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University of Missouri

Dwight A. Towler, MD, PhD

Dwight Towler Portrait

Professor of Medicine
Thomas W. and Joan F. Burns Missouri Chair in Diabetology
Director of Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism
School of Medicine

NextGen Focus Area: Cardiovascular Calcification, Transcriptional Regulation, Calcium Metabolism, Signal Transduction

The Towler lab research focuses on:

  • Wnt signals regulating arterial calcification, mitochondrial stress & osteogenic differentiation in the bone-vascular axis
  • Parathyroid hormone- PTH1R signaling relays in cardiovascular physiology and disease
  • Plasma extracellular vesicles as endocrine mediators and markers of cardiometabolic injury

Precision Health Impact:

  • Development of new strategies to improve cardiovascular health & mitigate musculoskeletal frailty in patients with diabetes, parathyroid disorders, or chronic kidney disease 
  • Discovery of extracellular vesicle components as novel mediators and biomarkers of healthy vs. maladaptive bone-vascular endocrine physiology

Publications:

Towler DA. Parathyroid hormone-PTH1R signaling in cardiovascular disease and homeostasis. Trends Endocrinol Metab. 2024 Jul;35(7):648–60.

Behrmann A, Zhong D, Li L, Xie S, Mead M, Sabaeifard P, et al. Wnt16 Promotes Vascular Smooth Muscle Contractile Phenotype and Function via Taz (Wwtr1) Activation in Male LDLR-/- Mice. Endocrinology. 2023 Dec 23;165(2):bqad192.

Cosman F, Peterson LR, Towler DA, Mitlak B, Wang Y, Cummings SR. Cardiovascular Safety of Abaloparatide in Postmenopausal Women With Osteoporosis: Analysis From the ACTIVE Phase 3 Trial. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2020 Nov 1;105(11):3384–95.

Behrmann A, Zhong D, Li L, Cheng SL, Mead M, Ramachandran B, et al. PTH/PTHrP Receptor Signaling Restricts Arterial Fibrosis in Diabetic LDLR-/- Mice by Inhibiting Myocardin-Related Transcription Factor Relays. Circ Res. 2020 May 8;126(10):1363–78.

Cheng SL, Ramachandran B, Behrmann A, Shao JS, Mead M, Smith C, et al. Vascular smooth muscle LRP6 limits arteriosclerotic calcification in diabetic LDLR-/- mice by restraining noncanonical Wnt signals. Circ Res. 2015 Jul 3;117(2):142–56.

Google Scholar
PubMed
American Society for Clinical Investigation

Email: dtowler@health.missouri.edu
Department website: https://www.muhealth.org/doctors/dwight-towler-md