Biography
Dr. Resta received his Ph.D. from the UNM School of Medicine in 1995 and continued at UNM on both American Heart Association and NIH postdoctoral fellowships until 1998. Following postdoctoral training, he joined the Department of Cell Biology and Physiology as a research assistant professor in 1998, and as a tenure-track assistant professor in 2000 following a national search. He was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2006, and to Professor in 2012. Dr. Resta was appointed Senior Associate Dean for Research Education at the School of Medicine in 2020, Interim Senior Associate Dean for Research in 2022, and was named a Regents' Professor in 2022. In 2025, Dr. Resta was appointed as Department Chair of Cell Biology and Physiology.
Personal Statement
Dr. Resta leads an NIH-funded research program focused on pulmonary hypertension associated with chronic lung disease, sleep apnea, and high-altitude exposure. A cardiovascular researcher since 1990, he has served as principal investigator on multiple NIH R01 grants and has earned national and international recognition through leadership roles, invited presentations, editorial service, and election as a Fellow of both the American Heart Association and the American Physiological Society. His work has been honored with UNM’s Faculty Research Excellence Award, a Regents’ Professorship (2022), and the UNM Faculty Research Award (2024).
He has made sustained contributions to education and mentoring at UNM, with leadership roles in medical and graduate training and a strong record of developing successful trainees across academia, industry, and government. He currently leads an NIH-funded program supporting predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees from diverse backgrounds and has received multiple awards for excellence in teaching and mentorship.
As Senior Associate Dean for Research Education, Dr. Resta has led and expanded many research training programs, including undergraduate, PhD, MD/PhD, and master’s-level clinical and translational science programs, and established a postdoctoral affairs program to strengthen training and career development. He later served as Interim Senior Associate Dean for Research and, in 2025, was appointed Chair of Cell Biology and Physiology.
Areas of Specialty
Vascular physiology
Pulmonary hypertension
Vascular smooth muscle and endothelial cell signaling
Achievements & Awards
Appointments and Positions
2025-present: Chair, Dept. of Cell Biology and Physiology, UNM School of Medicine
2022-present: Regents’ Professor, UNM School of Medicine
2022-2025: Interim Senior Associate Dean of Research, UNM School of Medicine
2020-2025: Senior Associate Dean of Research Education, UNM School of Medicine
2016-present: Director, Cardiovascular Research Training Program, UNM Health Sciences Center
2012-present: Professor, Dept. of Cell Biology and Physiology, UNM School of Medicine
2006-2012: Associate Professor, Dept. of Cell Biology and Physiology, UNM School of Medicine
2000-2006: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Cell Biology and Physiology, UNM School of Medicine
1998-2000: Res. Assistant Professor, Dept. of Cell Biology and Physiology, UNM School of Medicine
Honors and Scientific Appointments
2024: Faculty Research Award, University of New Mexico
2022: Regents’ Endowed Professorship, University of New Mexico
2020-2025: Learning Environment Office Teaching Excellence Recognition Awards, UNM School of Medicine
2019: Faculty Research Excellence Award for Basic Science Research, UNM Health Sciences Center
2019: Elected Fellow of the American Physiological Society (FAPS)
2017-2024: Editor, Comprehensive Physiology, Pulmonary Circulation/Non-Respiratory Functions, American Physiological Society
2017-2020: William G. Dail Endowed Professorship, UNM School of Medicine
2013: Elected Fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA)
2013-2014: Chair, American Heart Association Southwest Affiliate Research Committee
2010, 2014: Educational Excellence Award for Faculty Teaching, Phase I Medical Curriculum, UNM School of Medicine
2010: Fellow of the Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute
2008-2010: Chair, Nominations Committee, American Physiological Society, Respiration Section
2007-2014: Member, National Peer Review Committee, American Heart Association, Lung Respiration and Resuscitation
2005: American Physiological Society Respiration Section New Investigator Award
2004-2026: Member, Editorial Boards (Comprehensive Physiology, Antioxidants, Pulmonary Circulation, Am. J. Physiol. Heart Circ. Physiol., Am. J. Physiol. Lung Cell. Mol. Physiol. American Thoracic Society-Pulmonary Circulation Assembly Online Journal Club)
2004-2024 Adhoc Member, NIH-NHLBI Study Sections (R35, K01, T32-Diversity, Pulmonary Diseases Special Emphasis Review Panel, T32/T35, R01, R21)
2004: Educational Excellence Award for Faculty, Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, UNM School of Medicine
2000-2003: Parker B. Francis Fellowship in Pulmonary Research, Harvard School of Public Health
2000: Dean’s Award of Distinction in Recognition of Outstanding Faculty Performance, UNM School of Medicine
Gender
Male
Languages
- English
Courses Taught
Course Director and Lecturer, Cardiovascular/Pulmonary/Renal Block, Phase I Medical Curriculum, University of New Mexico School of Medicine
Course Director and Lecturer, Advanced Topics in Cellular and Systems Physiology, University of New Mexico School of Medicine
Course Director, Cardiovascular Biology Journal Club/Seminar, University of New Mexico School of Medicine
Course Director and Lecturer, Graduate Physiology, University of New Mexico School of Medicine
Research and Scholarship
Dr. Resta's research has focused on understanding cardiovascular responses to hypoxia in both the systemic and pulmonary circulations. Hypoxia plays a critical role in a wide range of pathologies, including: 1) cardiovascular diseases such as pulmonary hypertension, ischemic heart disease, heart failure, and stroke; and 2) metabolic disorders, including obesity hypoventilation syndrome and diabetes mellitus. Many of these conditions share common mechanisms of hypoxic dysregulation of intracellular calcium homeostasis, ion channel function, metabolic pathways, mitochondrial bioenergetics, and oxidant signaling - areas that Dr. Resta's research team has explored throughout his career.
