Professor Cay M. Kielty

Email: cay.kielty@man.ac.uk

http://  www.biomed2.man.ac.uk/biochemweb/WTC/WTCentre.htm

Research Interests

Cay Kielty is an MRC Senior Research Fellow, Professor of Medical Biochemistry within the School of Medicine, and a Principal Investigator within the Wellcome Trust Centre for Cell-Matrix Research in the University of Manchester. Her research is focussed on defining the structure and function of extracellular matrix macromolecules in health and disease. Of particular interest are fibrillin-rich microfibrils and elastic fibres which together impart long-range elasticity to vascular and other connective tissues. Research is ongoing to define their molecular composition, structural organisation, and elastic properties and biological roles, as well as functional changes in vascular ageing and associated remodelling. In addition, detailed structure - function research is being conducted on key non-fibrillar collagens, including type VI collagen which forms essential microfibrillar arrays in vascular connective tissues, and type VIII collagen which forms a lattice structure associated with vascular basement membranes. The regulation and role of the TGFβ family of growth factors is also being examined, with particular emphasis of their contribution to vascular remodelling following coronary artery balloon angioplasty. This research background provides an ideal backdrop for studying the deposition and organisation of functional matrix in vascular grafts.