Postdoctoral Researcher: University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 2008-2009
Ph.D. Integrative Physiology: The University of Iowa, 2007
M.S. Kinesiology: The Pennsylvania State University, 2001
B.A. Kinesiology: Occidental College, 1999

Research in my laboratory focuses on the physiological decline that occurs with aging, particularly in response to stressors such as environmental heat stress. Previous work has shown a short-term elevation in iron after heat stress in old organisms. Since iron can react with free radicals (or reactive oxygen species; ROS), an elevation in iron can lead to oxidative damage and tissue injury. Treatment with deferoxamine (a chemical that tightly binds iron) prevented heat-induced damage to cellular membranes; therefore, we feel that iron contributes to physiological dysfunction after a stressor in old organisms.

There are currently two ongoing projects in my laboratory: 1) Characterizing the expression of hepatic iron transport proteins in young and old organisms after heat stress and 2) Evaluating the effects of deferoxamine on DNA damage and stress-inducible proteins in old organisms. The overall goal of these studies is to determine cellular and physiological mechanisms of iron dysregulation in old organisms in order to identify cellular proteins that might be targeted therapeutically. Additionally, we continue to examine deferoxamine as a potential therapeutic modality that elderly humans might take before being exposed to a heat wave.

Olsen AL, Bloomer SA, Chan EP, Gaça MD, Georges PC, Sackey B, Uemura M, Janmey
PA, Wells RG. Hepatic stellate cells require a stiff environment for
myofibroblastic differentiation. Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol. 2011
Jul; 301(1):G110-8. Epub 2011 Apr 28.

Bloomer SA, Zhang HJ, Brown KE, Kregel KC. Differential regulation of hepatic
heme oxygenase-1 protein with aging and heat stress. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med
Sci. 2009 Apr; 64(4):419-25. Epub 2009 Feb 4

Bloomer SA, Brown KE, Buettner GR, Kregel KC. Dysregulation of hepatic iron
with aging: implications for heat stress-induced oxidative liver injury. Am J
Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2008 Apr; 294(4):R1165-74. Epub 2008 Feb 13

Physiology (Biol 141, Biol 142, Biol 240W, Biol 472, Biol 473)
Biology of Aging (Biol 409)
Endocrinology (Biol 479)