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University of Missouri

Shawn B. Bender, PhD

Shawn Bender portrait

Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Pathobiology and Integrative Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine
Research Health Scientist, Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital

NextGen Focus Area: Vascular and Cardiac Dysfunction

Shawn Bender’s research focuses mainly on mechanisms of and potential therapeutic approaches for vascular and cardiac dysfunction associated with co-morbid conditions, especially obesity and hypertension. Recent work from his groups has focused on the contribution of coronary vascular cell dysfunction underlying cardiac dysfunction in obesity and interrogating mechanisms of arterial stiffening leading to hypertension. His team utilizes an integrative, multimodal approach including studies in small and large animal models and isolated tissue preparations alongside cellular, molecular, and genetic assays.

Precision Health Impact:

  • Elucidating mechanisms contributing to vascular and cardiac stiffening in obesity and hypertension
  • Identifying novel therapeutic targets and approaches to treat vascular and cardiac disease in co-morbid conditions

Publications:

Russell JJ, Yoshida T, Ma L, Lee L, Davis DJ, Grisanti LA, et al. Cardiomyocyte-specific LARP6 overexpression prevents angiotensin II-induced myocardial dysfunction and interstitial fibrosis. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2025 Sep 1;329(3):H730–42. doi:10.1152/ajpheart.00196.2025 PubMed PMID: 40824882; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12482548.

Russell JJ, Mummidi S, DeMarco VG, Grisanti LA, Bailey CA, Bender SB, et al. Integrated miRNA-mRNA networks underlie attenuation of chronic β-adrenergic stimulation-induced cardiac remodeling by minocycline. Physiol Genomics. 2024 Apr 1;56(4):360–6. doi:10.1152/physiolgenomics.00140.2023 PubMed PMID: 38314697; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11283891.

Badran M, Khalyfa A, Bailey CA, Gozal D, Bender SB. Mineralocorticoid receptor antagonism prevents coronary microvascular dysfunction in intermittent hypoxia independent of blood pressure. Sleep. 2025 Sep 9;48(9):zsae296. doi:10.1093/sleep/zsae296 PubMed PMID: 39693220; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC12663715.

Goodwill AG, Baker HE, Dick GM, McCallinhart PE, Bailey CA, Brown SM, et al. Mineralocorticoid receptor blockade normalizes coronary resistance in obese swine independent of functional alterations in Kv channels. Basic Res Cardiol. 2021 May 20;116(1):35. doi:10.1007/s00395-021-00879-3 PubMed PMID: 34018061; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8552965.

Dona MSI, Hsu I, Meuth AI, Brown SM, Bailey CA, Aragonez CG, et al. Multi-omic analysis of the cardiac cellulome defines a vascular contribution to cardiac diastolic dysfunction in obese female mice. Basic Res Cardiol. 2023 Mar 29;118(1):11. doi:10.1007/s00395-023-00983-6 PubMed PMID: 36988733; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10060343.

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Email: benders@missouri.edu
Department website: https://cvm.missouri.edu/pathobiology-and-integrative-biomedical-sciences/faculty/shawn-b-bender-phd/