Feilim Colm Mac Gabhann, Ph.D.

Headshot of Feilim Colm Mac Gabhann
  • Director, Hopkins Office for Undergraduate Research
  • Joint Appointment in Biomedical Engineering

Background

Dr. Feilim Mac Gabhann is an associate professor of biomedical engineering at the Whiting School of Engineering and the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He is also a core faculty member of the Institute for Computational Medicine

His research focuses on microvascular development and remodeling. Dr. Mac Gabhann serves as the director of the Hopkins Office for Undergraduate Research.

His team is currently engaged in projects that include inhibiting vascular endothelial growth factor signaling in cancer and promoting vascular endothelial growth factor signaling in ischemic disease.

Dr. Mac Gabhann received his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from University College Dublin. He earned his Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Johns Hopkins. He completed his postdoctoral fellowship at the Cardiovascular Research Center at the University of Virginia before returning to Johns Hopkins to join the faculty.

His work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the NIH Pathway to Independence Award, the American Physiological Society Arthur C. Guyton Award for Excellence in Integrative Physiology and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship.

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Titles

  • Director, Hopkins Office for Undergraduate Research
  • Joint Appointment in Biomedical Engineering

Departments / Divisions

Centers & Institutes

Education

Degrees

  • Ph.D.; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (Maryland) (2007)
  • B.E.; University College Dublin, National University of Ireland (Ireland) (1997)

Research & Publications

Research Summary

The Mac Gabhann Lab is involved in research projects including: 

  • Inhibiting vascular endothelial growth factor signaling in cancer: Using druggable multiscale computational models of the transport and signaling of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), they test therapies to block the signaling pathways that lead to vascularization of tumors and metastasis.
  • Promoting vascular endothelial growth factor signaling in ischemic disease: Using druggable multiscale computational models of the transport and signaling of VEGF, they test therapies to increase nonpathological pro-angiogenic signaling that lead to increased perfusion of muscle and other tissues vulnerable to ischemia.
  • Microvascular network organization: They study the variability in microvascular network structure in mice from different strains, both before and after intervention. Induced ischemic or other injury results in different remodeling responses that may hold the key to therapy development.
  • Impact of extracellular matrix on VEGF signaling: Using a combination of in vitro, in vivo and in silico approaches, they study the ability of extracellular matrix sequestration of VEGF to impact the extracellular VEGF signal as perceived by cell-surface receptors.
  • Molecular mechanisms of small-genome diseases – host-virus interactions of HIV: They have created molecular-level simulations of HIV, that complement existing models of viral development and cellular infection. By including the effects of the genes that HIV expresses, particularly those that have evolved to combat our host defenses, they can test new therapies that boost host antiviral responses.

Selected Publications

View all on PubMed

Vempati P, Popel AS, Mac Gabhann F. Extracellular regulation of VEGF: isoforms, proteolysis, and vascular patterning. Cytokine Growth Factor Rev. 2014 Feb;25(1):1-19. doi: 10.1016/j.cytogfr.2013.11.002. Epub 2013 Nov 27. PMID: 24332926

Logsdon EA, Finley SD, Popel AS, Gabhann FM. A systems biology view of blood vessel growth and remodelling. J Cell Mol Med. 2013 Nov 17. doi: 10.1111/jcmm.12164. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 24237862 

Tan WH, Popel AS, Mac Gabhann F. Computational model of VEGFR2 pathway to ERK activation and modulation through receptor trafficking. Cell Signal. 2013 Dec;25(12):2496-510. doi: 10.1016/j.cellsig.2013.08.015. Epub 2013 Aug 29. PMID: 23993967 

Moraes F, Paye J, Mac Gabhann F, Zhuang ZW, Zhang J, Lanahan AA, Simons M. Endothelial cell-dependent regulation of arteriogenesis. Circ Res. 2013 Oct 12;113(9):1076-86. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.113.301340. Epub 2013 Jul 29. PMID: 23897694 

Tan WH, Popel AS, Mac Gabhann F. Computational Model of Gab1/2-Dependent VEGFR2 Pathway to Akt Activation. PLoS One. 2013 Jun 21;8(6):e67438. Print 2013. PMID: 23805312

Contact for Research Inquiries

Phone: 410-516-4723

Activities & Honors

Honors

  • William H. Huggins Excellence in Teaching Award, 2016
  • Johns Hopkins Catalyst Award, 2015
  • Arthur C. Guyton Award for Excellence in Integrative Physiology and Medicine, American Physiological Society, 2012
  • Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship, 2012
  • August Krogh Young Investigator Award, Microcirculatory Society, 2010
  • NIH Pathway to Independence Award
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