Omar Aladhami

A motivated and dedicated academic with a real passion for teaching and the ability to professionally develop and grow within a university or research institution. More than 15 years of combined teaching and research experience with excellent academic track record. Have real passion in teaching and research at the university level within the disciplines of physiology, pharmacology, toxicology and herbal medicine.

My research focuses on investigating mechanisms underlying the antihypertensive effects of drugs, xenobiotics or plant-based medicinal compounds, and assessing pathways altering endothelial and non-endothelial dependent signaling mechanisms within the vasculature. This involves the use of a range of experimental approaches including in-vitro isolated tissue preparation and organ bath studies as well as in-vivo monitoring of cardiovascular parameters in conscious and anaesthetized animal studies. Furthermore, my work involves neurostimulation of selected neurovascular beds in different rats to assess hemodynamics and altered target-organ perfusion in many pathophysiological or drug-induced conditions. Another area of my research is dedicated to investigating modulation of arterial functionality in various cardiovascular pathological conditions (e.g., hypertension, diabetes, chronic kidney disease) and its potential contribution to the increased risk of morbidity and mortality in this population. We also employ the use of engineering elastic modulus and stress-strain relationship to assess vascular stiffness. This is backed up by measurements of tissue and biochemical pathological markers and comprehensive histomorphometric analyses of histological sections acquired from arterial specimens. To this end, we assess changes in structural arterial components including, but not limited to, elastin, collagen and calcium in response to elevated blood pressure. My current project activity involves investigation of regional functional and structural aortic functions in insulin-resistant high fat diet rat model.

Areas of teaching: Physiology, pharmacology, medical research, animal research and methodology