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I applied to the MCP program at UAB because I want to acquire the tools to
focus my interest in free radical research in a relevant pathophysiological
setting. |
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Hometown:
Montevideo,
Uruguay
Undergraduate/Masters Institution:
Facultad
de Ciencias
Universidad de la Republica
General Research
Interests:
Free radical
biology
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| Evolution has precisely designed
hemoglobin for transportation of oxygen, carbon dioxide and protons between
tissues and the lungs. Moreover, the architecture of this protein determines the
existence of allosteric mechanisms that allow the delivery of oxygen and the
removal of metabolic products to take place in a concerted manner. In the recent
years, it has been proposed that hemoglobin would also have a central role in
the modulation of vascular levels of nitric oxide, a potent vasodilator involved
in the regulation of blood flow. The precise mechanism behind this activity is
still under debate. However, Dr Rakesh Patel's group at the Department of
Pathology is currently investigating the hypothesis that deoxyhemoglobin is
capable of reducing nitrite to nitric oxide, which is then released to the
vasculature along the arterial-venous oxygen gradient. My current project in the
lab focuses on the elucidation of mechanisms for the regulation of nitrite
uptake by red blood cells. |
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