External Advisory Committee (EAC): The EAC consists of internationally recognized scientists who have expertise in research areas related to the projects of the junior/developing investigators who have broad experience in program and faculty development. The EAC has been instrumental in advising the Program Leadership about the progress of the COBRE program and have provided invaluable evaluations of all scientific proposals and core facilities.

The five current members of the EAC are:  

David G. Harrison, M.D. , Vanderbilt University School of Medicine. Dr. Harrison is the Betty and Jack Bailey Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology, Director, Division of Clinical Pharmacology, and Director of the Center for Vascular Biology.  In addition, he is an Established Investigator of the AHA. He is supported by 2 RO1 grants and is the Director and project leader on 2 Program Project Grants in areas of oxidant stress and vascular biology. He is also the Director of an NIH T32 training grant in Academic Cardiology and the P.I. on a grant from the Veterans Administration Merit Review. 

Marschall S. Runge, M.D, Ph.D, University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Dr. Runge is the Vice Dean for Clinical Affairs, President; UNC Physicians, and the Chair of the Department of Medicine. Dr. Runge has made many contributions to our understanding of thrombosis and vascular signaling mechanisms. He has served on study sections at NIH and AHA review boards. Dr. Runge is directing a project on a P01 grant (AG024282) entitled ‘Chaperones, ROS systems, & IGF1: Roles in vascular aging’and has a pending RO1 competing renewal. 

Kafait U. Malik, Ph.D, D.Sc, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center. Dr. Malik is a Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and is an established investigator in the neurohormonal control of vascular tone and in the factors controlling the production of bioactive substances in vascular smooth muscle. Dr. Malik has extensive experience at faculty development and he is the recipient of a MERIT Award from NIH. He has served on study sections at NIH and review panels for the AHA. Dr. Malik is supported by 2 NIH RO1 grants and is the P.I. on a pending NIH NHLBI training grant in lipid/lipoprotein metabolism and cardiovascular diseases. 

Alan Kim Johnson, Ph.D, University of Iowa. Dr. Johnson, a new EAC member, is the F. Wendell Miller Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology at the University of Iowa. Dr. Johnson is the P.I. of an NIH RO1 grant that focuses on the neurobehavioral control of body fluid balance; Dr. Johnson is an internationally recognized investigator in this research area. Dr. Johnson is also a project director on an NIH PPG, which studies the mechanisms of depression- and heart failure-associated cardiovascular pathology.

Pamela Lucchesi, Ph.D. , is the Director of the Center for Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Medicine at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, in Columbus, OH.  She is a nationally recognized cardiovascular scientist whose research focuses on cellular signaling mechanisms that control vascular remodeling and heart failure progression.  Prior to her position at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Dr. Lucchesi served as the Co-Director of this COBRE grant as well as the Co-Director of the LSUHSC Cardiovascular Center of Excellence.  She serves on the editorial board of five leading cardiovascular journals, and as Chair of the Nominating Committee and member of the Steering Committee of the American Physiological Society’s Cardiovascular Section.  She served as a member of the Research Council of the Southeast Affiliate of the American Heart Association and served as a Chair of the AHA Molecular Signaling Study Section, and was a permanent member of the NIH Experimental Cardiovascular Sciences and Cardiac Hypertrophy and Heart Failure Study Sections.