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Courtney Griffin, Ph.D.

Member
Cardiovascular Biology Research Program

Scott Zarrow Chair in Biomedical Research

Scientific Director, Oklahoma Center for Adult Stem Cell Research

My 101

In my lab, we are interested in the development and healthy maintenance of blood vessels. Certain diseases require blood vessel development for their progression; tumors, for example, thrive on blood flow. In those situations, we want to know how to stop or reverse vessel growth in order to halt disease progression. At other times, such as when wounds are healing, vessel growth is necessary and positive. In those cases, we want to learn how to build new vessels.

Blood vessel development is similar in mice and humans, so we use mice to study and manipulate vessels. By altering one or two genes at a time in mice, we can begin to understand how those genes contribute to blood vessel development and maintenance. We ultimately hope to identify genes that are critical for building and protecting healthy blood vessels, since those genes would be important therapeutic targets for controlling the growth and upkeep of blood vessels in our bodies.

Watch Dr. Griffin’s 2011 TEDxOU Lecture: Epigenetics and the Influence of Our Genes

Research

My lab studies the transcriptional regulation of genes that impact blood and lymphatic vascular development and maintenance. I became interested in vascular biology and development during my graduate training with Shaun Coughlin at UCSF and in epigenetics and transcription during my postdoctoral training with Terry Magnuson at UNC-Chapel Hill. When I launched my independent career in the Cardiovascular Biology Research Program at OMRF in 2008, I combined these interests together and initiated a program studying the impact of ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling complexes on vascular development. These complexes transiently modulate chromatin to facilitate transcriptional regulation of target genes. By generating mice with vascular-specific mutations in these complexes, my lab assesses how chromatin remodeling influences expression of genes that affect endothelial cell morphology and behavior. Our long-term goal is to generate insights that can be exploited for developing therapeutic approaches to combat vascular pathologies.

For more details about our current research, please see my lab website: https://griffinc.omrf.org/

Brief CV

Education
B.A., Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 1995
Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco, CA, 2001
Postdoc, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2001-2008

Honors and Awards
1995   Magna cum laude with highest honors in Biology, Harvard College
2006-2011   NIH Pathway to Independence Award (NHLBI)
2013   J. Donald and Patricia Capra Award for Scientific Achievement (OMRF)
2019   Edward L. & Thelma Gaylord Prize for Scientific Excellence (OMRF)
2019-2026   NIH Emerging Investigator Award (NHLBI)
2020   Scott Zarrow Chair in Biomedical Research (OMRF)

Professional Activities
2009-present   Peer Reviewer for American Heart Association
2015-2018   Councilor for North American Vascular Biology Organization
2016-2019   National Research Funding Subcommittee for American Heart Association
2016-2022   Central Oklahoma Board of Directors (President 2018-2020) for American Heart Association
2016-present   Editorial Board Member for Angiogenesis
2017-present   Founder and Chair of OMRF Postdoctoral Training Committee
2019-2023   Standing Member of NIH Cardiovascular Differentiation and Development study section
2020-present   President-Elect for North American Vascular Biology Organization

Memberships
North American Vascular Biology Organization (since 2006)
American Heart Association (since 2014)
Society for Developmental Biology (since 2015)

Joined OMRF Scientific Staff in 2008

Publications

View more publications

Recent Publications

Gao S, Griffin CT. RIPK3 modulates growth factor receptor expression in endothelial cells to support angiogenesis. Angiogenesis, 2021 January, PMID: 33449298

Schafer CM, Gurley JM, Kurylowicz K, Lin PK, Chen W, Elliott MH, Davis GE, Bhatti F, Griffin CT. An inhibitor of endothelial ETS transcription factors promotes physiologic and therapeutic vessel regression. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2020 October, PMID: 33020273, PMCID: PMC7584886

Xie J, Gao S, Schafer C, Colijn S, Muthukumar V, Griffin CT. The chromatin-remodeling enzyme CHD3 plays a role in embryonic viability but is dispensable for early vascular development. PLoS One 15:e0235799, 2020 July, PMID: 32658897, PMCID: PMC7357745

Selected Publications

Colijn S, Gao S, Ingram KG, Menendez M, Muthukumar V, Silasi-Mansat R, Chmielewska JJ, Hinsdale M, Lupu F, Griffin CT. The NuRD chromatin-remodeling complex enzyme CHD4 prevents hypoxia-induced endothelial Ripk3 transcription and murine embryonic vascular rupture. Cell Death Differ. 2020 Feb;27(2):618-631. PMID: 3123587 PMCID: PMC7206092 (available on 2021-02-01)

Gao S, Silasi-Mansat R, Behar AR, Lupu F, Griffin CT. Excessive Plasmin Compromises Hepatic Sinusoidal Vascular Integrity After Acetaminophen Overdose. Hepatology. 2018 Nov;68(5):1991-2003. PMID: 29729197 PMCID: PMC6204085

Menendez MT, Ong EC, Shepherd BT, Muthukumar V, Silasi-Mansat R, Lupu F, Griffin CT. BRG1 (Brahma-Related Gene 1) Promotes Endothelial Mrtf Transcription to Establish Embryonic Capillary Integrity. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2017 Sep;37(9):1674-1682. PMID: 28729363 PMCID: PMC5570645

Crosswhite PL, Podsiadlowska JJ, Curtis CD, Gao S, Xia L, Srinivasan RS, Griffin CT. CHD4-regulated plasmin activation impacts lymphovenous hemostasis and hepatic vascular integrity. J Clin Invest. 2016; 126: 2254-2266. PMID: 27140400 PMCID: PMC4887170

Ingram KG, Curtis CD, Silasi-Mansat R, Lupu F, Griffin CT. The NuRD chromatin-remodeling enzyme CHD4 promotes embryonic vascular integrity by transcriptionally regulating extracellular matrix proteolysis. PLoS Genet. 2013; 9: e1004031. PMID: 24348274 PMCID: PMC3861115

Davis RB, Curtis CD, Griffin CT. BRG1 promotes COUP-TFII expression and venous specification during embryonic vascular development. Development. 2013; 140: 1272-1281. PMID: 23406903 PMCID: PMC3585661

Contact

Cardiovascular Biology Research Program, MS 45
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
825 N.E. 13th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73104

Phone: (405) 271-7073
Fax: (405) 271-3137
E-mail: Courtney-Griffin@omrf.org

Lab Staff

Matthew Menendez, Ph.D.
Senior Postdoctoral Fellow

Chris Schafer, Ph.D.
Senior Postdoctoral Fellow

Charmain Fernando, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow

Melinda Wu,Ph.D.
Postdoctoral Fellow

Jun Xie, M.D.
Laboratory Manager

Siqi Gao
Graduate Student

Bridget Parrish
Graduate Student

Rahul Rajala
Graduate Student

Grace Peake
Administrative Assistant II

 

News from the Griffin lab

Lupus and vascular development research bring $4 million to OMRF
July 30, 2012

The National Institutes of Health awarded grants worth more than $4 million to two OMRF scientists. Patrick Gaffney, M.D., and Courtney Griffin, Ph.D., were each awarded five-year R01 grants to research genes related to lupus and vascular development, respectively. After identifying two genes associated with lupus—a chronic autoimmune disease that affects an estimated 2 million […]

The Next Generation OMRF adds new scientists to spur growth, discovery
October 6, 2008

A new wave of researchers has joined the Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation’s scientific staff as part of the foundation’s expansion. OMRF has added seven new scientists to its staff. In addition, two research assistants have been promoted to faculty-level positions. The new researchers have come to OMRF from a variety of institutions across the U.S. […]