Russell B. Melchert, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor and is the Chair of the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Pharmacy. He has a secondary appointment as Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology in the College of Medicine. His research interests lie in the pharmacologic and toxicologic effects of various agents on cardiac function including function during remodeling and aging. Research projects include gene therapy for cardiac remodeling following myocardial infarction, calcium homeostasis in the aging male and female heart, and evaluation of the efficacy of sodium/hydrogen exchange inhibitors in improving cardiac function following severe hemorrhagic shock. These research projects utilize a variety of tools and models including primary culture of neonatal and adult cardiac myocytes, biotelemetry systems for in vivo cardiovascular monitoring in small animals, fluorescent imaging for intracellular calcium measurements, and various biochemical and molecular approaches for the study of cardiac/cardiomyocyte function.

Selected Publications:

S. J. Liu, R. P. Wyeth, R. B. Melchert, and R. H. Kennedy. Aging-associated changes in whole cell K+ and L-type Ca2+ currents in rat ventricular myocytes. Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. 279:H889-H900, 2000.

R. B. Melchert, H. Liu, M. C. Granberry, and R. H. Kennedy. Lovastatin inhibits phenylephrine-induced ERK activation and growth of cardiac myocytes. Cardiovasc. Toxicol. 1:237-252, 2001.

L. A. Mitchell, D. F. Grant, R. B. Melchert, N. M. Petty, and R. H. Kennedy. Linoleic acid metabolites act acutely as positive inotropic agents in isolated rat heart. Cardiovasc. Toxicol. 2:219-229, 2002.

R. B. Melchert, J. Joseph, and R. H. Kennedy. Interaction of xenobiotics with myocardial signal transduction pathways. Cardiovasc. Toxicol. 2:1-23, 2002.

J. Joseph, L. Joseph, N. S. Shekhawat, S. Devi, J. Wang, R. B. Melchert, M. Hauer-Jensen, and R. H. Kennedy. Hyperhomocysteinemia leads to pathologic ventricular hypertrophy in normotensive rats. Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol. 285(2):H679-H686, 2003.

R. H. Kennedy, R. B. Melchert, and J. Joseph.  Cardiovascular effects of hyperhomocysteinemia in conscious unrestrained rats.  Am. J. Hypertension. 19:94-97, 2006.