Raul Guzman appointed the Donald Guthrie Professor of Vascular Surgery
Raul Guzman, a surgeon-scientist with an interest in the underlying mechanisms and clinical implications of arterial calcification, was recently appointed the Donald Guthrie Professor of Vascular Surgery, effective immediately, for a term of 10 years, renewable by the dean of the Yale School of Medicine.
Guzman is Chief of the Division of Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy at Yale New Haven Hospital and Surgeon-in-Chief of Vascular Surgery for the Heart and Vascular Center, Yale New Haven Health System.
He came to Yale from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston and Harvard Medical School. Prior to moving to Boston, he spent the early portion of his career at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, where he served for several years as Chief of Vascular Surgery at the Nashville VA Medical Center.
Guzman received his M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University after earning an undergraduate degree in Applied Math and Biology at Brown University. After completing his residency in General Surgery, he undertook research training in the Cardiology Branch of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland. He then completed a fellowship in Vascular Surgery at Stanford University Hospital.
His lab focuses on the mechanisms that control arterial calcification and its effects on clinical outcomes in patients with peripheral artery disease (PAD). Based on new developments in the field of smooth muscle cell dedifferentiation, the lab focuses on the basic mechanisms underlying medial artery calcification. The Guzman lab has developed techniques for quantifying peripheral artery calcification on CT scans and ultrasounds in patients. They are currently studying the role of matrix degrading enzymes in arterial calcification using isolated organ and cell culture systems to assess changes in gene expression and osteogenic transformation of vascular smooth muscle cells. Their ultimate goal is to develop new therapies to reduce or prevent medial artery calcification and improve outcomes in patients with PAD.
Guzman currently serves as a permanent member of the Bioengineering, Technology, and Surgical Sciences Study Section of the NIH. His clinical interests center primarily on preventing amputation in patients with diabetic vascular disease.
