James Bassingthwaighte

BIOGRAPHY

ACADEMIC POSITION:
Dr Bassingthwaighte is Professor of Bioengineering, Biomathematics and Radiology at the University of Washington.

EDUCATION AND BACKGROUND:
He trained in Physiology and Biochemistry (University of Toronto, BA 1951), Medicine (University of Toronto, MD 1955), and studied at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where he completed a residency in Medicine and Cardiology and a PhD in Physiology (1964). He was on the
faculty of the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine from 1964 to 1975. From 1975 to 1979, he chaired the Department of Bioengineering at the University of Washington. In 1979 he established a National Simulation Resource Facility in Circulatory Mass Transport and Exchange at the University of Washington, a center for research and development of methods of modeling analysis.

MEMBERSHIPS AND AWARDS:
He served as President of the Biomedical Engineering Society and the Microcirculatory Society, chaired the Cardiovascular Section of the American Physiological Society, and was the editor-in-chief of the Annals of Biomedical Engineering. He has been the recipient of honors from Biomedical Engineering Society, American Physiological Society, Netherlands Biophysical Society, Cardiovascular Systems Dynamics, Microcirculatory Society, and McGill University and is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering.

RESEARCH AREAS:
Understanding the relationships among different cell types within an organ requires integration of observations at the subcellular level, and on cells, organs, and the whole organism. In my laboratory the main focus is on the heart, but we also study liver, lung, and skeletal muscle. One program concerns the kinetics of energy metabolism, ATP, and adenosine and its metabolic products in endothelial and muscle cells. At times of stress, such as during oxygen deprivation or low flow, ATP is broken down, and adenosine concentration rises dramatically, causing vasodilation. We use multiple radioactive tracers simultaneously to measure reactions of adenosine and its metabolites and to determine their rates of transport across membranes. Models describe the kinetics in a precise way, allowing us to understand the regulation.

HOME PAGE
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