John Konhilas, BA, MS, PhD

Professor
Associate Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Associate Professor, Molecular and Cellular Biology
Associate Professor, Nutritional Sciences
Acting Program Director
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Professor, Physiological Sciences
 
Education: 
  • Duke University, Durham, North Carolina Cert., 1988-1992 (Neuroscience)
  • Duke University, Durham, North Carolina BA, 1988-1992 (Art History)
  • University of Illinois at Chicago, 1992-1994 (Biological Sciences)
  • University of Illinois at Chicago, 1994-1996 (M.S., Biological Sciences)
  • University of Illinois at Chicago, 1996-2001 (Ph.D., Physiology/Biophysics)
Honors and Awards: 
  • Kiichi Sagawa Young Investigator Award runner up. Cardiovascular Systems Dynamics Society: Baltimore, MD: Sept. 2000
  • Outstanding Poster Award. Cardiovascular Systems Dynamics Society: Osaka, Japan: 2002
  • National Research Service Award, Fellowship 2002-2005
  • New Investigator Award. Molecular Mechanisms of Growth, Death and Regeneration in the Myocardium: Basic Biology and Insights into Ischemic Heart Disease and Heart Failure, August, 2003, Salt Lake City, Utah. 2003  
  • New Investigator Award. Cardiovascular Repair and Regeneration: Structural and Molecular Approaches in the Cellular Era. AHA, July-August, 2007, Keystone, CO. 2007
  • Special Lecture. Minority Health Disparities, University of Arizona 2015      
  • Special Lecture. Minority Health Disparities, University of Arizona 2016       
  • Biomedical Engineering Builder’s Day Award for Dedication and Service, University of Arizona 2017    
  • American Heart Special Western States Affiliate Research Insights 2017
Selected Publications: 
Konhilas, J.P., Irving, T.C., and de Tombe P.P. Myofilament calcium sensitivity in skinned rat cardiac trabeculae: role of inter-filament spacing. 2002. Circulation Research.  90; 59-65. Journal Cover (Circ Res).
 
Konhilas, J.P., Irving, T.C., and de Tombe P.P.  Length-dependent activation in three striated muscle types of the rat. 2002. Journal of Physiology (London). 544; 225-236.
 
Konhilas, J.P., Irving, T.C., Arteaga, G.M., Wolska, B.M., Martin, A.F., Solaro, R.J. and de Tombe, P.P. Troponin I in the murine myocardium: influence on length-dependent activation and interfilament spacing. 2003. Journal of Physiology (London). 547; 951-961.
 
Behunin SM, Lopez-Pier MA, Birch CL, L.A. M, Danilo C, Khalpey Z, and Konhilas JP. The upstream AMP-activated kinase kinase complex, LKB1/Mo25/STRAD, uniquely impacts sarcomeric contractile function and posttranslational modification. 2015. Biophys J. 108:1484-94.
 
McKee, L.A., Chen, H., Regan, J.A., Behunin, S.M., Walker, J.W., Walker, J.S., and Konhilas, J.P. Sexually dimorphic myofilament function and cardiac troponin I phosphospecies distribution in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mice. 2013. Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics. 535; 39-48.
 
Konhilas, J.P., Watson, P.A., Maass, A.H., Boucek, D.M., Horn, T., Stauffer, B.L., Luckey, S.W., Rosenberg, P., and Leinwand, L.A. Exercise can prevent and reverse the severity of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. 2006. Circulation Research.  98; 540-8.
Editorial comment. 2006. Circulation Research. 98; 443-5.
 
Lipovka, Y., Chen, H., Vagner, J., Price, T.J., Tsao, T., and Konhilas, J.P. Oestrogen receptors interact with the alpha catalytic subunit of AMP-activated protein kinase to regulate its activity. 2015. Biosci Rep.
 
Pollow, DP Jr, Romero-Aleshire MJ, Sanchez JN, Konhilas JP, Brooks HL. Ang II-induced hypertension in the VCD mouse model of menopause is prevented by estrogen replacement during perimenopause. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol. 2015. In press.
 
Danilo CA, Constantopoulos E, McKee, L.A., Chen H, Regan J.A., Lipovka Y, Lahtinen S, Stenman LK, Thuy-Vi V. Nguyen TV, Doyle KP, Slepian MJ, Zain I. Khalpey ZI, Konhilas JP. 2017. Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis 420 mitigates the pathological impact of myocardial infarction in the mouse. Benef Microbes.
 
Stauffer, B.L., Konhilas, J.P., Head, E., and Leinwand, L.A. Soy diet worsens heart disease in mice. 2006. Journal of Clinical Investigation. 116; 209-
Konhilas, J.P., Chen, H., Luczak, E., McKee, L.A.K., Regan, J., Watson, P.A., Stauffer, B.L., McKinsey, T.A., Horn, T., LaFleur, B., Leinwand, L.A. Diet and sex modify exercise and cardiac adaptation in the mouse. 2015. American Journal of Physiology. 308:H135-45.
Selected for APSselect by the American Physiological Society
 
Luczak E.D., Barthel, K., Stauffer, B.L., Konhilas, J.P., Cheung, T.H., and Leinwand, L.A. Remodeling the cardiac transcriptional landscape with diet. 2011. Physiol Genomics. 43; 772-780.
Editorial comment. 2006. J Clin Invest. 116; 209-16.
 
Sponsored Research Through MSRP: 
Eric Hines (MSRP 2017, 2020): "The Impact of Post-Exercise Hydration with Deep-ocean Mineral Water on Post-Exercise Rehydration and Lower Body Exercise Performance in Collegiate Athletes"
 
Advanced Research Distinction Track (RDT): 
Eric Hines, (RDT Class of 2020): "Impact of Rehydrationing Fluid on Hydration Recover and Physical Cognitive Performance in Military Subjects."
 
Rinku Skaria,  (RDT Class of 2021): "In Vivo use of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and/or TMR to Improve Cardiac Function." [co-mentor Zain Khalpey]
 
 
NIH Undergraduate Diversity Program: 
Amaya Noriega Ramirez, 2024, "Research in Menopause and the Microbiome"
 
NIH High School Student Research Program: 
Dailyn Breschini Avila, Yuma Catholic High School (Yuma, AZ), 2024
 
Tuesday, March 6, 2018