caraniel@uw.edu
she/her

Research Lab

Shih Lab

Research Overview

Pericytes are mural cells embedded in the basement membrane of capillaries. These cells serve myriad functions in cerebrovascular regulation and are lost at an accelerated rate in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Pericyte remodeling is a recently discovered phenomenon in which surviving pericytes extend their processes to recover the exposed endothelium after pericyte loss. I am utilizing in vivo two-photon microscopy to study both the mechanisms that control pericyte remodeling and the effects of cerebral amyloid angiopathy on pericyte growth.