Andrology-Open Access
Open Access

Carol A Podlasek

Biography

Dr. Carol Ann Podlasek has received his PhD in Biochemistry in University of Notre Dame during the period of 1987-1994. Currently, she is working as Assistant Professor in Northwestern University. She is serving as an editorial member of several reputed journals like Asian Journal of Andrology, ISRN Urology. She has authored 24 research articles/books. She is a member of American Urological Association.

Research Interest

Erectile dysfunction (ED) is a significant medical condition and current treatment options are ineffective in diabetic patients and in prostate cancer patients treated by prostatectomy. Sonic hedgehog (SHH) is an essential regulator of penile smooth muscle, cavernous nerve (CN) integrity and CN regeneration that has significant potential to be developed as a treatment to prevent ED by regenerating the CN and by suppressing penile apoptosis. In our laboratory we examine fundamental mechanisms that underlie cavernous nerve regulation of penile morphology during development, how these mechanisms become altered with peripheral neuropathy of the cavernous nerve in diabetic rats and how manipulation of SHH signaling can be used to speed cavernous nerve repair in CN injury models.