Cardiac Structure and Function Laboratory

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About 

We investigate how metabolic cues and extracellular matrix-derived signals regulate:

  • Inflammation and metabolism
  • Ventricular remodeling
  • Functional adaptation in cardiometabolic disease

Our work integrates rigorous cardiovascular physiology with immunometabolism and matrix biology to define mechanisms that drive heart failure—and identify pathways with translational relevance.

NIH- and AHA-supported discovery.
Reproducible experimental platforms.
Mechanistic depth with physiological relevance.

Mechanistic Focus

Metabolic Control of Remodeling

Nutrient- and stress-responsive pathways shape cardiomyocyte and immune cell behavior during pressure overload, ischemia, and metabolic disease.

Matrix–Immune Crosstalk

Extracellular matrix components, such as hyaluronan, function as dynamic signaling platforms regulating inflammation, fibrosis, and ventricular adaptation.

Integrative Physiology

In vivo models and advanced phenotyping ensure discoveries are grounded in function, not just association.

Reproducible Translational Science

Methodological leadership emphasizing rigor, scalability, and reproducibility across preclinical models.

How We Interrogate Biology

We deploy complementary genetic, pharmacological, and physiological strategies to interrogate cardiometabolic disease mechanisms across scales:

  • Molecular signaling
  • Cellular adaptation
  • Whole-organ function

Our studies span heart failure, metabolic stress, ischemic injury, and cardiorenal interactions—emphasizing pathways that integrate metabolism, inflammation, and matrix remodeling.

Collaborative and interdisciplinary by design.

Training Rigorous Scientists

A core mission of the Jones Laboratory is to train the next generation of cardiovascular investigators.

Our trainees:

  • Earn NIH and AHA fellowships
  • Publish high-impact mechanistic studies
  • Advance to successful academic and industry careers

We emphasize independence, causal thinking, experimental precision and conceptual creativity. 

The Center offers rigorous training, strong mentorship and access to cutting-edge science. Contact the Director to discuss opportunities and next steps.

Jones Laboratory Team

  • Caitlin Howard 
    PhD student
  • Ilaria Ferrari
    MD/PhD student
  • Caitlin Wilkerson
    PhD student
  • Linda T. Harrison
    Research Manager
  • Jackson Tipton 
    Undergraduate student
  • Mihir Duggal 
    Undergraduate student
  • Samantha Becker
    Bioengineering co-op student (2023–2025)
    Ms. Becker is a medical student
  • María Elisa Mantilla
    Bioengineering co-op student (2024–2025)
    Elisa is interested in imaging, AI and machine learning.
  • Anand Ramalingam, PhD
    Senior Postdoctoral Fellow (2024–2025)
    Dr. Ramalingam now leads his own research group at Semmelweiss University in Budapest, Hungary.
  • Danielle Little, PhD
    PhD student (graduated 2025)
    Dr. Little is a postdoctoral fellow with Prof. Amy Bradshaw at MUSC.
  • Casey Colley
    Bioengineering co-op student (2022–2024)
    Casey is earning a MS in Physiology before medical school.
  • Emma Pendergraft
    Bioengineering co-op student (2022–2024)
    Emma is training to become a nurse anesthetist.
  • Sarah Belcher
    Summer undergraduate student (2022–2024)
    Ms. Belcher was a GEMS (guaranteed entry to medical school) undergraduate from the University of Louisville and a Fulbright Scholar. She is currently an MD/PhD student at the University of Louisville School of Medicine.
  • Jaida Washington
    Summer undergraduate student (2023)
    Ms. Washington was an American Heart Association-funded student from Appalachian State University. She presented her work at AHA BCVS Conference in Boston in July 2023.
  • Exile Lukudu, BS
    Undergraduate student (2022–2023)
    Mr. Lukudu has accepted an offer to attend medical school at the University of Pennsylvania.
  • Juliette Smith, BS
    Bioengineering student (2021–2023)
    Ms. Smith is an M Eng student at the University of Louisville.
  • Timothy N. Audam, PhD
    PhD student (graduated 2021)
    Dr. Audam is currently a postdoctoral research associate at the Broad Institute (MIT/Harvard).
  • Lauren F. Garrett, BS
    Bioengineering student (2020–2022)
    Ms. Garrett is currently an M Eng student at Purdue University.
  • Yi-Wei "Kevin" Zhang, BS, MS
    Bioengineering co-op student (2018–2020)
    Mr. Zhang currently works for Humana.
  • Senthilkumar Muthusamy, PhD
    Postdoctoral Fellow (2011–2015)
    After completing his postdoctoral training, Dr. Muthusamy returned to India where he is now Head of Research and Development at Cologenesis Healthcare Products in Salem, Tamil Nadu.
  • Ayesha Zafir, PhD
    Postdoctoral Fellow (2009–2015)
    Dr. Zafir was an American Heart Association-funded postdoctoral fellow while in the laboratory. She is now an Instructor at Sullivan University.
  • Robert E. Brainard, PhD
    PhD student (graduated 2012)
    After graduating from the laboratory, Dr. Brainard completed a postdoctoral fellowship with Dr. Dan Kelly (Sanford-Burnham; currently at U Penn). Dr. Brainard is now an Associate Professor of Physiology at the University of Louisville.
  • Ryan Readnower, PhD
    Postdoctoral Fellow (2011–2012)
    After finishing his postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory, Dr. Readnower has worked for several pharmaceutical companies, including as a Medical Science Liaison for Novartis.
  • Lewis J. Watson, PhD
    PhD student (graduated 2011)
    After graduating from the laboratory, Dr. Watson joined Dr. Howard Rockman's group (Duke University) for a postdoctoral fellowship. Dr. Watson is currently Professor of Pharmacology & Physiology at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.
  • Philip Stoler, MD
    Summer medical student (2010)
    Dr. Stoler worked in the lab one summer while he was a medical student at the University of Louisville.
  • Heberty Di Tarso Fernandes Facundo, PhD
    Postdoctoral Fellow (2007–2010)
    Dr. Facundo was an American Heart Association-funded postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory. He now leads a Professor and leads his own research laboratory at Univ. Federal do Ceará—Campus Cairi (Brazil)
  • Kewakebt M. Lemma, MD
    Summer medical student (2009)
    Dr. Lemma worked in the lab one summer while she was a medical student at the University of Louisville.
  • Gladys A. (Ngoh) Nchaw, PhD
    PhD student (graduated 2009)
    After graduating from the laboratory, Dr. Nchaw (Ngoh) was a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Ken Walsh (Boston Univ; currently at Univ of Virginia). Dr. Nchaw (Ngoh) is now a Biomarker Scientist at Jansen Pharmaceuticals in Boston, MA.
  • Benjamin Brown, MD
    Summer medical student (2008)
    Dr. Brown worked in the lab for one summer while he was a medical student at the University of Louisville.
  • Samantha Shirk, MD
    Summer undergraduate student (2008)
    Dr. Shirk worked in the lab one summer while she was an undergraduate at Indiana University.
     

