The Mathis Laboratory

Did you know kids can also have arthritis?!

Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is considered an autoimmune disease. In autoimmune diseases, the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues, in this case, the joints. ‘Idiopathic’ means that the disease occurs spontaneously and the exact cause is unknown.

Arthritis in kids is characterized by chronic inflammation in the joints, leading to pain, stiffness, swelling, and potentially joint damage. Arthritis in kids has been linked to arthritis in adults, but the chances that a kid with arthritis would develop arthritis as an adult is not completely understood.

Current thought is that this disease is more prevalent in White children but there could be disparities in the diagnosis and reporting of arthritis in Black children, which may contribute to the higher prevalence of arthritis being observed in Black adults. Factors such as access to healthcare, socioeconomic status, cultural beliefs, and healthcare provider biases can all influence the likelihood of receiving a diagnosis and appropriate treatment.

Awareness is key. We hope that you learned a little more about arthritis in kids and that you share with your friends and family. 🩵💙💜

Phun at June Davis Elementary!

This was so PhUn! We love the kids! 💜

Happy Holidays! Love, MatLab ♥️

and it feels so good! The lab is all back together (swipe for pics of Cassandra and Sarika’s first day… we were so excited). ♥️

And then Baby TJ decided to make his entrance into the world!!👩🏾‍🍼

🎉Congratulations Cassandra on your new bundle of joy!! Baby TJ is happy and healthy, Mommy and Daddy are in love all over again, and Big Sis is enjoying her new role 💙

Follow us on Instagram…

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In the last month we had two grant applications submitted, an editorial published, two award applications submitted, one collaborative manuscript submitted, and two abstracts submitted. This week we are building our skills as we wind up the year. I would say we finished strong! I'm so proud of us. Wish us the best of luck in 2023 as we wish you the same!

Labgiving 2022! So grateful for this hard working crew ♥️

Congratulations to first authors, Dr. Sarika Chaudhari and Bradley D’Souza, and other MatLab members and collaborators for their accepted publication on s*x differences in lupus hypertension coming soon to ! 🎉🍩

The Mathis lab celebrated Halloween in a major way! We entered the department door decorating contest and won 1st place!! We also had lots of fun dressing up with our families. So fun!

Meet Cassandra! She is an integral part of the Mathis lab. She is our resident surgeon—she can do just about ANY surgery on rodents. Cassandra recently reached a personal work goal and we are all so proud of her! She is irreplaceable.

Congratulations Cassandra! We are lucky to have you! 💕

A candid interview by the super sweet Ms. Amaya Wright of UNT (main campus) that explores life as a graduate student, the importance of mentors, and careers in academia.

Share this video with your high school students and undergrads. There is so much potential in the academic space and they need to know that!

Interview with Dr. Mathis by Ms. Amaya Wright A candid interview about being a researcher and faculty in the biomedical sciences

Congratulations to Master Viet Dinh for his outstanding poster and oral presentations at the American Heart Association Council on Hypertension last week in San Diego! He was awarded a travel award as well! Way to go, Viet!

Amber Fairley was the first lab assistant in the Mathis Lab. She loved working with our animals, quickly became an expert and even published a first author paper on her research before leaving the lab.

Amber is now a second year student at LSU Veterinary School in Baton Rouge and we could not be more proud. We connected this summer when she did an internship with HSC’s resident veterinarian.

09.01.2022 | A Message from Dr. Mathis

Today it's official! I am now Associate Professor of Physiology with tenure. It has been an amazing 8 years of research, teaching and service at HSC. I am most proud of the diverse group of scientists I have had the opportunity to train; they are the future of science and medicine.

So I did it, now what?! I am still committed to unraveling the mysteries of diseases that plague minority communities like hypertension, lupus, and renal disease. I will continue to strive for excellence, push to reach my goal of full professor and help others reach their goals. I hope to be an example for the next generation of scientists and academicians.

I must thank God for this blessing and His constant protection. I also thank my family and mentors for their undying support. I'm so excited about this opportunity to continue doing what I love.

Thank you all for cheering me and the rest of the Mathis lab on. We will keep pushing!

~Keisa

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"Some things are worth waiting for, and those things take work. It's not always easy, but the power of this small word allows for success" --Kirsty Ellson

The Power of Yet "Some things are worth waiting for, and those things take work. It's not always easy, but the power of this small word allows for success" --Kirsty Ellson

MatLab for the win! Congratulations to Viet Dinh, Dr. Caroline Lima and Dr. Keisa Mathis for all the awards received this year

Check out our collaborative paper with the Ma lab https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpcell.00359.2021

Collaboration is the name of the game!

In the past year, the Mathis lab had visits from researchers at Wright State University, the University of South Florida, UT Southwestern and the University of Mississippi Medical Center. We are looking forward to growing these collaborations in the coming years!

We know how to celebrate in the Mathis lab!

Always take the time to celebrate wins... big ones, small ones, it doesn't matter. A win is a win!

Any opportunity to share our work is a GREAT opportunity!

This year MatLab went international while presenting our research to students in Sao Paolo, Brazil. We also shared our work at Baylor University (Houston), Emory University (Atlanta), Johns Hopkins School of Medicine (Baltimore), the University of Texas Health Science Center (San Antonio), Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine (Las Cruces) and the University of Mississippi Medical Center (Jackson). We can't forget our talks at local and national conferences including our own HSC Research Appreciation Day, AHA Council on Hypertension, the Conference for Black Physiologists and Experimental Biology.

"Share your message often so it can find, reach and attract those who may have not known they needed to hear it" --KWM

The summer is winding down, the fall semester has started, and we are almost done with this fiscal year. We had an amazing year... let us update you! Get ready for lots of posts.

Let's start here...

We said goodbye to our amazing summer students in July. They left with a bang! We were so proud of their achievements in the lab and their outstanding poster presentations. Good job Brandon and Karlie! We will miss you both. Go be great!

Check this out! https://conta.cc/3JZ0AK7

See what the Department of Physiology and Anatomy at HSC has been up to!

Just a random Thursday!

Check out our latest published review article!

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2022.886779/full

Should Renal Inflammation Be Targeted While Treating Hypertension? Despite extensive research and a plethora of therapeutic options, hypertension continues to be a global burden. Understanding of the pathological roles of known and underexplored cellular and molecular pathways in the development and maintenance of hypertension is critical to advance the field. Immu...