University Scholar Dolly Mehta

The University Scholars Program, now in its 34th year, honors faculty members for superior research and teaching, along with great promise for future achievements. The award provides $15,000 a year for three years.

Years at UIC: 20

What are your research interests? 
My lab focuses on assessing mechanisms that regulate vascular injury and repair using lung as a model. In this context, we investigate the mechanisms that regulate interaction between endothelial cells and phagocytic cells.

How did you become interested in these topics?
Acute lung injury is an incurable disorder that induces lethality in several aged individuals. During my postdoc career, I started to investigate how change in cell shape as regulated by actin-myosin interaction influences endothelial cell function and thereby lung endothelial permeability. I then continued in this topic after joining faculty. 

What do you teach?
I teach vascular biology and antibiotics to graduate and medical students.

How do you balance teaching and research?
These are my natural flairs. I never felt any need to compartmentalize between these activities. 

What’s your advice to students who want to focus their future careers on research?
Have passion and remain focused, dedicated and perseverant.