Swapnil Sonkusare, PhD
swapnil.sonkusare@virginia.edu
Professor of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics

Dept. of Molecular Physiology and Biological Physics

The research in my laboratory focuses on the regulation of blood flow and blood pressure by calcium signaling mechanisms in the vascular wall. I have investigated vascular calcium channels in health and disease throughout my scientific career. My ultimate goals are to define the abnormalities in vascular calcium signaling mechanisms in cardiovascular disorders and to identify novel therapeutic targets. My laboratory routinely uses high-end calcium imaging, superresolution imaging, patch-clamp electrophysiology, vascular assays, mouse models of vascular disorders, and transgenic mice. Current NIH- and AHA-funded studies in my laboratory use this unique combination of techniques to address 1) new calcium signaling mechanisms that control vascular contractility and blood pressure in systemic and pulmonary vasculature; 2) contribution of impaired vascular calcium signaling and vascular inflammation to obesity-induced hypertension.

I invite you to join our group and perform cutting-edge research on vascular calcium signaling mechanisms!

Mani Kuppusamy, PhD
mk9wu@virginia.edu
Assistant Professor (research-track)

Dr. Kuppusamy is an Assistant Professor in the Sonkusare lab. He obtained his PhD in Cardiovascular Sciences from University of Padua, where he identified a potassium channel mutation in primary aldosteronism patients. He joined the Sonkusare laboratory in December 2020. His research interest are ion channel physiology and electrophysiology in metabolic disorders.

Fênix Alexandra de Araujo, PhD
bjw4kt@virginia.edu
Postdoctoral Fellow

Fênix received her PhD from Gonçalo Moniz Institute, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Brazil. During her PhD, she worked on the role of vascular TRPM8 channels in erectile dysfunction during obesity and typ II diabetes. In the Sonkusare lab, Fênix is working on the role of smooth muscle mineralocorticoid receptors and TRP channels in vascular inflammation in obesity.

Katie Beverley, PhD
dbk9vb@virginia.edu
Postdoctoral Fellow

Katie joined the Sonkusare Laboratory in August 2025. Her current research focuses on inward rectifier potassium (Kir) channels in the pulmonary endothelium. Prior to joining our lab, Katie was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Illinois Chicago, where she investigated the role of endothelial Kir channels in obesity.

Giovanni Bertoldi, PhD
ymu4pz@virginia.edu
Postdoctoral Fellow

Giovanni completed his Ph.D. in Cardiovascular Sciences from the University of Padua, studying oxidative stress in renal pathophysiology. He later investigated the mechanical and functional properties of blood and lymphatic vessels in cardiovascular disease. He joined the Sonkusare Lab in November 2025 and now focuses on TNF-mediated arterial signaling and calcium dynamics in lymphatic vessels.

Kyosuke Kazama, PhD
hmn6er@virginia.edu
Research Scientist

Kyosuke is a Research Scientist at the Sonkusare Lab. He received his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine and PhD from Kitasato University, Japan. He then completed his postdoctoral fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University before joining the Sonkusare Lab at UVA. Kyosuke is an expert on inflammatory signaling and vascular cell pathophysiology. Kyosuke’s work in the Sonkusare Lab focuses on calcium signaling mechanisms in pulmonary veins.

Nikki (Saainikedhana) Venugopal
vhd6ww@virginia.edu
Laboratory Specialist

Nikki obtained her Master of Science degree from Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and her Bachelor of Science from PES University, Bangalore, India. She joined the Sonkusare Lab in June 2024 and is currently focusing on mouse colony management and lab administration.

Yashu Tang
Masters Student Researcher

Yashu is pursuing her Masters in Biostatistics at the University of Virginia. She joined the Sonkusare Laboratory as an undergraduate student researcher in Fall 2021. Currently, she is assisting with the analysis of high-speed confocal calcium imaging data and histology images. She is also our resident statistician!

Sree Katragadda
Undergraduate Researcher

Sree has been working in Sonkusare lab since November 2022. Since then, has taken up many responsibilities, including 3D printing of complex chambers for experiments, genotyping of 25+ transgenic mouse colonies, and making sophisticated schematics for our major NIH grant applications.

Megan Sinkar
Undergraduate Researcher

Megan is a second-year student majoring in biochemistry at UVA. She joined the Sonkusare lab in August 2025. Megan has been performing histology and immunofluorescence studies to understand the role of TRP channels in atherosclerosis.

Emma Chung
Undergraduate Researcher

Emma is a second-year undergraduate student in Biomedical Engineering at UVA. Emma joined the Sonkusare lab in 2024 and is working on developing excision primers. Emma is also learning pressure myography in small blood vessels.