Research Professor of Medicine
University of California, San Diego
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| | James W. Covell M.D. Research Professor of Medicine University of California, San Diego |
Backround and Training:
Dr. Covell graduated from Carleton College in 1958 and from The University of Chicago School of Medicine in 1962.
After post graduate training in Surgery at The University of Chicago he joined the staff of the Cardiology Branch at the
National Institutes of Health. In June 1968 with other faculty from the Cardiology Branch he came to the University of California , San Diego as member of the founding faculty of the School of Medicine.
Research
In 2002 Dr. Covell retired from formal teaching and administration in the School of Medicine and now devotes full time to laboratory investigation and his other passion ocean fishing . His current research interests include the mechanisms of cardiac muscle contraction in the intact animal, the function of ischemic and hypertrophied cardiac muscle, and the role of the extracellular matrix in hypertrophy and heart failure.
Current Studies:
Recent studies indicate that cellular rearrangement caused by shearing of laminae of cardiac muscle
along cleavage planes accounts for over 50% of normal ventricular wall thickening and thus contributes substantially to
ventricular ejection. Current studies in this laboratory explore the structure function of relationships of
ventricular myocardium using direct determinations of myocardial structure with confocal and electron microscopy,
high resolution measurements of finite deformation and finite element modeling to explore these relationship.
Particular attention is paid to the role of the extracellular matrix linking adjacent myocardial laminae in normal hearts
and to changes in the extracellular matrix in ischemia and heart failure which contribute to loss of cardiac function.
Other studies on the extracellular matrix examine the factors regulating the structure and function of the
myocardial scar tissue which devoleps following transmural myocardial infarction.
Selected Publications:
122. LeGrice IJ, Takayama Y, Covell JW: Transverse shear along myocardial cleavage planes provides a mechanism for normal systolic wall thickening. Circ Res 77:182-193, 1995. Download pdf
127. Holmes JW, Nunez JP, Covell JW. Functional implications of myocardial scar structure. Am J Physiol, 272(41):H2123-H2130, 1997. Download pdf
132. 132. Shadwick RE, Katz SL, Korsmyer KE, Knower T, Covell JW. Muscle Dynamics in Skipjack Tuna: Timing of Red Muscle Shortening in Relation to Activation and Body Curvature During Steady Swimming. Experimental Biology, 202: 2139 – 2150, 1999. Download pdf
138. Takayama Y, Costa KD, Covell JW. Contribution of laminar myofiber architecture to load dependent changes in the mechanics of the left ventricular myocardium. Am J Physiol. Heart Circ Physiol, 282: H1510-H1520, 2002.Download pdf
143. Ashikaga H, Omens JH, Ingels NB, Jr, Covell JW. Transmural mechanics at the left ventricular epicardial pacing site. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2004 Jun;286(6):H2401-7.Download pdf
144. Ashikaga H, Omens JH, Covell JW. Time-dependent remodeling of transmural architecture underlying abnormal ventricular geometry in chronic volume overload heart failure. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2004 Nov;287(5): H1994-2002.Download pdf
I25. J. Holmes, J.Covell, T. Borg Structure and Mechanics of Healing Myocardial Infarcts. Annu Rev Biomed Eng. 2005;7:223-53. Download pdf
148. Garcia RA, Brown KL, Pavelec RS, Go KV, Covell JW, Villarreal FV. Abnormal cardiac wall motion and early matrix metalloproteinase activity. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2005 Mar;288(3):H1080-7. Download pdf
149. Ashikaga H, Covell JW, Omens JH. Diastolic dysfunction in volume-overload hypertrophy is associated with abnormal shearing of myolaminar sheets. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 2005 288:2603-2610 Download pdf
152. Coppola, Benjamin; McCulloch, Andrew; Covell, James; Omens, Jeff
Asynchrony of ventricular activation affects magnitude and timing of fiber stretch in late-activated regions of the canine heart. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 293: H754–H761, 2007.
Download pdf
download Dr. Covell's CV
Address
University of California, San Diego
School of Medicine
Department of Medicine
9500 Gilman Drive
San Diego
California 92093-0613
office phone 858 534 3631
Fax 858 534 0522
email jcovell@ucsd.edu