, in particular atherosclerosis, and the role that monocytes and macrophages play in the origin of these diseases. His laboratory recently identified a novel mechanism that appears to contribute to atherosclerosis and the dysregulation of blood monocytes.

The mechanism may provide a link between metabolic disorders such as high cholesterol or diabetes, oxidative stress, and the onset and progression of atherosclerosis. Asmis also will describe a class of plant-based compounds that he recently identified that may prove useful in preventing atherosclerosis and other complications of diabetes.

Asmis has 25 years of biochemistry research experience and has held academic appointments in Switzerland, Germany, California, Kentucky and Texas. A specialist in atherosclerosis and related diseases, he has received more than $6.1 million in funding for his work. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry and the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics and is a member of the United Peer Review Steering Committee for the American Heart Association.

He earned his postdoctoral degree in biochemistry from the University of Fribourg in Switzerland and completed post-doctoral fellowships in 1992 and 1995 at the University of California, San Diego and the University of Berne in Switzerland, respectively.

------------------------------

The Seminars in Translational Research series brings together investigators from basic, clinical and social sciences to highlight the bidirectional and multiple stages of the scientific translation of research discoveries from the laboratory bench to the bedside and ultimately the community.

The monthly seminars are jointly sponsored by the UTSA Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI), the Health Science Center Institute for Integration of Medicine and Science (IIMS)/Novel Clinical and Translational Methodologies, and the UTSA/UT Health Science Center joint graduate program in biomedical engineering. RCMI and IIMS are supported by the National Center for Research Resources in the National Institutes of Health.

 

 

Events



Spotlight

UTSA Bold Promise CTA

UTSA’s Mission

The University of Texas at San Antonio is dedicated to the advancement of knowledge through research and discovery, teaching and learning, community engagement and public service. As an institution of access and excellence, UTSA embraces multicultural traditions and serves as a center for intellectual and creative resources as well as a catalyst for socioeconomic development and the commercialization of intellectual property - for Texas, the nation and the world.

UTSA’s Vision

To be a premier public research university, providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.

UTSA’s Core Values

We encourage an environment of dialogue and discovery, where integrity, excellence, inclusiveness, respect, collaboration and innovation are fostered.

UTSA’S Destinations

UTSA is a proud Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) as designated by the U.S. Department of Education .

Our Commitment to Inclusivity

The University of Texas at San Antonio, a Hispanic Serving Institution situated in a global city that has been a crossroads of peoples and cultures for centuries, values diversity and inclusion in all aspects of university life. As an institution expressly founded to advance the education of Mexican Americans and other underserved communities, our university is committed to promoting access for all. UTSA, a premier public research university, fosters academic excellence through a community of dialogue, discovery and innovation that embraces the uniqueness of each voice.