Our Work

Current projects and scientific themes

The Jones Laboratory studies how metabolic signals and extracellular matrix–derived cues regulate inflammation, ventricular remodeling, and functional adaptation of the heart in cardiometabolic disease. Our research is organized around four integrated pillars that define the laboratory’s scientific identity and guide discovery across models and disease contexts.

Pillar 1: Metabolic Control of Cardiac Remodeling

Cardiometabolic disease profoundly alters how the heart senses and responds to stress. Our work defines how nutrient availability, redox state, and metabolic signaling pathways shape cardiomyocyte survival, growth, and contractile performance during pressure overload, ischemia–reperfusion injury, and metabolic dysfunction.

We focus on identifying metabolic checkpoints that determine whether stress responses are adaptive or maladaptive, with the goal of uncovering mechanisms that can be targeted to preserve function and limit progression to heart failure.

Pillar 2: Extracellular Matrix–Immune Crosstalk

The extracellular matrix is not a passive scaffold, but an active signaling platform that governs inflammation and tissue remodeling. A central focus of the laboratory is defining how matrix components — including hyaluronan — regulate immune cell recruitment, activation, and resolution during cardiac injury and chronic disease.

Our studies examine how dynamic changes in matrix composition influence fibrotic remodeling, ventricular stiffness, and cross-talk between immune cells and resident cardiac cell populations. This work provides mechanistic insight into how inflammation and fibrosis are coupled in cardiometabolic heart disease.

Pillar 3: Integrative Cardiovascular Physiology

Physiological relevance is central to all work in the Jones Laboratory. We employ rigorous in vivo models and advanced physiological phenotyping to ensure that molecular and cellular discoveries translate to meaningful changes in cardiac structure and function.

Our approaches span whole-animal models, cardiac functional assessment, and tissue-level analyses that allow us to connect signaling pathways to outcomes such as contractile performance, remodeling, and exercise capacity. This integrative framework distinguishes causal mechanisms from associative signals.

Pillar 4: Rigorous, Reproducible Translational Science

The laboratory is committed to experimental rigor, reproducibility, and scalability. Through development and leadership of shared research cores and standardized methodologies, we emphasize study design principles that strengthen confidence in preclinical findings.

This pillar reflects our translational mindset: discoveries are pursued with an eye toward robustness, generalizability, and relevance to human disease. Our work frequently informs collaborative efforts with clinician-investigators and interdisciplinary teams focused on advancing cardiovascular therapeutics.

An Integrated Research Program

Although presented as distinct pillars, these areas are deeply interconnected. Metabolic signals shape extracellular matrix remodeling; matrix cues regulate immune and cardiomyocyte behavior; and physiological context determines whether these interactions are adaptive or pathological.

By integrating metabolism, matrix biology, inflammation, and physiology, the Jones Laboratory seeks to define unifying mechanisms that drive cardiometabolic heart disease and identify leverage points for durable therapeutic impact.

Our research program is supported by the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, and other national funding organizations, and is embedded within a collaborative environment that values scientific clarity, mentorship, and leadership.

 



 

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Cardiac Structure and Function Laboratory

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Delia Baxter Building, 3rd Floor

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