Raj Wadgaonkar

Raj Wadgaonkar, PhD, is an Associate Professor at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, affiliated with the Department of Medicine and Cell Biology. His research focuses on signaling mechanisms in endothelial cell activation and vascular injury, integrating molecular studies with mouse models.

• Investigates endothelial sphingolipid signaling, apoptosis, and NFkB pathways in vascular injury.
• Develops vascular injury models (pulmonary artery ligation, sepsis-induced lung injury).
• Trains clinical fellows in translational research for sickle cell disease and pulmonary hypertension.

His lab employs biochemical, cell biological, and genomic approaches (Affymetrix SNP analysis) to study endothelial dysfunction and inflammation. Recent publications highlight roles in pulmonary hypertension, sepsis models, and kinase pathways (MLCK, PKA, SphK-1).