DNA photo
Children's Hospital Research Children's Hospital Labs
Maria Rupnick, MD, PhD Children's logo Harvard logo
Maria Rupnick, MD, PhD
X X
   Department  Vascular Biology Program
   Hospital Title  Research Associate
   Academic Title  Instructor in Medicine
   Phone  617-919-2395
   Fax   
   Email   
   Location  300 Longwood Avenue
Boston
MA 02115
Research Overview
Maria Rupnick's research is focused on the control of non-cancerous tissues—particularly fat and heart tissue—through managing blood vessel growth. This distinctive approach builds on the original work of Dr. Folkman and opens novel avenues for treatment of significant health care problems, ranging from obesity to damaged heart muscle. For example, Rupnick has modified the growth properties of fat tissue by blocking blood vessel growth and by altering the angiopoietin-tie receptor system, the cell signaling pathways that govern blood vessel development. This resulted in near-normalization of body weight in obese mice.
About Maria Rupnick

Maria Rupnick received a PhD in physiology/cell biology from Thomas Jefferson University and an MD from Harvard Medical School. She completed her postdoctoral training at MIT and residency/fellowship training at Brigham and Women's Hospital, where she currently practices as an acute/critical care cardiologist.

Dr. Rupnick joined Dr. Folkman's group as an Andrus Research Fellow in 1988 and worked in his laboratory intermittently throughout medical school and residency. She re-joined the Surgical Research Division as a junior faculty member in 1999. She is the recipient of a number of national and international awards, including the American Heart Association's Katz Basic Science Young Investigator Award and the Society for Vascular Malformations International Basic Science Award.
Key Publications
  • Rupnick MA, Panigrahy D, Zhang CY, Dallabrida SM, Lowell BB, Langer R, Folkman MJ. Adipose tissue mass can be regulated through the vasculature. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 2002; 99 :10730-10735.

  • Dallabrida SM, Zurakowski D, Shih SC, Smith LE, Folkman J, Moulton KS, Rupnick MA. Adipose tissue growth and regression are regulated by angiopoietin-1. Biochemical & Biophysical Research Communications 2003; 311: 563-571.

  • Dallabrida SM, Rupnick MA. Vascular endothelium in tissue remodeling: implications for heart failure. Cold Spring Harbor Symposia on Quantitative Biology 2002; 67: 417-427.
X X
Copyright 2004 Children's Hospital Boston