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Isabella Grumbach, MD, PhD

Contact Information

Office: 4336 PBDB
Phone: 319-384-4610 
Faculty Profile


Brief description of current research:

We are interested in two aspects of diabetes-induced vascular disease: diabetic retinopathy and arterial restenosis after angioplasty. We are testing whether the production of reactive oxygen species in mitochondria is a critical event that drives the formation of the restenosis and whether blocking an enzyme that allows for mitochondrial calcium influx and ROS production can prevent the restenosis. We are testing a similar idea in diabetic retinopathy.

3 most influential diabetes/obesity/metabolism publications:

  • The multifunctional Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase II delta (CaMKIIdelta) controls neointima formation after carotid ligation and vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation through cell cycle regulation by p21. Li W, Li H, Sanders PN, Mohler PJ, Backs J, Olson EN, Anderson ME, Grumbach IM. J Biol Chem. 2011 Mar 11;286(10):7990-9. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M110.163006. Epub 2010 Dec 30. PMID:  21193397 
  • The multifunctional Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent kinase II regulates vascular smooth muscle migration through matrix metalloproteinase 9. Scott JA, Xie L, Li H, Li W, He JB, Sanders PN, Carter AB, Backs J, Anderson ME, Grumbach IM. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2012 May 15;302(10):H1953-64. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00978.2011. Epub 2012 Mar 16. PMID: 22427508 
  • The multifunctional Ca²?/calmodulin-dependent kinase IId (CaMKIId) regulates arteriogenesis in a mouse model of flow-mediated remodeling. Scott JA, Klutho PJ, El Accaoui R, Nguyen E, Venema AN, Xie L, Jiang S, Dibbern M, Scroggins S, Prasad AM, Luczak ED, Davis MK, Li W, Guan X, Backs J, Schlueter AJ, Weiss RM, Miller FJ, Anderson ME, Grumbach IM. PLoS One. 2013;8(8):e71550. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0071550. eCollection 2013. PMID: 23951185