The establishment and maintenance of the cardiovascular system such as blood, vessel and heart are an indispensable process throughout embryogenesis and adult life. Successful embryogenesis and injury-mediated tissue/organ repair and regeneration are critically dependent upon angiogenesis or neovascularization. The long-term goal of my group is to understand the detailed mechanisms of cardiovascular development and postnatal vascular regeneration with a special emphasis on transcriptional regulation.

In this regard, we previously demonstrated that unlike other ETS factors exhibiting varying degrees of redundancy, Etv2 deficient mice die early in gestation due to complete block in blood and blood vessel formation. Further, our studies have revealed that ETV2 acts as a direct upstream inducer of genes critical for generation and function of endothelial cells (ECs). In a subsequent report, we have successfully shown that the dormant ETV2 in adult ECs is reactivated to trigger the angiogenic program in response to ischemic injury.

We have also reported that ETV2 alone can directly reprogram terminally differentiated somatic cells into functional ECs, inarguably supporting the idea that ETV2 is a highly specific and potent vasculo-angiogenic factor.

1. We are currently deciphering molecular mechanisms behind ETV2-mediated vascularization by employing basic molecular biology, epigenetics and genetically modified mice coupled with several angiogenesis mouse models including ischemia-induced neovascularization and tumor angiogenesis.
2. We are also investigating novel functions of ETV2 in regulating pulmonary hypertension (PH).
3. Another focus of my lab is to reveal vascular contributions to the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental disorders including autism spectrum disorder by employing mouse models and organoid cultures.

 Selected Publications

1. Kim, Y-E., Kim, M., Kim, S., Lee, R., Ujihara, Y., Marquez-Wilkins, E.M., Jiang, Y.H., Lee, C., #Park, C., and #Kim, I.H. (2025) Endothelial SHANK3 Controls Tight Junction of Neonatal Blood-Brain Barrier. Nature Communications 2025 Feb 6;16(1):1407. PMCID: PMC11802743 PMID: 39915488
   #Corresponding authors

2. Kim, M., Lee, R., Lee, D.H., Song, H., Ha, T., Kim, J.K., Kang, B-Y., Agger, K., Helin, K., Shin, D., Kang, Y., and Park, C. (2025) ETV2/ER71 regulates hematopoietic and endothelial cell generation through an H3K9 demethylase, KDM4A, from embryonic stem cells. iScience 28(1) 1111538. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.111538. PMCID: PMC11732216

3. Lee, D., Kim, M., Chang, S.S., Lee, R., Jang, A.J., Kim, J., Ma, J., Passineau, M.J., Benza, R.L., Karmouty-Quintana, H., Lam., W.A., Kopp, B.T., Sutliff, R.L., Hart, C.M., #Park, C., and #Kang, B-Y. (2024) PPAR/ETV2 Axis Regulates Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Pulmonary Hypertension. Pulmonary Circulation 14:e12448. PMCID:PMC11465559.
   #Corresponding authors

4. Cho, K., Andrade, M., Bae, S., Kim, S., Kim, J.E., Jang, E.Y., Husain, A., Sutliff, R.L., Calvert, J.W., Park, C., and Yoon, Y-s. (2023) Polycomb group protein CBX7 represses cardiomyocyte proliferation via modulation of the TARDBP/RBM38 axis. Circulation 13;147(24):1823-1842. PMCID: PMC10330362

5. Kabir, A., Subramanian, M. Lee, D.H., Wang, X., , Krchma, K., Wu, J., Naismith, T., Halabi, C.M., Kim, J.Y., Pulous, F., Petrich, B., Kim, S., Park, H-C., Hanson, P.I., Pan, H., Wickline, S.A., Fremont, D.H., *Park, C., and *Choi, K. (2021) Dual role of endothelial Myct1 in tumor angiogenesis and tumor immunity. Sci. Transl. Med. 13, eabb6731. *corresponding authors.  Published with cover image

