Richard Kenagy

Dr. Richard Kenagy is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Washington. He received his PhD in Pharmacology at the University of Missouri in Columbia. He did postdoctoral training in the Department of Medicine at the University of Washington and worked with Alexander Clowes in the Department of Surgery at the University of Washington for many years studying the vascular response to injury focusing on the role of proteinases, the extracellular matrix, and more recently genetic factors, particularly in vein graft failure.

 His laboratory continues to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the response of human veins and arteries to injury as this relates to the frequent failure of surgical and endovascular interventions to treat vascular disease. A particular focus is on the vasa vasorum with associated pericytes and progenitor cells. Using a combination of cell and molecular biology approaches, his laboratory is testing the role of specific genes in the regulation of human vascular cell function. For example, one small set of genes has been found to be associated with human vein graft failure. Another small set of genes has been found to differentiate the valve wall from the non-valve wall of veins, which has implications both for vein graft failure and deep vein thrombosis.