Dr. Ingram’s research program focuses on two broad areas. First, he has identified a novel hierarchy of endothelial colony forming cells (ECFCs) utilizing human peripheral blood and umbilical cord blood. In contrast to previously purported endothelial progenitor cell (EPCs), he demonstrated in…
more human genetic studies, that EPCs are actually hematopoietic derived macrophages. Further, he also provided several lines of evidence that ECFCs form blood vessels de novo when transplanted in xenograft models. Recently, his laboratory has developed a novel poly-chromatic flow cytometry based assay to identify rare circulating angiogenic cells, which serve as novel biomarkers in patients with cancer and cardiovascular disease. Second, Dr. Ingram’s laboratory has developed several genetically engineered mouse models of cardiovascular disease, which occur in patients with Neurofibromatosis type I. Utilizing lines of cre transgenic mice, he is currently dissecting the molecular mechanisms of the vascular disease in Neurofibromatosis type I patients and identifying molecular targets for potential treatment.
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