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Omoto Biosketch

OMB No. 0925-0001 and 0925-0002 (Rev. 10/2021 Approved Through 01/31/2026)

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

NAME: Ana Carolina Mieko Omoto

eRA COMMONS USER NAME (credential, e.g., agency login): aomoto

POSITION TITLE: Assistant Professor

EDUCATION/TRAINING

Personal Statement

My primary research focus has been on cardiovascular diseases, particularly heart failure, and how central nervous system pathways that regulate appetite and energy expenditure can be targeted to improve outcomes in this condition. A key focus of my research program is adopting a more integrative approach to treat cardiovascular diseases, particularly through the development of therapies that target bioactive factors mediating interorgan communication, such as extracellular vesicles, that can ultimately improve heart function and metabolism after ischemic injuries. My contributions to science include over 31 peer-reviewed publications, 27 published abstracts and 3 chapters in important books in the cardiology field such as A Companion to Braunwald’s Heart Disease 4^th Edition and Handbook of Obesity 5^th Edition. I am committed not only to publishing my research but also to promoting data sharing as a means of accelerating scientific progress, fostering collaboration, transparency, and advancing knowledge within the research community.

Ongoing and recently completed projects that I would like to highlight include:

R01 – NHLBI (13%)                      Omoto, ACM                       07/01/2025-06/30/2030  ($2,709,635.00)

“Brain MC4R-BAT-Heart crosstalk: a potential new therapeutic target for myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury”

Role: Principal Investigator

AHA - Career Development Award        Omoto, ACM                 04/01/2025-03/31/2028 ($230,429.00)
“Brain MC4R-BAT-Heart crosstalk: a potential new therapeutic target for myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury”
Role: Principal Investigator

P30GM149404           Omoto, ACM                             10/15/2023-02/27/2025           ($120,000)                 
NIH Pilot Grants Program - Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) “Obesity, Cardiorenal and Metabolic Disease Center”
“Role of Brown Adipose Tissue in Mediating the Cardioprotective Actions of CNS Leptin-Melanocortin Pathway Activation”.
Role: Pilot Grant Principal Investigador

P20GM104357           Omoto, ACM                                   07/13/2022-07/12/2023       ($40,000)                        NIH Pilot Grants Program - Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) “Obesity, Cardiorenal and Metabolic Disease Center”
“Cardiac protection by CNS actions of leptin administration after ischemia/reperfusion”
Role: Pilot Grant Principal Investigador

POST835218              Omoto, ACM                                  07/01/2021-06/30/2023       ($134,236)          American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship
“Cardiac protection by CNS actions of leptin administration after ischemia/reperfusion”
Role: Principal Investigador

Positions

2025 - Present  Assistant Professor (tenure track), Physiology and Biophysics Department, University of                             Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.

2025 - 2025     Research Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.

2022 - 2025     Instructor, Physiology and Biophysics Department, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.

2020 - 2022     Postdoctoral fellow, Physiology and Biophysics Department, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.

2018 - 2020     Internship (Ph.D. Sandwich – CAPES), Physiology and Biophysics Department, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.

2015 - 2019     Ph.D. fellowship, Physiology Department, School of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto – University of Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

2013 - 2015     Predoctoral fellowship (MSc Degree - FAPESP), Physiology Department, Sao Paulo State University, Botucatu, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

2012 - 2012     Internship (Scientific Initiation Sandwich Program – FAPESP), Psychology Department, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.

2011 - 2012     Undergraduate (Scientific Initiation - FAPESP) Fellowship, Physiology Department, Sao Paulo State University, Botucatu, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

2010 - 2011     Undergraduate (Scientific Initiation - FAPESP) Fellowship, Physiology Department, Sao Paulo State University, Botucatu, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

 

Specific Appointments

2024 – Present    Reviewer for AJP – Heart and Circulatory Physiology and AJP – Journal of Neurophysiology

2023 – Present    Editorial board, Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine

2023                   Mentoring Committee, Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) – University of                                  Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, USA

2022 – Present    Grant reviewer, American Heart Association

2020 – Present    Member, American Physiological Society

2020 – Present    Member, American Heart Association

2018                   Organizing Committee, XXII Brazilian Symposium of Cardiovascular Physiology, Ribeirao Preto,                              Brazil

2017                   Organizing Committee, II Symposium of the Physiology Graduation Program, School of Medicine                             of Ribeirao Preto – University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

2017                   Organizing Committee, 52^nd Summer Course in Physiology, School of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto                             – University of Sao Paulo, Brazil

2011                   Organizing Committee, Symposium: Sodium Intake in Health and Diseases, Biomedical Science                               Institute – Sao Paulo University, Botucatu, Brazil

2012 – Present     Member, Brazilian Physiological Society

2009 – 2012        Organizing Committee, National Meeting of Biomedical Science, Biomedical Science Institute -                                 Sao Paulo State University, Botucatu, Brazil.

