Welcome to the laboratory of Dr. Kelley M. Argraves in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, South Carolina.

The major focus of research in the Argraves laboratory is on sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P), a phosphorylated sphingolipid that mediates signaling via G protein-coupled receptors and influences an array of vascular cell behaviors. One aspect of the research seeks to establish the importance of S1P signaling to both embryonic blood vessel formation (i.e., vasculogenesis) and adult neovascular processes such as those associated with tumor progression. Another aspect of the research program focuses on determining whether epidemiological evidence exists to support the hypothesis that S1P is a factor effecting cardiovascular disease. Of particular interest is investigation of the relationship between occurrence/risk of heart disease and levels of S1P associated with high density lipoproteins (HDL), the major plasma lipoprotein carrier of S1P.

Biography

Kelley M. Argraves earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology at The George Washington University, Washington, DC in 1998, where she studied lipoprotein receptor biology with Dudley K. Strickland. She subsequently undertook postdoctoral studies in sphingolipid biology with Yusuf A. Hannun at the Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC. Later, working with Christopher J. Drake at the same institution, she extended studies of sphingolipids to blood vessel development. In 2002, she launched her independent research career at the Medical University of South Carolina in the department of Cell Biology and Anatomy. Her research interests have primarily focused on sphingolipid biology, with special emphasis on sphingolipid signaling in vascular development and disease.