Dr. Rashmi Sood joined the Medical College of Wisconsin in March of 2008 as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pathology. She also belongs to the Division of Pediatric Pathology and the Children’s Research Institute. Dr Sood received her PhD in Molecular Biology from the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, University of Bombay, India. She conducted her post-doctoral studies at the Blood Research Institute of the Blood Center of Wisconsin, where she specialized in coagulation and vascular biology.
Dr. Sood’s research program focuses on studying the vascular bed of the placenta and the mechanism of pregnancy-related cardiovascular disorders. The human placenta forms a highly specialized and unusual vascular bed. Local abnormalities in this vascular bed not only affect fetal nutrition and development, but through the continuum of maternal circulation, also affect maternal physiology and health. Dr. Sood’s laboratory develops and utilizes rodent models of pregnancy disorder associated with vascular disease, such as thrombophilia, to arrive at a mechanistic understanding of these disorders. Her research has implications in the development of therapeutic approaches to pregnancy complications in women.
Selected recent publications:
1. Sood R*, Sholl L, Isermann B, Zogg M, Coughlin SR and Weiler H*: Maternal Par4 and platelets contribute to defective placenta formation in mouse embryos lacking thrombomodulin. Accepted for publication Blood (2008) (*Co-Corresponding authors)
2. Sood R*, Zogg M, Westrick RJ, Guo Y, Kerschen EJ, Girardi G, Salmon JE, Coughlin SR and Weiler H*: Fetal gene defects precipitate Platelet mediated pregnancy failure in factor V Leiden mothers. J. Exp. Med. 204(5):1049-56 (2007). (*Co-Corresponding authors)
[Article accompanied by editorial news story: Avoiding fetal loss J. Exp. Med. 204(5):966 (2007)]
3. Sood R, Kalloway S, Mast AE, Hillard CJ and Weiler H: Fetomaternal cross talk in the placental vascular bed: control of coagulation by trophoblast cells. Blood 107(8):3173-80 (2006).
[Article accompanied by invited editorial commentary. Gris J-C: Trophoblast cells sense maternal hemostasis. Blood 107(8):3019-20 (2006)]
4. Isermann BH, Sood R, Pawlinski R, Zogg M, Kalloway S, Degen JL, Mackman N, and Weiler H: The thrombomodulin-protein C system is essential for the maintenance of pregnancy. Nature Med. 9(3):331-337 (2003).
[Article discussed in News and Views. Ruf W: Par1 signaling: more good than harm? Nature Med. 9(3):258-60 (2003)]
5. Sood R* and Weiler H: Embryogenesis and gene targeting of coagulation factors in mice. Best Pract Res Clin Haematol 16(2): 169-81 (2003). (*Corresponding author)