Honors

2025 Cardiovascular Section Young Investigator Award-American Physiological Society

2024 OUtstanding Postdoctoral Award Finalist-Cardiovascular Section-American Physiological Society

2023 Basic Cardiovascular Research Science Abstract Travel Award-American Heart Association

2023 Postdoctoral Fellow Research Award - School of Graduate Studies in Health Sciences,University of Mississippi Medical Center

2023 Martin Frank Diversity Travel Award – American Physiological Society (APS)

2022 Vevo Research Award Cardiovascular Category

2014 Certificate of distinction in the 1st Panamerican Congress of the Physiological Society

2012 Certificate of distinction in the 47th Annual Meeting of the Brazilian Society of Physiology

2012 Certificate of distinction in the 16th Cardiovascular Physiology Symposium

2011 Certificate of distinction in the 15th Cardiovascular Physiology Symposium

Professional Memberships

2020 – present Member, American Heart Association.

2020 – present Member, American Physiological Society.

2012 – present Member, Brazilian Physiological Society.

Other Experience

2022 Invited speaker for the on-line talk “The CNS actions of leptin: from glucose regulation to cardiac protection” for the Physiology Seminar series of the University of Antioquia, Colombia.

2022 Invited speaker for the on-line talk “Cardiac protection by CNS actions of leptin after ischemia/reperfusion injury” for the course of Advanced Physiology of the graduation program in physiology - University of Sao Paulo, Ribeirao Preto, SP, Brazil.

2021 External member of Marcelo Fernandes dos Santos’s master dissertation defense committee – Federal University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil

Scientific review service:

2023-present Editorial Board:Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine

2022-present Grant reviewer:American Heart Association (AHA) predoctoral grants

2020-present Journal reviewer:Biomedicine & Pharmacology and Frontiers in Endocrinology

Contributions to Science

1. Antidepressant treatment reduces sodium intake and improves cardiac function: During my undergraduate studies, I had the opportunity to work as research assistant at the Dept. of Physiology of the Sao Paulo State University. I spent 3 years at Dr. Juliana De Gobbi’s laboratory studying the integrative role of the central nervous system in the maintenance of body fluid and cardiovascular homeostasis in an animal model of aortic regurgitation. During this period, I studied the effects of a selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitor, paroxetine, to improve cardiac function and sodium appetite in rats with heart failure induced by aortic regurgitation. As soon as I received my bachelor’s degree, I enrolled in a master degree program in the same field of research aimed at understanding the mechanisms involved in the cardioprotective effect of paroxetine after aortic regurgitation.

1. Omoto ACM, Moraes LN, Garcia GJF, Vechetti-Junior IJ, Roscani MG, Carvalho RF, De Gobbi JIF. Paroxetine alters cardiac stress markers in rats with aortic regurgitation. European Journal of Experimental Biology, v.08, p.1-7, 2018.
   
   
2. De Gobbi JIF, Omoto ACM, Siqueira TF, Matsubara LS, Roscani MG, Matsubara BB. Antidepressant treatment decreases daily salt intake and prevents heart dysfunction following subchronic aortic regurgitation in rats. Physiology & Behavior, v.144, p.124-128, 2015.

2. Functional and molecular characterization of reperfusion injury at different levels of ischemia: During my graduate (PhD) program, I focused my research on gaining a deeper understanding of the functional and molecular mechanisms underlying reperfusion injury in rats subjected to varying degrees of cardiac ischemia. To do that, I dedicated a significant part of my time to improve my surgical skills and to learn important techniquest used in cardiovascular research to evaluate cardiac function such as echocardiography and ventricular catheterization (Pressure-Volume Loops). I also gained deeper knowledge on how to evaluate autonomic nervous system balance using heart rate variability analysis (HRV) in rats with myocardial infarction (MI). Together with Dr. Fazan (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil) and Dr. Silva (Children's Hospital of Philadelphia), I introduced a new method, based on ultra-rapid patterns of HRV, to predict the severity of cardiac dysfunction in MI-induced heart failure rats. These techniques gave me the opportunity to collaborate with scientists in different areas of cardiovascular research helping them with acquisition and analyses of cardiac function and HRV data in different animal models. Additionally, I contribute to an important study that demonstrated the efficacy of P2X# receptors antagonism to attenuate the progression of heart failure after MI published in Nature Communications.

