UTPB hires Fifth Rising STAR Faculty Member

The University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB) has received a $500,000 grant from the UT System STARs Program to hire Biology researcher, Mei-Zhen Cui. Currently employed at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee, Cui holds a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Tokyo Institute of Technology. She completed her postdoc training at the Scripps Research Institute, San Diego, California and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio.

Cui will join the UTPB College of Arts and Sciences as a professor of Biology. Her research focuses on molecular mechanisms underlying vascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis, restenosis and thrombosis. Specifically, Dr. Cui investigates vascular diseases caused by aberrant signaling mechanisms, including extracellular molecule interaction with cell membrane receptors, signal transduction pathways, gene expression and protein modification. She integrates molecular, cellular and genetic approaches to discover the mechanisms that control the progression of atherothrombotic vascular disease.

Dr. Cui’s research interests include: phospholipids/growth factors, smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration, endothelial cell dysfunction, foam cell formation, macrophage migration, gene expression, signal transduction and matricellular protein function.

The STARs grant will be used to set up a research laboratory, purchase equipment and hire graduate assistants needed to support Dr. Cui’s vital research.

“We want to welcome Dr. Mei-Zhen Cui as our newest faculty member in the Department of Biology. Dr. Cui brings expertise in cardiovascular research,” said Michael Zavada, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Now students who aspire to enter the medical profession can come to UTPB and learn from first class scientists. These new STAR faculty will also become adjuncts at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC). UTPB is now a destination for first class students who want to learn from excellent faculty.”

“The lab space, the equipment and the collaborative environment at UTPB are very attractive and generous and I look forward to working with a very supportive team that will help me bring this important research to the next level,” said Mei-Zhen Cui. “I am also excited for the opportunity to contribute to the university education program.”we are grateful for the assistance of the UT System STARs program which has enabled us to recruit world-class researchers to our community,” said Dan Heimmermann, provost and vice president of UTPB.

About the STARs Program: The Faculty STARs (Science and Technology Acquisition and Retention) Program has evolved and expanded from the original proposal approved by The University of Texas System Board of Regents in August 2004. The Faculty STARs, STARs Plus, Rising STARs, Translational STARs and Teaching STARs programs are described below.

In August 2004, the UT Board of Regents approved an allocation of funds to be awarded to institutions to help attract and retain the best-qualified faculty. This Faculty STARs program was funded through Permanent University Fund (PUF) bond proceeds Library, Equipment, Repair and Rehabilitation (LERR funds) to help purchase state-of-the-art research equipment and make necessary laboratory renovations to encourage faculty members to perform their research at U. T. institutions. The Board has allocated STARs funds to both general academic and to health institutions.