Environmental Factor, February 2009, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

Upcoming Distinguished Lecture Features Michael Mendelsohn

By Eddy Ball
February 2009

Distinguished Lecturer Mike Mendelsohn in his lab at Tufts University (Photo courtesy of Mike Mendelsohn and Tufts University)

NIEHS will welcome the next speaker in its 2008-2009 Distinguished Lecture Series on February 10 at 11:00 a.m. in Rodbell Auditorium. Michael Mendelsohn, M.D., will present a seminar on "Estrogen Receptor Action in the Cardiovascular System" hosted by NIEHS Principal Investigator and Chief of the Receptor Biology Group Ken Korach, Ph.D.

Mendelsohn (http://www.tufts.edu/sackler/facultyIntros/mendelsohnM.html) is a professor of Molecular Cardiology and Medicine at the Tufts University School of Medicine and executive director of the Molecular Cardiology Research Institute (http://160.109.101.132/mcri/MCRILabs/MolecularCardiologyResearchCenter/default) at the New England Medical Center.

According to Mendelsohn, the seminar will review and update the large body of current data regarding the specific roles of estrogen receptor (ER) in cardiovascular physiology and disease. He plans to discuss biological explanations for the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) -generated controversy regarding the role of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in cardioprotection, as well as review newer clinical evidence that supports beneficial cardiovascular effects of HRT for menopausal women. Mendelsohn will discuss that evidence in the context of basic science and animal studies that define differences in the underlying vascular biology between younger and older menopausal women, addressing the clinical importance of the timing of HRT initiation - the "Timing Hypothesis."

The presentation will also cover several newer signaling concepts in sex steroid hormone receptor action with important implications for cardiovascular physiology and disease. Mendelsohn will report on new experiments using mice in which ER are selectively deleted from smooth muscle cells to study the role of ER in vascular physiology.

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