Contact
ATS Assistant Lecturer
Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry - Pharmacology Dept
- vaka@ualberta.ca
- Phone
- (780) 492-1142
- Address
-
Office: 9-70C, Medical Sciences Building
8613 - 114 St NWEdmonton ABT6G 2H7
Overview
Area of Study / Keywords
Hypertension Preeclampsia Extracellular Vesicles Mitochondria Cardiovascular Disease
About
Dr. Ramana Vaka is an Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Alberta. He earned his PhD in Experimental Therapeutics and Pharmacology from the University of Mississippi Medical Center. He subsequently completed postdoctoral training in clinical pharmacology at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles/Allergan (AbbVie) Irvine, California, followed by translational cardiovascular research postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and the University of Alberta.
Research
Dr. Vaka's pre- and postdoctoral research has been supported by the American Heart Association and the University of Ottawa Heart Institute Foundation. Dr. Vaka’s research interests span preeclampsia, maternal cardiovascular health, heart failure, cardiac metabolism, and extracellular vesicles. His current research program focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying maternal cardiac dysfunction in preeclampsia and its contribution to long-term cardiovascular disease in women with a history of preeclampsia.
Courses
PMCOL 450 - Diabetes and Its Pharmacotherapy
This course will provide an overview of the current understanding of blood glucose homeostasis, insulin secretion and action, the actions of other important blood sugar-regulating hormones and the pathology of diabetes. Current pharmacological approaches for lowering blood glucose will be discussed, as will the latest experimental approaches in identifying potential drug targets and new treatments for diabetes. At the end of the course, students should have an appreciation for the mechanisms that control glucose homeostasis in health and diabetes, the diversity of drug targets and mechanisms by which diabetes drugs promote glucose control, and current rationale and lines of research leading to potential new treatments. Prerequisites: PMCOL 343 and PMCOL 344 or consent of instructor. This course is restricted to students enrolled in Pharmacology Honors, Specialization, and Major BSc programs.
PMCOL 550 - Introduction to the Pharmacology of Diabetes
This course is intended for graduate students and will provide an overview of the current understanding of blood glucose homeostasis, insulin secretion and action, the actions of other important blood sugar-regulating hormones and the pathology of diabetes. Current pharmacological approaches for lowering blood glucose will be discussed, as will the latest experimental approaches in identifying potential drug targets and new treatments for diabetes. At the end of the course, students should have an appreciation for the mechanisms that control glucose homeostasis in health and diabetes, the diversity of drug targets and mechanisms by which diabetes drugs promote glucose control, and current rationale and lines of research leading to potential new treatments. Prerequisites: PMCOL 343 and 344 or consent of Department.
Featured Publications
Yasser Abuetabh, Mya A. Schmidt, Masaaki Naganuma, Ramana Vaka, Mahmoud A. El-Ghiaty, Shelly Braun, Ethan A. Kwan, Matthieu C.P. Zolondek, Darius Sahid, Laibah Khan, Rajat K. Shandal, Ashley L. Trudeau, Yaning Li, Sufyan O. Malik, Qiuyu Sun, Danica K. Roth, Daniela Y. Morales-Llamas, Jody L. Levasseur, Mourad Ferdaoussi, Richard P. Fahlman, Jason R.B. Dyck
JCI Insight. 2026 August; 10.1172/jci.insight.201810
Mya A Schmidt, Yasser Abuetabh, Masaaki Naganuma, Ramana Vaka, Matthieu C P Zolondek, Jody L Levasseur, Daniela Y Morales-Llamas, Mahmoud A El-Ghiaty, Shelly Braun, Darius Sahid, Laibah Khan, Ethan A Kwan, Danica K Roth, Mourad Ferdaoussi, Richard P Fahlman, Jason R B Dyck
European Journal of Preventive Cardiology. 2026 January; 10.1093/eurjpc/zwaf605
Sandrine Parent, Ramana Vaka, Yousef Risha, Clarissa Ngo, Pushpinder Kanda, Stanley Nattel, Saad Khan, David Courtman, Duncan J. Stewart, Darryl R. Davis
JCI Insight. 2023 August; 10.1172/jci.insight.163297
Molecular Therapy - Nucleic Acids. 2023 January; 10.1016/j.omtn.2023.03.001
Stem Cell Research & Therapy. 2022 December; 10.1186/s13287-021-02699-7
Antioxidants. 2022 January; 10.3390/antiox11020210
Extracellular Vesicle. 2022 January; 10.1016/J.VESIC.2022.100009
Stem Cells. 2021 December; 10.1002/stem.3446
Biology of Sex Differences. 2021 December; 10.1186/s13293-020-00345-0
Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2021 October; 10.3390/jcm10215063
Pregnancy Hypertension. 2021 June; 10.1016/j.preghy.2021.02.006
American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology. 2021 January; 10.1152/ajprenal.00398.2020
Reproductive Sciences. 2021 January;
American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology MFM. 2021 January; 10.1016/j.ajogmf.2020.100275
Hypertension in Pregnancy. 2020 October; 10.1080/10641955.2020.1793999
Pregnancy Hypertension. 2020 October; 10.1016/j.preghy.2020.09.002
American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. 2020 February; 10.1152/ajpregu.00179.2019
Reproductive Sciences. 2020 January;
Hypertension. 2020 January; 10.1161/HYP.76.SUPPL_1.P222
American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. 2019 May; 10.1152/ajpregu.00279.2018
American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. 2019 February; 10.1152/ajpregu.00167.2018
Pregnancy Hypertension. 2019 January; 10.1016/j.preghy.2018.11.004
Hypertension. 2019 January;
Hypertension. 2018 September; 10.1161/hypertensionaha.118.11290
Hypertension. 2018 May; 10.1161/hypertensionaha.117.10681
Hypertension. 2017 December; 10.1161/hypertensionaha.117.09969
American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. 2016 December; 10.1152/ajpregu.00192.2016
Journal of Cellular and Molecular Medicine. 2015 March; 10.1111/jcmm.12556
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