6. Jang, A., Chang, S., Park, C., Lee, C-M., Benza, R., Passineau, M., Ma, J., Archer, D., Sutliff, R.,  Hart, C.M., and Kang, B-Y. (2021) PPARγ Activation Increases HUWE1 to Attenuate NF-κB/p65 and Sickle Cell Disease with Pulmonary Hypertension. Blood Advances 5(2):399-413. PMCID: PMC7839356
7. Wongtrakool, C., Ko, J., Jang, A.J., Grooms, K., Chang, S., Kosmider, B., Bahmed, K., Blackburn, M.R., Sutliff, R., Hart, C.M., Park, C., Nyunoya, T., Lu, Q., and Kang, B-Y. (2020) MicroRNA-98 reduces nerve growth factor expression in nicotine-induced airway remodeling. J. Biol. Chem. 295(52):18051-18064. PMID: 33082140
8. Lee, D.H., Kim, T.M., Kim, J.K., and Park, C. (2019) ETV2/ER71 transcription factor as a therapeutic vehicle for cardiovascular disease. Theranostics 9:5694-5705. PMCID:PMC6735401.
9. Kim, J.Y., Lee, D., Kim, J.K., Choi, H., Dwivedi, B., Rupji, M., Kowalski, J., Green, J.S., Park, W., Chang, C., Song, H., Kim, T-M., and Park, C. (2019)  ETV2/ER71 regulates the generation of FLK1+ cells from mouse embryonic stem cells through miR-126-MAPK signaling. Stem Cell Res. Ther. 10(1):328. PMCID:PMC6862833.
10. *Lee, S., *^,# Park, C., Han, J.W., Kim, J.Y., Cho, K., Kim, E.J., Kim, S., Lee, S-J., Oh, S.Y., Tanaka, Y., Park, I-H., An, H.J., Sin, M.Y., Sharma, S., and ^#Yoon, Y-s. (2017). Direct reprogramming of human dermal fibroblasts into endothelial cells using ER71/ETV2. Circ. Res. 120:848-861. PMCID:PMC5336520. ^#corresponding and *co-first authors, Published with cover image
11. *Park, C., Lee, T-J., Bhang., S.H., Nakamura, R., Oladipupo, S.S., Pitha-Rowe, I., Kim, T.M., Kim, E.J., Kang, I., Urao, N., Ushio-Fukai, M., Lee, D.J., Miyoshi, H., Xia, Y., Lim, D.S., Apte, R.S., Ornitz, D.M., and *Choi, K. (2016). Injury mediated vascular regeneration requires endothelial ER71/ETV2. Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol. 36:86-96. PMCID:PMC4690812. *corresponding authors, Recommended by Faculty of 1000
12. Liu, F., Li, D., Yu, Y.Y., Kang, I., Cha, M-J., Kim, J.Y., Park, C., Watson, D., Wang, T., Choi, K. (2015). Induction of hematopoietic and endothelial cell program orchestrated by ETS transcription factor ER71/ETV2. EMBO Rep. 16:654-669. PMCID:PMC4428045
13. Kim, J.Y., Lee, R., Kim, T.M., Kim, D.W., Jeon, Y-J., Huh, S-H., Oh, S-Y., Kyba, M., Kataoka, H., Choi, K., Ornitz, D.M., Chae, J.L., and Park, C. (2014). OVOL2 is a critical regulator of ER71 in generating FLK1+ cells, hematopoietic and endothelial cells from embryonic stem cells. Blood 124:2948-2952. PMCID:PMC4224193.
14. Oladipupo, S.S., Smith, C.,  Santeford, A.,  Park, C.,  Sene, A., Wiley, L.A., Osei-Owusu, P., Hsu, J., Zapata, N., Fang, L., Lavine, K.J., Blumer, K.J., Choi, K., Apte, R.S., Ornitz, D.M. (2014). Endothelial cell FGF signaling is required for injury response but not for vascular development or homeostasis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 111:13379-13384. PMCID:PMC4169958
15. Park, C., Kim, T.M., and Malik, A. (2013). Transcriptional regulation of endothelial cell and vascular development. Circ. Res. 112:1380-1400. PMCID:PMC3730491.
16. *Lugus, J.J., *Park, C., and Choi, K. (2009). Both primitive and definitive blood cells are derived from Flk-1+ mesoderm. Blood 113:563-566. *First authors.  PMCID: PMC2628363. 
17. *Ma, Y., *Park, C., Zhao, H., Oduro, K.A., Tu, X., Long, F., Allen, P.M., Teitelbaum, S.L., and Choi, K. (2009). Defects in osteoblast function but no changes in long term repopulating potential of hematopoietic stem cells in a mouse chronic inflammatory arthritis model. Blood 114:4402-4410. *First authors. PMCID: PMC2777125.
18. *Lee, D., *Park, C., Lee, H., Lugus, J., Kim, S. K., Arentson, E., Chung, Y.S., Gomez, G., Kyba, M., Lin, S., Janknecht, R., Lim, D.S., and Choi, K. (2008). ER71 acts downstream of BMP, Notch, and Wnt signaling in blood and vessel progenitor specification. Cell Stem Cell 2:497-507. PMCID:PMC2683414. *First authors.

Complete List of my Published Work in MyBibliography

WELCOME TO NEW STAFF MEMBER

The Park laboratory welcomes Chloe Lewis, Research Assistant.

Post-doctoral Fellows

While we are currently recruiting Post-doctoral Fellows, quality candidates will always be considered.  To enquire about opportunities, contact Dr. Park at changwon.park@lsuhs.edu.

Graduate Students

Graduate students interested in conducting research in the Park lab should review the current laboratory research directions and contact Dr. Park at changwon.park@lsuhs.edu.

Undergraduate Research Assistants

We are not currently hiring any additional undergraduates. However, positions can become available during the summer.

Medical Students, Residents, and Fellows

The Park laboratory has a research projects available for any Medical Students, Residents, and Fellows interested in understanding the detailed mechanisms of cardiovascular development and postnatal vascular regeneration with a special emphasis on transcriptional regulation.