Weibin Shi
- Email: ws4v@virginia.edu
- Phone: 434-243-9420
- Fax: 434-924-9435
Primary Appointment
Professor, Radiology and Medical Imaging
Education
- PhD, Pathology, McGill University
Research Disciplines
Genetics
Research Interests
Molecular and genetic determinants of atherosclerosis and cardiometabolic disorders.
Research Description
Diabetic patients have up to 4-fold increased risk for having incident cardiovascular events. We have mapped multiple loci for atherosclerosis that are overlapping precisely with loci for plasma glucose. We are testing the hypothesis that there exist genetic connections between the two important diseases.
Development of effective imaging probes targeting macrophages
Macrophages are involved in the development and progression of many important chronic inflammatory diseases, including atherosclerosis, asthma, inflammatory bowel disease, and type 2 diabetes. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) is currently used to diagnose inflammatory diseases involving macrophages, but accurate quantitation of macrophages has been difficult due to background uptake by other cell types. We are testing more specific macrophage imaging agents that have little or no background binding to other cell types. The formyl peptide receptors (FPRs) are abundantly expressed on the surface of macrophages. We have successfully used a FPR receptor antagonist to detect macrophages in the pancreas of mice. We are in the process of designing, synthesizing and evaluating imaging gents that can be applied to humans.
Personal Statement
Training
- Basic Cardiovascular Research Training Grant
Selected Publications
Banizs AB, Huang T, Dryden K, Berr SS, Stone JR, Nakamoto RK, Shi W, He J, In vitro evaluation of endothelial exosomes as carriers for small interfering ribonucleic acid delivery., 2014; International journal of nanomedicine. 9() 4223-30. PMID: 25214786 | PMCID: PMC4159392
Rowlan JS, Zhang Z, Wang Q, Fang Y, Shi W, New quantitative trait loci for carotid atherosclerosis identified in an intercross derived from apolipoprotein E-deficient mouse strains., 2013; Physiological genomics. 45(8) 332-42. PMID: 23463770 | PMCID: PMC3633429
Zhang Z, Rowlan JS, Wang Q, Shi W, Genetic analysis of atherosclerosis and glucose homeostasis in an intercross between C57BL/6 and BALB/cJ apolipoprotein E-deficient mice., 2012; Circulation. Cardiovascular genetics. 5(2) 190-201. PMID: 22294616 | PMCID: PMC3329596
Li J, Wang Q, Chai W, Chen MH, Liu Z, Shi W, Hyperglycemia in apolipoprotein E-deficient mouse strains with different atherosclerosis susceptibility., 2011; Cardiovascular diabetology. 10() 117. PMID: 22204493 | PMCID: PMC3273441