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University of Missouri

Darla L. Tharp, PhD

Darla Tharp Headshot

Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine

NextGen Focus Area: Cardiovascular Disease and Heart Failure

Darla Tharp’s research is focused on investigating mechanisms involved in the development of cardiovascular disease and heart failure with the intention of discovering new therapeutic targets and testing those targets in clinically relevant large animal porcine models. By utilizing a translational approach, Dr. Tharp’s lab interrogates these mechanisms at the molecular, cellular, tissue, and whole animal levels, enabling their research to bridge the gap from bench-to-bedside.

Precision Health Impact:

  • Discovering novel regenerative therapies to restore heart function
  • Investigating the effectiveness of cardiac-targeted gene therapies on the development of heart failure

Publications:

Chade AR, Sitz R, Kelty TJ, McCarthy E, Tharp DL, Rector RS, et al. Chronic kidney disease and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (CKD-LVDD) alter cardiac expression of mitochondria-related genes in swine. Transl Res. 2024 May;267:67–78.

Kelty TJ, Taylor CL, Wieschhaus NE, Thorne PK, Amin AR, Mueller CM, et al. Western diet-induced obesity results in brain mitochondrial dysfunction in female Ossabaw swine. Front Mol Neurosci. 2023;16:1320879.

Sukhanov S, Higashi Y, Yoshida T, Danchuk S, Alfortish M, Goodchild T, et al. Insulin-like growth factor 1 reduces coronary atherosclerosis in pigs with familial hypercholesterolemia. JCI Insight. 2023 Feb 22;8(4):e165713.

Li J, Kelly SC, Ivey JR, Thorne PK, Yamada KP, Aikawa T, et al. Distribution of cardiomyocyte-selective adeno-associated virus serotype 9 vectors in swine following intracoronary and intravenous infusion. Physiol Genomics. 2022 Jul 1;54(7):261–72.

Tharp DL, Masseau I, Ivey J, Laughlin MH, Bowles DK. Endurance exercise training does not limit coronary atherosclerosis in familial hypercholesterolemic swine. Physiol Rep. 2019 Feb;7(4):e14008.

Google Scholar
PubMed

Email: tharpdl@umsystem.edu
Department website: https://cvm.missouri.edu/biomedical-sciences/faculty-and-staff/darla-l-tharp-phd/