Dr. Fusheng Tang, a cell biologist at UALR, has received a two-year grant from the American Heart Association to study how cells get rid of damaged materials by the organelle lysome through the process of autophagy, or self-eating.

The grant-in-aid of $69,850 will run through June 30, 2010, with a second grant of $69,850 to run through June 30, 2011.

The Heart Association’s research committee was intrigued by previous research done by Tang and his graduate and undergraduate team on yeast cells.

“The process of autophagy relies on the fusion of autophagosomes with lysosomes,” Tang said. “This fusion changes the lipid composition of lysosomal membranes. Thus, the lysosomal membrane needs to be regenerated for sustained cell growth.”

Through studies in the budding yeast, Tang and his students found a key step in the regeneration of the lysosomal membrane – the membrane homeostasis of sterols.

Increased cholesterol level is a risk factor of cardiovascular diseases. With the support from American Heart Association, Tang and his students are now studying how blood vessel endothelial cells transport cholesterols to and from the lysosomal membrane.

Tang earned a bachelor of science degree in biology from Central China Normal University in 1984 and a master of science degree in genetics in 1987 from the Institute of Genetics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He received his Ph.D. degree in biochemistry in 2002 from the University of Iowa. He now teaches genetics and brings his research into the undergraduate classroom of UALR.

In addition to wet lab studies, Tang and his collaborators are also inventing systems biology tools to identify genes and proteins involved in the anti-aging process.

Tang’s research results were published in prestigious scientific journals including Nature, Journal of Cell Biology and Autophagy.