Jessica Faulkner, PhD

Assistant Professor

Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

Phone: (706) 721-4110
Fax: (706) 721-7299
Email: jefaulkner@augusta.edu
Office: CA-3135
Lab: CA-3132E

Education and Training

Augusta State University, Biology, BS, 2008
University of Mississippi Medical Center, Medical Pharmacology, PhD, 2015
Augusta University, Post-doctoral Fellowship, PhD, 2016-2021

Academic Appointments

2021 - Assistant Professor, Department of Physiology, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta University

2021- Assistant Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology

2017-2021 - Postdoctoral Fellow, Vascular Biology Center, Medical College of Georgia, Augusta Univeristy

Research Interests

Studies in the Faulkner laboratory explore the mechanisms of high blood pressure, vascular damage and fetal growth restriction in obese and lean pregnancy. In particular, the laboratory focuses on the physiological alterations to the vasculature caused by abnormal hormone release and activity in the vasculature, placenta, adrenal gland and adipose tissue utilizing human tissues/cell lines and rodent models of preeclampsia. The laboratory is primarily exploring mechanisms of metabolic dysfunction, vascular endothelial cell biology and function, uterine artery blood flow, steroid hormone synthesis, placental hypoxia and inflammation. Studies are approached with a translational perspective, utilizing transgenic and surgical mouse models of preeclampsia as well as human tissues/cell lines to determine pathways involved in hypertension, vascular damage and fetal growth restriction in the context of pregnancy. These results lead to mechanistic exploration of the underlying biochemical, molecular and genetic factors involved. Experiments to test our hypotheses include functional measures of blood pressure and vascular function, protein and mRNA expression measures as well as hormone, cell signaling and genetic analyses, among others.

Awards and Honors

2020 - American Heart Association Council on Hypertension Scientific Sessions: Top Trainee Advocacy Award

2020 - American Physiological Society and Data Sciences International: Dean Franklin Young Investigator Award

2020 - American Physiological Society: Water and Electrolyte Homeostasis Section Juan Carlos Romero Postdoctoral Award Finalist (*Declined to accept Dean Franklin Award)

2020 - Augusta University Research Day 2020: Postdoctoral Finalist

2019 - Augusta University Vascular Biology Center Recognition Award: Late-stage Postdoctoral Fellow

2019 - Augusta University Research Excellence Award: 2^nd place Postdoctoral Oral Competition

2018 - American Physiological Society Conference: Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic Diseases: Sex-specific Implications for Physiology Award

2018 - Augusta University Vascular Biology Center Journal Club Excellence Award

2018 - Augusta University Research Day 2018: Postdoctoral Finalist

2017 - American Heart Association Council on Hypertension Membership Award

2017 - Augusta University Vascular Biology Center Journal Club Excellence Award

2017 - Augusta University Research Excellence Award: First place Postdoctoral Oral Competition

2017 - American Physiological Society: Caroline tum Suden/Francis A. Hellebrandt Professional Opportunity Award

2015 - American Physiological Society Water and Electrolyte Homeostasis Section: Research Distinction Award

2015 - Society for Experimental Biology and Medicine: Young Investigator Award

2014 - American Physiological Society: Featured Trainee Research Recognition in Physiological Genomics

2014 - American Physiological Society: Caroline tum Suden/Francis A. Hellebrandt Professional Opportunity Award

2013 - American Physiological Society: Featured Trainee Research Recognition in Physiological Genomics

2005 - President’s Achievement Award: University of Georgia

2004-2008 - HOPE Scholarship Recipient: University of Georgia and Augusta State University

Representative Publications

(Go to Pub Med)

Faulkner, JL, Wright,D, Antonova,G, Jaffe, IZ, Kennard, S, Belin de Chantemele EJ. Midgestation Leptin Infusion Induces Characteristics of Clinical Preeclampsia in Mice, which is Ablated by Endothelial Mineralocorticoid Receptor Deletion. Hypertension. 2022 Jul;79(7):1536-1547.
Faulkner JL, Wright D, Kennard S, Antonova G, Jaffe IZ, Belin de Chantemele EJ. Endothelial Mineralocorticoid Receptor Deletion Abrogates Leptin-induced Endothelial Dysfunction And Fetal Growth Restriction In Pregnant Mice. Hypertension. Oct 2020:76(4) Suppl. 1: MP14
Faulkner JL, Lluch E, Kennard S, Antonova G, Jaffe IZ, Belin de Chantemele EJ. “Selective deletion of endothelial mineralocorticoid receptor protects from vascular dysfunction in sodium restricted female mice”. Biology of Sex Differences. 2020. Nov 23;11(1):64.
Faulkner JL, Harwood DA, Kennard S, Antonova GN, Clere N, Belin de Chantemele EJ. “Dietary sodium restriction sex-specifically impairs endothelial function via mineralocorticoid receptor-dependent reduction in NO bioavailability in Balb/C mice”. AJP Heart and Circulatory Physiology. 2020 Oct 23. PMID: 33095056.
Faulkner JL, Kennard S, Huby AC, Antonova G, Lu Q, Jaffe IZ, Patel VS, Fulton D, Belin de Chantemele EJ. “Progesterone increases endothelial mineralocorticoid receptor expression via upregulating endothelial mineralocorticoid receptor expression”. Hypertension. 2019 Sep;74(3):678-686.
Faulkner JL, Harwood D, Bender L, Shrestha L, Morwitzer J, Brands MW, Kennard S, Antonova G, Belin de Chantemele EJ. “Lack of suppression of aldosterone production leads to salt sensitive hypertension in female but not male Balb/C mice”. Hypertension. 2018 Oct;72:1397–1406.
Faulkner JL, Lee N, Wallace K, Cunningham MW, Amaral LM, Murphy S, LaMarca B. “Selective inhibition of 20-hydroxyeicostreinoic acid attenuates blood pressure in a rat model of preeclampsia”. Prostaglandins and Other Lipid Mediators. 2017. Sep S1098-8823(17)30094-1.
Faulkner JL, Darby MM, Wallace K, Cornelius DC, Harmon AC, Ibrahim T, Amaral LM, Purser C, Owens M, LaMarca B. “Vitamin D supplementation reduces AT1-AA induced downstream targets implicated in preeclampsia including hypertension”. American Journal of Physiology Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 2017 Jan 1;312(1):R125-R131.
Faulkner JL, Cornelius DC, Amaral LM, Harmon AC, Darby MM, Thomas DS, Herse F, Dechend R, LaMarca B. “Vitamin D supplementation improves pathophysiology in a rat model of preeclampsia”. American Journal of Physiology Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology. 2016. Feb 15;310(4):R346-54.

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