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University of Washington Department of Urology Seal University of Washington | School of Medicine
Department of Urology
University of Washington | School of Medicine
Department of Urology

Kanchan Chitaley, PhD

Research Assistant Professor
Department of Urology
School of Medicine
University of Washington

Education

Dr. Chitaley received her PhD from the Department of Physiology at the University of Michigan under the guidance of the internationally known hypertension expert, Dr. Clinton Webb. Her post-doctoral training was conducted at the Department of Surgery at the University of Washington under the mentorship of the Dr. Alexander Clowes.

Research Interests

>>Wessells/Chitaley Lab

Dr. Chitaley's research background is in mechanisms of vascular contraction, migration and proliferation, especially as they pertain to pathologies such as hypertension, restenosis and erectile dysfunction.

Dr. Chitaley research focus is on mechanisms of vascular dysfunction in the context of insults such as diabetes and chronic air pollution exposure. Projects in the laboratory range from general vascular reactivity pertinent to hypertension to mechanisms of vascular dysfunction underlying diabetic-erectile dysfunction. The ultimate goal of her research is to improve vascular health through the identification of potential novel therapeutic targets for clinical application.

Dr. Chitaley is currently funded through various NIH grants (NIDDK and NIEHS). Two R21 grants are focused on understanding mechanisms of type I and type II diabetic-erectile dysfunction, respectively. A pending R01 grant aims to study the role of elastin in veno-occlusive function, hypothesizing that alterations in elastin contribute to erectile dysfunction in type II diabetes. Dr. Chitaley is also one of the principle investigators in the NIH funded University of Washington DISCOVER Center, which examines mechanisms contributing to cardiovascular disease associated with traffic related air pollution. Dr. Chitaley’s research lab uses a variety of molecular and physiology-based techniques to study these main projects. Details about each project can be found at the Chitaley/Wessells lab link above.

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Affiliations:

Dr. Chitaley is a member of the Awards Committee for the American Physiologic Society and is on the Editorial Board for Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics. She also serves as an Ad-hoc reviewer for the American Journal of Physiology: Heart and Circulatory Physiology, the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, the Journal of Urology, International Journal of Impotence Research, the British Journal of Pharmacology, and Hypertension.

Honors:

She has more than 20 publications or book chapters and has presented her work at national and international conferences. Dr. Chitaley has also been the recipient of young investigator awards from the American Physiological Society, Society for Basic Urologic Research and Merck, as well as awards from the Sexual Medicine Society, International Society for Impotence Research, American Society for Investigative Pathology, the University of Washington, and the Medical College of Georgia.

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Selected Publications:

Hidalgo-Tamola J and Chitaley K. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Erectile Dysfunction. J Sex Med., Accepted, 2008.

Chitaley K. Type I and Type II Diabetic-Erectile Dysfunction: Same diagnosis (ICD-9), different disease? J Sex Med., Accepted, 2008.

Luttrell IP, Swee M, Starcher B, Parks W, Chitaley K. Erectile dysfunction in the type II diabetic db/db mouse: impaired venoocclusion with altered cavernosal vasoreactivity and matrix. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol., 294:H2204-2211, 2008
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Luttrell IP, Chitaley K. Strain differences in susceptibility to in vivo erectile dysfunction following 6 weeks of induced hyperglycemia in the mouse. J Sex Med. 5:1149-55, 2008.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Wessells H, Sullivan CJ, Teal TH, Tran KB, Engel K, Gallis B, Chitaley K. Fluid Shear Stress-induced Nitric Oxide Production in Human Cavernosal Endothelial Cells: Inhibition by Hyperglycemia. BJU Int. 97:1047-1052, 2006
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Chitaley K, Wessells H. Vascular Mechanisms of Erectile Dysfunction. Drug Discovery Today: Disease Mechanism. 12:1-5, 2004.
[The following link will open a new window. ScienceDirect]

Bivalacqua TJ, Champion HC, Usta MF, Cellek S, Chitaley K, Webb RC, Lewis RL, Mills TM, Hellstrom WJG, Kadowitz PJ. RhoA/Rho-kinase Suppresses Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase in the Penis: Novel Mechanism for Diabetic Associated Erectile Dysfunction. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 101:9121-9126, 2004.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Chitaley K, Webb RC, Mills TM. The Ups and Downs of Rho-kinase and Penile Erection: Upstream Regulators and Downstream Substrates of Rho-kinase and their Potential Role in the Erectile Response. Int J Impot Res. 15:105-109, 2003.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Chitaley K, Bivalacqua TJ, Champion HC, Usta MF, Hellstrom WJ, Mills TM, Webb RC. Adeno-associated viral gene transfer of dominant negative RhoA enhances erectile function in rats. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 298:427-432, 2002.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Chitaley K, Webb RC. Nitric oxide induces dilation of rat aorta via inhibition of rho-kinase signaling. Hypertension 39:438-442, 2002.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Chitaley K, Weber DS, Webb RC. RhoA/Rho-kinase, vascular changes, and hypertension. Curr Hypertens Rep. 3(2):139-144, 2001.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Chitaley K, Webb RC, Mills TM. RhoA/Rho-kinase: RhoA/Rho-kinase: a novel player in the regulation of penile erection. Int J Impot Res. 13(2):67-72, 2001.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Chitaley K, Webb RC, Dorrance AM, Mills TM. Decreased penile erection in DOCA-salt and stroke prone-spontaneously hypertensive rats. Int J Impot Res. 13:Suppl 5:S16-20, 2001.
[The following link will open a new window. PubMed Abstract]

Curriculum Vitae [49K PDF*]

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Portrait of Dr. Kanchan Chitaley

Contact Information:

Department of Urology
Box 359668
University of Washington
Seattle, WA 98195-6510
Ph: (206)-341-5440
Fax: (206)-341-5442