Yin Tintut

Departments of Medicine, Physiology, Orthopaedic Surgery; David Geffen School of Medicine; University of California, Los Angeles

Dr. Tintut is a Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. She also holds secondary appointments in the Orthopaedic Surgery and Physiology Departments at UCLA. Dr. Tintut received her PhD in Molecular Biology from the Department of Chemistry/Biochemistry at UCLA in 1995. She joined the David Geffen School of Medicine as a faculty member. Her research interest focuses on investigating the regulatory mechanisms of inflammation-induced calcific atherosclerosis and bone loss using in vitro cell culture and preclinical animal models. Recent studies using state-of-the-art imaging technology (fused 18F-NaF microPET/micro CT) in mouse models with atherosclerotic calcification and osteopenia provide exciting, new information on the microarchitecture of calcium deposits in response to therapeutic interventions, including teriparatide, an osteoporosis therapy, physical exercise and statins, lipid-lowering agents.  

Shili Xu

University of California, Los Angeles

Dr. Xu is Assistant Professor in Molecular and Medical Pharmacology and Director of the Crump Preclinical Imaging Technology Center (CPITC), at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Xu received his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Southern California in 2013. During his postdoctoral training with Dr. Harvey Herschman at UCLA, he explored cell metabolism with a particular focus on the role of hexokinase 2 (HK2) in mediating glucose utilization. He optimized [18F]-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) microPET imaging in combination with microCT to non-invasively measure HK2 activity in vivo. As Director of CPITC, he has been leading research on developing and integrating in vivo imaging assays to quantitatively assess the functional dynamics of health and disease, and to guide associated therapeutic interventions. His expertise in microPET, micro CT, SPECT, MRI, and optical imaging technologies strongly supports biomedical studies at UCLA and collaborating institutes.

Linda Demer

UCLA

Linda Demer, MD PhD, is a Medicine, Physiology, and Bioengineering Professor at UCLA. She received her MD, concurrently with a PhD in bioengineering, at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Her research has focused on vascular calcification and made paradigm-shifting discoveries showing that vascular cells transform into osteoblastic cells in cardiovascular calcification. Dr. Demer has served as Associate Editor and Editorial Board member for multiple cardiovascular journals and as President of the Association of Professors of Cardiology, the Western Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of University Cardiologists, and the North American Vascular Biology Organization. She also serves as Co-Director for Physician-Scientist Career Development in the Dean’s Office for the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.