Research

Dr. Faraci's research deals with vascular biology with an emphasis on studies of the carotid artery and cerebral circulation. A major focus of this work is the study of endothelium, cells that form the inner lining of blood vessels, and the role of these cells in determining vascular structure and function. His work has two major goals. The first is to better understand how blood vessels function normally. The second goal is to define mechanisms that produce vascular dysfunction in the presence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease including hypertension, diabetes, inflammation, and aging. Physiological, pharmacological and molecular approaches are used to provide greater insight into mechanisms believed to contribute to vascular disease and stroke. There is a major emphasis on the role of oxidative stress in mechanisms that contribute to stroke and vascular cognitive impairment. The research relies heavily on the use of genetically altered mice and viral mediated gene transfer. He is director of an NIH Program Project Grant on Cerebral Vascular Biology.

Lab Members

Principal Investigator

Frank Faraci, PhD
(Faculty Profile)

Lab Student

Lucy Langmack

Recent Publications

Activation of the central renin-angiotensin system causes local cerebrovascular dysfunction. De Silva TM, Modrick ML, Grobe JL, Faraci FM. Stroke 2021 Jul;52(7):2404-2413.

Regulation of cerebral blood flow in humans: Physiology and clinical implications of autoregulation. Claassen JAHR, Thijssen DHJ, Panerai RB, Faraci FM. Physiological Reviews 2021 Oct 1;101(4):1487-1559.

Contributions of aging to cerebral small vessel disease. De Silva TM, Faraci FM. Annual Review Physiology 82:275-295, 2020

Endothelial PPARγ is essential for preventing endothelial dysfunction with aging. De Silva TM, Li Y, Kinzenbaw DA, Sigmund CD, Faraci FM. Hypertension 72:227-234, 2018

Disease Highlights the Cellular Diversity of Neurovascular Units: Sign in Stranger. Faraci FMCirc Res. 2017 Jul 21;121(3):203-205. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.117.311386. 

Genetic Interference With Endothelial PPAR-γ (Peroxisome Proliferator-Activated Receptor-γ) Augments Effects of Angiotensin II While Impairing Responses to Angiotensin 1-7. De Silva TM, Hu C, Kinzenbaw DA, Modrick ML, Sigmund CD, Faraci FM. Hypertension. 2017 Sep;70(3):559-565. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.117.09358. Epub 2017 Jul 3.

ASIC1A in neurons is critical for fear-related behaviors. Taugher RJ, Lu Y, Fan R, Ghobbeh A, Kreple CJ, Faraci FM, Wemmie JA. Genes Brain Behav. 2017 Jun 28. doi: 10.1111/gbb.12398.

Deficiency of superoxide dismutase promotes cerebral vascular hypertrophy and vascular dysfunction in hyperhomocysteinemia. Dayal S, Baumbach GL, Arning E, Bottiglieri T, Faraci FM, Lentz SR. PLoS One. 2017 Apr 17;12(4):e0175732. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0175732. eCollection 2017.

Cerebral Vascular Disease and Neurovascular Injury in Ischemic Stroke. Hu X, De Silva TM, Chen J, Faraci FMCirc Res. 2017 Feb 3;120(3):449-471. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.116.308427. Review.

All Publications

See Dr. Faraci's complete list of publications on PubMed