REMODELLING SMALL ARTERIES AND PHD TRAINING: A JOURNEY

DOI

10.1016/j.artres.2016.10.145How to use a DOI?

Abstract

Biomedical research is increasingly based on the efforts of PhD students. This talk will trace the development of the author’s research, and show how this experience can be used to optimize PhD training. The basis of the research has been that essential hypertension is associated with increased peripheral resistance due to narrowing of the small arteries and arterioles. The author’s PhD training ended in 1978 with development of a technique that enabled accurate measurement of the structure and function of small arteries. The technique was adopted by many laboratories world-wide, and also formed the basis for the author to establish a research group (with 22 PhD students over the years) that elucidated excitation-contraction properties and the morphology of small arteries, and how these were altered in essential hypertension. Vessels showed increased media:lumen ratio with inward eutrophic remodelling and limited functional changes. The remodelling was found to have prognostic consequences. The inward remodelling was found to be due to the vasoconstriction itself, mediated through multiple cellular pathways. The remodelling can be prevented by vasodilators and the results have had clinical effect. While this career path points to some success, it would unlikely happen in today’s academic environment in that the author’s PhD training took about 10 years. Through being head of the faculty graduate school and vice-president of the organization ORPHEUS (Organization for PhD education in Biomedicine and Health Sciences in the European System), the author has sought to establish procedures to ensure that today’s PhD students are able to prepare for successful careers – within or outside of academia – even within the normal 3–4 year time constraints.

Open Access

This is an open access article distributed under the CC BY-NC license.

TY  - JOUR
AU  - Michael J. Mulvany
PY  - 2016
DA  - 2016/11/24
TI  - REMODELLING SMALL ARTERIES AND PHD TRAINING: A JOURNEY
JO  - Artery Research
SP  - 45
EP  - 45
VL  - 16
IS  - C
SN  - 1876-4401
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1016/j.artres.2016.10.145
DO  - 10.1016/j.artres.2016.10.145
ID  - Mulvany2016
ER  -