Matthew D. Woolard, PhD
Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology
Bachelor of Arts, Biology - Austin College
PhD, Biomedical Sciences - University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth
Post-Doctoral Fellow - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
News
Latest News
Matthew D. Woolard, PhD, Associate Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, is the first holder of the O’Callaghan Family Endowed Professorship in Microbiology.
Cassidy Blackburn was selected to give an oral presentation of the American Association of Immunologist meeting Honolulu, Hi May 9-11, 2020. Cassidy was also awarded an AAI Trainee Abstract Award.
Robert Schilke was selected to give an oral presentation of the American Association of Immunologist meeting Honolulu, Hi May 9-11, 2020. Robert was also awarded an AAI Trainee Abstract Award.
Dr. Matthew Woolard was selected to give an oral presentation of the American Association of Immunologist meeting Honolulu, Hi May 9-11, 2020, Chair the Metabolism and Macrophage Biology Block Symposium and awarded a 2020 AAI Laboratory Travel Grant.
Research
Major Research Interests:
Lipid metabolic regulation of macrophage function that contributes to disease pathogenesis.
Macrophages are heterogeneous cells of the immune system that contribute to antibacterial activity, tissue homeostasis, resolving inflammation and wound healing. Carrying out these diverse roles requires functional plasticity. This also means this plasticity can be disrupted resulting in the contribution of macrophage activity to the pathogenesis of numerous diseases. Lipid metabolism and lipid mediated signaling are crucial to the regulation of macrophages function. The goal of my laboratory is to understand how lipid metabolic enzymes contribute to macrophage function during disease. We are investigating how lipid metabolism by macrophages during atherosclerosis contributes either promotion or resolution of atherosclerotic lesion formation. A better understanding of these processes will likely identify new molecular target for the development of therapies to treat CVD.
Publications
Selected Publications
- Vozenilek AE, Blackburn CMR, Schilke RM, Chandran S, Castore R, Klein RL, Woolard MD. 2018. AAV8-mediated overexpression of mPCSK9 in liver differs between male and female mice. Atherosclerosis. 278:66-72. PMID 30253291
- Vozenilek AE, Navratil AR, Green JM, Coleman DT, Blackburn CMR, Finney AC, Pearson BH, Chrast R, Finck BN, Klein RL, Orr AW, Woolard MD. 2018. Macrophage-Associated Lipin-1 Enzymatic Activity Contributes to Modified Low-Density Lipoprotein-Induced Proinflammatory Signaling and Atherosclerosis. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 38(2):324-334. PMID:29217509 PMCID:PMC5785462
- Navratil AR, Vozenilek AE, Cardelli JA, Green JM, Thomas MJ, Sorci-Thomas MG, Orr AW, Woolard MD. 2015. Lipin-1 Contributes to Modified Low-Density Lipoprotein-Elicited Macrophage Pro-Inflammatory Responses. Atherosclerosis 242(2):424-32. PMID:26288136 PMCID:PMC4712446
Team
Cassidy M. Blackburn
B.A., Biology, DePauw University, 2016
Research: Atherosclerosis is a hypercholesterolemia-induced inflammatory condition of arteries mediated by macrophages. Why macrophages become inflammatory in response to hypercholesterolemia is enigmatic. We have demonstrated that the glycerolipid synthetic enzyme lipin-1 in macrophages is atherogenic. My project is to elucidate the molecular mechanisms by which macrophage-associated lipin-1 promotes atherogenesis.
Robert. M. Schilke
B.S. (2014), M.S. (2017), University of North Carolina Wilmington
Research: Atherosclerosis is a hypercholesterolemia-induced inflammatory condition of arteries mediated by macrophages. We have demonstrated that lipin-1, a key enzyme in the glycerolipid synthesis pathway, regulates oxidized low-density lipoprotein-induced macrophage inflammatory response. Lipin-1 also has transcriptional co-regulatory activity and its contribution to atherosclerosis has yet to be elucidated. My project will seek to identify protein-protein interactions between lipin-1 in macrophages in response to oxLDL to provide insight into the regulation of lipin-1 activity that may contribute to atherogenesis.
Temitayo T. Bamgbose
B.S., Microbiology, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta, Nigeria, 2014
Research: Inflammasomes are cytoplasmic multiprotein complexes that enhance the inflammatory response of the innate immune system. We have previously demonstrated that the phosphatidic acid phosphatase activity of lipin 1 promotes proinflammatory responses in macrophages. My project seeks to understand how macrophage associated lipin 1 regulates the activation of the inflammasome and the effects of this regulation on disease pathogenesis.
Positions
Postdocs: We are not actively recruiting postdoctoral fellows, but qualified candidates will be considered. Inquiries should be directed to Dr. Woolard.
Graduate students: Students interested in working in our Department should visit our Graduate Program website.
Undergraduate students: Our Undergraduate Biomedical Research Fellowship program provides bright undergraduates a chance to gain hands-on research experience through a paid internship. Learn more about our Undergraduate Fellowship.
contact
Contact Us
LSU Health Shreveport
Department of Microbiology & Immunology
1501 Kings Hwy
Shreveport, LA 71103
Email:
matthew.woolard@lsuhs.edu
Office:
(318) 675-5763