Sharon C. Francis, Ph.D. 

Education

POSTGRADUATE: 
University of Florida
Fellowship: Hypertension and Functional Genomics

GRADUATE:
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Degree: Doctor of Philosophy in Physiology

UNDERGRADUATE:
Morgan State University
Degree: Bachelor of Science in Biology

Research Interests

 

Cardiovascular and metabolic physiology, Cellular stress signaling and metabolic adaptation, Mitochondrial biology and bioenergetics, Environmental health and cardiometabolic disease, Molecular mechanisms of vascular remodeling

Publications

1. Avery, J., Leak-Johnson, T., & Francis, S. C. (2024). Association between MCU gene polymorphisms with obesity: Findings from the All of Us Research Program. Genes, 15(4), 512. https://doi.org/10.3390/genes15040512

2. Diaz, N., Biswas, S., Zhong, W., Bashir, K., Suen, T. C., DeBruyne, J., Iuvone, P. M., Tosini, G., Duong, H., Francis, S. C., & Baba, K. (2025). Bmal1 deletion alters mitochondrial microstructure and function in mouse cone photoreceptors. iScience, 28(9), Article 113425. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2025.113425

3. Cetin-Ferra, S., Francis, S. C., Cooper, A. T., Neikirk, K., Marshall, A. G., Hinton, A. J., & Murray, S. A. (2023). Mitochondrial connexins and mitochondrial contact sites with gap junction structure. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 24, 9036. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms24109036

4. Scott, T. A., Babayeva, O., Banerjee, S., Zhong, W., & Francis, S. C. (2016). 4. SGK1 activity is modulated by resistin in vascular smooth muscle cells and in the aorta in response to diet-induced obesity. Obesity, 24(3), 678–686. https://doi.org/10.1002/oby.21389

5. Zhong, W., Oguljahan, B., Xiao, Y., Nelson, J., Hernandez, L., Garcia-Barrio, M., & Francis, S. C. (2014). Serum and glucocorticoid-regulated kinase 1 activation augments vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation via β-catenin dynamics. Cellular Signalling, 26(12), 2765–2772. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cellsig.2014.08.016

Honors and Awards

NIH, NHLBI Support of Competitive Research:  Research Advancement Award (SC1)

Morehouse School of Medicine, Cardiovascular Research Institute P50 Co-Investigator Collaborative Award

P42ES036533 Award Title: Community-Oriented Action, Science and Translation Superfund Center (COAST)