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Sanjay Rajagopalan, MD

Director
Cardiovascular Research Institute
School of Medicine
Professor
Department of Medicine
School of Medicine

Executive Assistant:
Kourtney Daugherty
216.844.5191
kourtney.daugherty@uhhospitals.org

Research Information

Research Interests

Dr. Rajagopalan completed clinical and research fellowships in cardiovascular medicine and vascular biology at the Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Rajagopalan is among an elite group of physician investigators whose work has help transform perceptions and facilitate understanding of the global impact of chronic diseases including diabetes. He has additionally made seminal contributions towards the development of next generation therapeutic modalities for the treatment of cardiovascular disease and is a leading authority in advancing newer and innovative non-invasive approaches for the diagnosis of complex cardiovascular disorders.

Dr. Rajagopalan’s laboratory has been continually funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Dr. Rajagopalan is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), the Association of University Cardiologists (AUC) and the Association of Professors of Cardiology (APC). Additional honors include the William Keating Award from the American College of Cardiology, the Charles Dana Award and being voted amongst the Best Doctors in America.

Dr. Rajagopalan has published over than 250 original peer reviewed research publications in journals such as JAMA, New England Journal of Medicine, Circulation, Journal of Clinical Investigation and Circulation Research, in addition to more than 300 reviews, book chapters and abstracts. He has served as an editor for at least two textbooks and several monographs on vascular disease and atherosclerosis.

External Appointments

Division Chief, Cardiovascular Medicine
University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center