1. Lataro R, Moraes D, Gava F, Omoto ACM, Silva CA, Brognara F, Alfen L, Brazao V, Colato R, Prado-Jr JCP, Ford A, Salgado HC, Paton J. P2X3 receptor antagonism attenuates the progression of heart failure. Nat Commun, 14(1):1725, 2023.
2. Omoto ACM, Lataro RM, Silva TM, Silva LEV, Salgado HCS, Fazan-Jr. Heart rate fragmentation, a novel approach in heart rate variability analysis, is altered in rats 4 and 12 weeks after myocardial infarction. Med Biol Eng Comput, v.59 (11-12):2373-2382, 2021.
3. Omoto ACM, Gava FN, Silva CAS, Silva HB, Parente JM, Costa RM, Castro-Mazaron M, Tostes RC, Salgado HC, Fazan Jr R. Lack of scarring is not always a sign of cardiac health: Functional and molecular characterization of the rat heart’s following chronic reperfusion. PLoS One, v.13, p.e0209190, 2018.
4. Omoto ACM, Gava FN, Silva HB, Oliveria M, Silva CAA, Salgado HC, Fazan-Jr R. Longitudinal Strain by Speckle Tracking Imaging Detected Regional Myocardial Dysfunction in a Rat Model of Ischemia-Reperfusion. FASEB Journal, v.31, 2018.

3. Cardioprotective effect of brain leptin-melanocortin system after myocardial ischemia/reperfusion: For my post-doctoral training, I joined Dr. John E. Hall's laboratory at the Department of Physiology and Biophysics of the University of Mississippi Medical Center. Due to my expertise in myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (IR) injury in rodents, Dr. Hall and I decided to investigate the effect of chronic central leptin infusion in animals with cardiac IR injury. In this study, we found that chronic infusion of leptin or MC4R agonist (melanotan II) directly in tot he brain, with no spillover in the circulation, elicited powerful cardioprotective effect after IR. We also demonstrated that this cardioprotective effect is not transmitted to the heart by the cardiac sympathetic nerves. Therefore, one of my research goals is to understand how the brain communicates with the heart to improve cardiac function post-IR during chronic central infusion of leptin or MC4R agonists.

I have worked not only on these studies but also on several other projects, resulting in the authorship and co-authorship of 4 review articles, 16 manuscripts and 3 book chapters. I contributed to expand our research team knowledge in 4D echocardiography technology and I was honored the Vevo Cardiovascular Research Award 2022 (FujiFilm, VisualSonics®). Most importantly, I was given the opportunity by Dr. Hall to design independent research projects and, in 2021, I was awarded an AHA postdoctoral fellowship. My research was also supported by two NIH Pilot Grant Program-Center of Biomedical research Excellence since (COBRE). Currently, my research interests have expanded beyond the scope of my prior training and I am now investigating the role of brown adipose tissue-derived extracellular vesicles in mediating leptin/MC4R's cardiac protective effect. Given that obesity is a significant risk factor for ischemic heart disease and that MC4R agonists have already been approved by the FDA for treating rare genetic forms of obesity, these studies will provide crucial pre-clinical data on the potential use of these drugs for cardiac protection in obese patients.

 

 

1. Omoto ACM*, do Carmo JM, Mouton AJ, Wang Z, Li X, Spitz R, Hall JE, da Silva AA.Targeting the Brain Leptin-Melanocortin Pathway to Treat Heart Failure. Curr Hyper Reports. 2024. (*corresponding author)
2. Omoto ACM*, Earl CC, Annamalai K, Richards A, Nelson B, Hall JE, Goergen CJ, da Silva AA. 4D Ultrasound-based strain characterizes cardiac dysfunction in reperfused and non-reperfused rat models of myocardial infarction. Physiol Rep. v12 (14):e16159, 2024. (*corresponding author)
3. Omoto ACM, do Carmo JM, da Silva AA, Hall JE, Mouton AJ. Immunometabolism, extracellular vesicles and cardiac injury. Endocrinol, v.14, 2024.
4. Omoto ACM*, do Carmo JM, Nelson B, Aitken N, Dai X, Moak S, Flynn E, Wang Z, Mouton AJ, Li X, Hall JE, Silva AA. Central nervous system actions of leptin improve cardiac function independent of sympathetic innervation after ischemia-reperfusion. J Am Heart Assoc, v.11(21):e027081, 2022. (*corresponding author)

 

Complete list of published work:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/myncbi/ana%20carolina%20mieko.omoto.1/bibliography/public/