Interests
I am interested in elucidating molecular mechanisms that regulate vascular structure and function. Much of our work focusses on oxidative and inflammatory stress under conditions associated with elevated cardiovascular disease risk, such as obesity and atherosclerosis. Therein, I am particularly focused on how these factors promote erectile dysfunction, which is emerging as a potent clinical indicator of future cardiovascular disease. We primarily utilize feeding interventions in rats and genetically manipulated mice, surgical approaches to measure nerve-stimulated blood flow induction, microdialysis to monitor blood flow and free radical production, myography to measure in vitro tissue and vascular reactivity, and molecular biology techniques. Major current areas of research in the lab include:
1) The role of hydrogen sulfide and microRNAs in regulating vascular function, inflammatory stress, and remodeling
2) Therapeutic approaches for preserving vascular function through prostate cancer treatment
3) The influence of spaceflight and deep-space exploration on vascular and erectile function
Education
- Postdoctoral Fellowship, Urology (Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD)
- Ph.D., Bioenergetics (East Carolina University, Greenville, NC)
- M.S., Exercise Physiology (University of Louisville, Louisville, KY)
- B.S., Chemical Engineering (Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Terre Haute, IN)
Selected Publications
For a complete list, click here.
Andrade MR, Azeez TA, Montgomery MM, Caldwell JT, Park H, Kwok AT, Borg AM, Narayanan SA, Willey JS, Delp MD, La Favor JD. Neurovascular Dysfunction Associated with Erectile Dysfunction Persists After Long-Term Recovery from Simulations of Weightlessness and Deep Space Irradiation. FASEB Journal. 37(12): e23246, 2023.
Pierre CJ, Azeez TA, Rossetti ML, Gordon BS, La Favor JD. Long-Term Administration of Resveratrol and MitoQ Stimulates Cavernosum Antioxidant Gene Expression in a Mouse Castration Model of Erectile Dysfunction. Life Sciences 310: 121082, 2022.
La Favor JD, Burnett AL. A Microdialysis Method to Measure in vivo Hydrogen Peroxide and Superoxide in Various Rodent Tissues. Methods 109: 131-140, 2016.
La Favor JD, Anderson EJ, Hickner RC, Wingard CJ. Erectile Dysfunction Precedes Coronary Artery Endothelial Dysfunction in Rats Fed a High-Fat, High-Sucrose, Western-Pattern Diet. Journal of Sexual Medicine 10(3): 694-703, 2013.
La Favor JD, Anderson EJ, Dawkins JT, Hickner RC, Wingard CJ. Exercise Prevents Western-Diet Associated Erectile Dysfunction and Coronary Artery Endothelial Dysfunction: Response to Acute Apocynin and Sepiapterin Treatment. American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology 305(4): R423-R434, 2013.
Accomplishments
- Continuous NIH funding since 2014
- NIH F32, K01, R03, R21 awards through NIDDK
- Research featured by Newsweek, The Guardian, the BBC, among other media outlets
- Ad hoc study section service for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and multiple review panels for NIDDK
- Pfizer Fellowship in Men’s Health from the Sexual Medicine Society of North America
- Featured Young Scientist in “Probes” magazine
Courses
- PET 6931 Human Physiology II
- PET 3323C Functional Anatomy and Physiology II