Prasad Konkalmatt
Department of Medicine
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, USA
Prasad Konkalmatt currently is an Assistant Professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. He received PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Medical College of Ohio, Toledo, Ohio (1996). He did his post-doctoral training in gene therapy at the City of hope National Medical Center, Duarte California. In his first faculty appointment at the University of Virginia, Prasad Konkalmatt established Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vector system for cardiomyocyte-specific gene expression in a mouse model and demonstrated that cardiomyocyte-specific expression of EcSOD or iNOS protects the intact mammalian heart against myocardial infarction and heart failure. Prasad Konkalmatt has a broad background in molecular virology, with specific expertise in the development of novel Adeno-associated viral vectors for targeted gene expression in animal models for gene therapy applications. Recently he has been examining gene rescue approach to study the molecular mechanisms of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. He is a member of the American Heart Association and published several peer-reviewed articles in the field of gene therapy.
Hypertension, Ischemic heart disease and development of novel AAV vectors for Gene therapy applications: My research interest is to study the molecular mechanisms by which single nucleotide polymorphisms in G-protein coupled receptor kinase 4 and dopamine receptors modulate hypertension and renal function. In addition, I develop novel Adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors for cell type-specific expression of genes of interest to study their function and for gene therapy applications.
