Curriculum Vitae

Education

• B.S., Kinesiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
• M.A., Exercise Physiology, University of Texas, Austin, TX
• Ph.D., Physiology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO
• Postdoctoral Fellow, Vascular Biology, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO

Honors and Awards

• University of Michigan Honors Graduate
• Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Society - University of Texas, Austin Chapter
• American Heart Association Heartland Affiliate Predoctoral Fellowship
• Individual National Research Service Award, NIH National Heart Lung and Blood Institute
• Invited Speaker, Microcirculatory Society Young Investigator Symposium, Experimental Biology
• Affiliate member, Huffines Institute of Sports Medicine and Human Performance, Texas A&M University
• Investigator, Cardiovascular Research Institute, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University System Health Science Center
• Fellow, Michael E. DeBakey Institute for Comparative Cardiovascular Science & Biomedical Devices, Texas A&M University

Currently Funded Research (total direct costs)

• Voltage-dependent K+ channel isoforms contributing to adenosine-mediated relaxation. American Heart Association, Principal Investigator ($236,364)
• Chronic coronary occlusion, exercise and NO. National Institutes of Health, NHLBI, Principal Investigator ($1,250,000)

Selected Publications

• Heaps CL, M Sturek, JA Rapps, MH Laughlin, JL Parker. Exercise training restores adenosine-induced relaxation in coronary arteries distal to chronic occlusion. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 278: H1984-H1992, 2000.
• Heaps CL, DK Bowles, M Sturek, MH Laughlin, JL Parker. Enhanced L-type Ca2+ current density in coronary smooth muscle of exercise-trained swine is compensated to limit myoplasmic free Ca2+ accumulation. J Physiol (Lond) 528: 435-445, 2000.
• Heaps CL, M Sturek, EM Price, MH Laughlin, JL Parker. Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase activity is impaired in coronary smooth muscle distal to chronic occlusion. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 281: H223-H231, 2001.
• Jones JJ, NJ Dietz, CL Heaps, JL Parker, M Sturek. Calcium buffering in coronary smooth muscle after chronic occlusion and exercise training. Cardiovasc Res 51: 359-367, 2001.
• Heaps CL, DK Bowles. Gender-specific K+-channel contribution to adenosine-induced relaxation in coronary arterioles. J Appl Physiol 92: 550-558, 2002.
• Heaps CL, DK Bowles. Non-uniform changes in arteriolar myogenic tone within skeletal muscle following hindlimb unweighting. J Appl Physiol 92: 1145-1151, 2002.
• Bowles DK, CL Heaps, KK Maddali, JR Turk, EM Price. Hypercholesterolemia inhibits L-type calcium current in coronary macro-, not microcirculation. J Appl Physiol 96: 2240-2248, 2004.
• Heaps CL, JL Parker, M Sturek, DK Bowles. Altered calcium sensitivity contributes to enhanced contractility of collateral-dependent coronary arteries. J Appl Physiol 97: 310-316, 2004.
• Bowles DK, VK Ganjam, LJ Rubin, KK Maddali, DL Tharp, CL Heaps. Endogenous testosterone stimulates expression and activity of coronary L-type Ca2+ channels. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 287: H2091-H2098, 2004.
• Heaps CL, DL Tharp, DK Bowles. Hypercholesterolemia abolishes adenosine-activation of voltage-dependent K+ channels in porcine coronary arterioles. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 288: H568-H576, 2005.
• Korzick DH, JM Muller-Delp, P Dougherty, CL Heaps, DK Bowles, KK Krick. Exaggerated coronary vasoreactivity to endothelin-1 in aged rats: role of protein kinase C. Cardiovasc Res 66: 384-392, 2005.
• Heaps CL, ML Mattox, KA Kelly, CJ Meininger, JL Parker. Exercise training increases basal tone in arterioles distal to chronic coronary occlusion. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol 290: H1128-H1135, 2006.