Rate My Professor Paulo Pires

Paulo Pires is an Associate Professor in the Department of Physiology at The University of Arizona. He holds additional appointments as Associate Professor in Surgery, Neurosurgery, Neuroscience - GIDP, Physiological Sciences - GIDP, Pharmacology, and as a member of the BIO5 Institute and Graduate Faculty. Pires earned his BS in Biological Sciences from Sao Paulo State University in 2004, MS in Cell Biology from Campinas State University in 2007, and PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology from Michigan State University in 2013. He completed postdoctoral training at the University of Nevada Reno School of Medicine from 2014 to 2018 prior to joining the University of Arizona, where he initially served as Assistant Professor in Physiology and Surgery.

Research in the Pires lab centers on the mechanisms regulating cerebral blood flow to the brain under normal and disease conditions, with a focus on neurovascular coupling between neurons, astrocytes, and endothelial cells. The lab examines how Alzheimer’s disease, hypertension, aging, and menopause disrupt endothelial ion channels such as BKCa, TRPV3, and NMDA receptors, leading to impaired blood flow, neuroinflammation, oxidative stress, and cognitive decline. Additional research areas include lymphatic pathophysiology, TRP channels in cerebral vascular disorders, endothelial cell autophagy, blood-brain barrier integrity, and vascular dysfunction in polycystic kidney disease. Pires has co-authored book chapters including "Lymphatic pathophysiology" in Rutherford's Vascular Surgery and Endovascular Therapy (2024, 2023, 2022, 2021) and "TRP Channels in Cerebral Vascular Disorders" in TRP Channels as Therapeutic Targets (2024). Key publications feature "The effects of hypertension on the cerebral circulation" (American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 2013; 548 citations), "Direct regulation of blood pressure by smooth muscle cell mineralocorticoid receptors" (Nature Medicine, 2012; 391 citations), "Brain endothelial cell TRPA1 channels initiate neurovascular coupling" (eLife, 2021; 139 citations), and "Neuroprotective effects of TRPA1 channels in the cerebral endothelium following ischemic stroke" (eLife, 2018; 102 citations). His contributions elucidate vascular roles in brain health and dementia.