Christian Lacks Lino Cardenas

This paper develops a customized CRISPR-Cas9 base editor to correct the ACTA2 R179H mutation in a mouse model of MSMDS, improving survival and rescuing vascular and neurological phenotypes.

This study performs a meta-analysis of scRNA-seq datasets to map human atherosclerosis cell diversity and identifies disease-relevant vascular cell states and markers.

This study identifies FHL5 as a causal gene for vascular disease risk through eQTL colocalization and functional analyses, showing its role in vascular remodeling and calcification.

The paper shows that dysfunctional vascular smooth muscle cells contribute to neuroinflammation and Tau hyperphosphorylation in Alzheimer's disease through phenotypic transitions and loss of contractile markers.

The paper investigates associations between ACE2 locus polymorphisms and COVID-19 severity in 62 patients, finding six SNPs significantly linked to hospitalization after adjusting for age and sex.