Publications

  1. The NIEHS TaRGET II Consortium and environmental epigenomics. Wang T, Pehrsson EC, Purushotham D, Li D, Zhuo X, Zhang B, Lawson HA, Province MA, Krapp C, Lan Y, Coarfa C, Katz TA, Tang WY, Wang Z, Biswal S, Rajagopalan S, Colacino JA, Tsai ZT, Sartor MA, Neier K, Dolinoy DC, Pinto J, Hamanaka RB, Mutlu GM, Patisaul HB, Aylor DL, Crawford GE, Wiltshire T, Chadwick LH, Duncan CG, Garton AE, McAllister KA; TaRGET II Consortium, Bartolomei MS, Walker CL, Tyson FL. Nat Biotechnol. 2018 Mar 6;36(3):225-227. doi: 10.1038/nbt.4099.
  2. Short-Term Blood Pressure Responses to Ambient Fine Particulate Matter Exposures at the Extremes of Global Air Pollution Concentrations. Huang W, Wang L, Li J, Liu M, Xu H, Liu S, Chen J, Zhang Y, Morishita M, Bard RL, Harkema JR, Rajagopalan S, Brook RD. Am J Hypertens. 2018 Feb 2. doi: 10.1093/ajh/hpx216. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 29409056
  3. 2017 ACC/AHA/AAPA/ABC/ACPM/AGS/APhA/ASH/ASPC/NMA/PCNA Guideline for the Prevention, Detection, Evaluation, and Management of High Blood Pressure in Adults. A report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Task Force on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Brook RD, Rajagopalan S.J Am Soc Hypertens. 2018 Mar;12(3) PMID: 29396104
  4. Exercise-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension: Translating Pathophysiological Concepts Into Clinical Practice. Naeije R, Saggar R, Badesch D, Rajagopalan S, Gargani L, Rischard F, Ferrara F, Marra AM, D' Alto M, Bull TM, Saggar R, Grünig E, Bossone E.Chest. 2018 Jan 31. pii: S0012-3692(18)30161-2. doi: 10.1016/j.chest.2018.01.022. PMID: 29382472
  5. CITED2 restrains pro-inflammatory macrophage activation and response. Kim GD, Das R, Rao X, Zhong J, Deiuliis JA, Ramirez-Bergeron DL, Rajagopalan S, Mahabeleshwar GH. Mol Cell Biol. 2017 Dec 4. pii: MCB.00452-17. doi: 10.1128/MCB.00452-17. PMID: 29203644
  6. Noncoding RNAs in Cardiovascular Disease: Pathological Relevance and Emerging Role as Biomarkers and Therapeutics. Gangwar RS, Rajagopalan S, Natarajan R, Deiuliis JA. Am J Hypertens. 2018 Jan 12;31 PMID: 29186297
  7. Canagliflozin and Cardiovascular and Renal Events in Type 2 Diabetes. Rajagopalan S, Brook R. N Engl J Med. 2017 Nov 23;377(21):2098-9.No abstract available.  PMID: 29182250
  8. Inhalation Exposure to PM2.5 Counteracts Hepatic Steatosis in Mice Fed High-fat Diet by Stimulating Hepatic Autophagy. Qiu Y, Zheng Z, Kim H, Yang Z, Zhang G, Shi X, Sun F, Peng C, Ding Y, Wang A, Chen LC, Rajagopalan S, Sun Q, Zhang K. Sci Rep. 2017 Nov 24;7(1):16286. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-16490-3. PMID: 29176715 Free PMC Article
  9. Monocyte DPP4 Expression in Human Atherosclerosis Is Associated With Obesity and Dyslipidemia. Rao X, Deiuliis JA, Mihai G, Varghese J, Xia C, Frieman MB, Sztalryd C, Sun XJ, Quon MJ, Taylor SI, Rajagopalan S, Zhong J.Diabetes Care. 2018 Jan;41(1)Epub 2017 Nov 10. PMID: 29127241
  10. Effect of Particulate Matter Air Pollution on Cardiovascular Oxidative Stress Pathways. Rao X, Zhong J, Brook RD, Rajagopalan S. Antioxid Redox Signal. 2018 Mar 20;28(9):797-818. Epub 2017 Dec 12. PMID: 29084451
  11. Extreme levels of ambient air pollution adversely impact cardiac and central aortic hemodynamics: the AIRCMD-China study. Liu S, Brook RD, Huang W, Fan Z, Xu H, Wu R, Sun Z, Zhao X, Ruan Y, Yan J, Sun L, Liang R, Lian H, Gu D, Rajagopalan S. J Am Soc Hypertens. 2017 Nov;11(11):754-761.e3. doi: 10.1016/j.jash.2017.09.009. Epub 2017 Sep 28. PMID: 29031802
  12. The Role of the Mineralocorticoid Receptor in Inflammation: Focus on Kidney and Vasculature. Belden Z, Deiuliis JA, Dobre M, Rajagopalan S. Am J Nephrol. 2017;46(4):298-314.  Epub 2017 Oct 10. PMID: 29017166
  13. Personal-level exposure to environmental temperature is a superior predictor of endothelial-dependent vasodilatation than outdoor-ambient level. Ejike C, Wang L, Liu M, Wang W, Morishita M, Bard RL, Huang W, Harkema J, Rajagopalan S, Brook RD. J Am Soc Hypertens. 2017 Nov;11(11):746-753.e1.  Epub 2017 Sep 28. PMID: 28989070
  14. Cardiovascular evaluation and management of iron overload cardiomyopathy in sickle cell disease. Ginwalla M, AlMasoud A, Tofovic D, Alin T, Al-Kindi S, Oliveira G, Rajagopalan S, Schilz R, Little J. Am J Hematol. 2018 Jan;93(1)Epub 2017 Oct 23.  PMID: 28971490
  15. Design of the exercise MRI evaluation of HIV-pulmonary arterial hypertension longitudinal determinants (EXALTED) trial. Alaiti MA, Goud A, Ramani G, Bagchi S, Al-Kindi S, Sawicki S, Longenecker C, Jenkins T, Pauza D, Park M, McComsey G, Simonetti O, Hoit B, Rajagopalan S. J Cardiovasc Med (Hagerstown). 2017 Nov;18(11):888-896. PMID: 28937582
  16. Stressed About Air Pollution: Time for Personal Action. Brook RD, Rajagopalan S. Circulation. 2017 Aug 15;136(7):628-631.   PMID: 28808145
  17. Cancer risks of anti-hyperglycemic drugs for type 2 diabetes treatment - a clinical appraisal. Vora J, Ray K, Kosiborod M, Poulter NR, Rajagopalan S, Leiter LA. J Diabetes Complications. 2017 Sep;31(9):1451-1457. Epub 2017 Jun 15. Review. PMID: 28655490
  18. Air Pollution and Cardiometabolic Disease: An Update and Call for Clinical Trials. Brook RD, Newby DE, Rajagopalan S. Am J Hypertens. 2017 Dec 8;31(1):1-10. doi: 10.1093/ajh/hpx109. PMID: 28655143
  19. The regulatory role of DPP4 in atherosclerotic disease. Duan L, Rao X, Xia C, Rajagopalan S, Zhong J. Cardiovasc Diabetol. 2017 Jun 15;16(1):76. Review. PMID: 28619058 Free PMC Article
  20. Design of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Evaluation of Mineralocorticoid Receptor Antagonism in Diabetic Atherosclerosis (MAGMA) Trial. Rajagopalan S, Alaiti MA, Broadwater K, Goud A, Gaztanaga J, Connelly K, Fares A, Shirazian S, Kreatsoulas C, Farkouh M, