Kazi N. Islam, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Pharmacology
Director, Cardiovascular Center Cellular and Biomarker Core
Laboratory
Director, Cell and Molecular Analysis Core Laboratory Of
COBRE
 

533 Bolivar Street
Room 401-A
New Orleans, LA 70112   
Phone: 504-568-2926   
Fax: 504-568-3244   
kisla1@lsuhsc.edu  


B.S. Biochemistry - 1988
Dhaka University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

M.S. Biochemistry - 1990
Dhaka University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

Ph.D. Biochemistry - 1996
Osaka University Medical School, Osaka, Japan
 

Dr. Islam's research is based on gene transcription and regulation in several disease states, primarily heart disease.  In his first post-doctoral period at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, Dr. Islam worked on heart disease that included both clinical and basic research.  There, he investigated the hypothesis that alpha-tocopherol (AT), an antioxidant, inhibits monocyte-endothelial cells adhesion through prevention of nuclear transcription factor kappa B (NF-kB) activation.  His other project from the same lab investigated that AT decreases oxidative susceptibility of LDL in renal failure patients on dialysis therapy.  Dr. Islam also worked several years in the same institution to investigate the molecular and epigenetic mechanisms involved in the regulation of Surfactant Protein A (SP-A) gene expression in human fetal lung type II cells. In order to define the mechanisms for SP-A gene regulation in human fetal lung Dr. Islam had to work on multiple projects that included NF-kB signaling pathway, roles of coactivators/corepressors/transcription factors, involvement of oxidative stress/ROS/hypoxia, and glucocorticoid and cAMP-mediated effects.

Next, Dr. Islam moved to the University of Minnesota as a faculty in the Department of Medicine, Cardiology Division, where he studied the roles of NF-kB signaling pathway in the regulation of vanilloid receptor I (VR1) gene in heart failure (HF) model (rat).

Dr. Islam then joined Thomas Jefferson University, Center for Translational Medicine and worked on the involvement of G-protein-coupled receptor kinase-5 (GRK5) and NF-kB signaling pathway in the regulation of hypertrophy HF.  In 2012 February, Dr. Islam moved with his group to Temple University School of Medicine. There he worked on the same project.

In July of 2013, Dr. Islam moved to LSU Health Science Center in New Orleans, LA. Here, he is working on protective roles of nitric oxide and hydrogen sulfide in cardiovascular disease in the Department of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics and Cardiovascular Center of Excellence.