Dr. Resta's laboratory employs a wide array of technical approaches, including measurement of hemodynamic variables in conscious, chronically instrumented rats, simultaneous assessment of vasoreactivity and vessel wall [Ca2+]i in isolated, pressurized small pulmonary arteries, and a variety of cellular imaging and molecular approaches to study both Ca2+ and oxidant signaling in vascular endothelial and smooth muscle cells.
The following is a link to Dr. Resta's complete published work, along with some representative publications: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=resta+tc+OR+%28resta+t+AND+bosc+lv+AND+kanagy%29&sort=pubdate
Chronic hypoxia imparts myogenicity and augments vasoconstriction: role for membrane cholesterol regulation of a novel oxidant signaling pathway in vascular smooth muscle
Weise-Cross L, Sands MA, Sheak JR, Broughton BRS, Snow JB, Gonzalez Bosc LV, Jernigan NL, Walker BR, Resta TC. Actin polymerization contributes to enhanced pulmonary vasoconstrictor reactivity following chronic hypoxia. Am J Physiol. 314:H1011-H1021, 2018. (Associated Editorial: Aaronson PI. Actin polymerization contributes to ROS- and Rho-dependent Ca2+ sensitization in pulmonary arteries from chronic hypoxic rats. Am J Physiol. 515(2):H314-H317, 2018)
Norton CE, Sheak JR, Yan S, Weise-Cross L, Jernigan NL, Walker BR, Resta TC. Augmented pulmonary vasoconstrictor reactivity following chronic hypoxia requires Src kinase and epidermal growth factor receptor signaling. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 62(1):61-73, 2020. (Associated Editorial: Gao Y, Raj JU. Src and EGFR: Novel partners in mediating chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary artery hypertension. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 62(1):5-7, 2020.)
Norton CE, Weise-Cross L, Ahmadian R, Yan S, Jernigan NL, Paffett ML, Naik JS, Walker BR, Resta TC. Altered lipid domains facilitate enhanced pulmonary vasoconstriction following chronic hypoxia. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 62(6):709-718, 2020. (Associated Editorial: Grimmer B, Kuebler WM. Cholesterol - a novel regulator of vasoreactivity in pulmonary arteries. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 62(6):671-673, 2020.)
Yan S, Sheak JR, Walker BR, Jernigan NL, Resta TC. Contribution of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species to chronic hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension. Antioxidants.12(12):2060, 2023.
Mechanisms of enhanced pulmonary vasoreactivity following chronic intermittent hypoxia and in neonatal pulmonary hypertension: role of PKCbeta and mitochondrial ROS signaling
Sheak JR, Yan S, Weise-Cross L, Ahmadian R, Walker BR, Jernigan NL, Resta TC. PKCbeta and reactive oxygen species mediate enhanced pulmonary vasoconstrictor reactivity following chronic hypoxia in neonatal rats. Am J Physiol. 318 (2), H470-H483, 2020. (APSselect Award for distinction in scholarship)
Snow JB, Norton CE, Sands SA, Weise-Cross L, Yan S, Herbert LM, Sheak JR, Gonzalez Bosc LV, Walker BR, Kanagy NL, Jernigan NL, Resta TC. Intermittent hypoxia augments pulmonary vasoconstrictor reactivity through PKCbeta/mitochondrial oxidant signaling. Am J Respir Cell Mol Biol. 62(6):732-746, 2020.
Reduced membrane cholesterol following chronic hypoxia impairs pulmonary endothelial Ca2+ entry: implications for endothelial dysfunction in pulmonary hypertension
Zhang B, Naik JS, Jernigan NL, Walker BR, Resta TC. Reduced membrane cholesterol limits pulmonary endothelial Ca2+ entry following chronic hypoxia. Am J Physiol 312(6):H1176-H1184, 2017.
Zhang B, Naik JS, Jernigan NL, Walker BR, Resta TC. Reduced membrane cholesterol following chronic hypoxia limits Orai1-mediated pulmonary endothelial Ca2+ entry. Am J Physiol. 314(2):H350-H369, 2018.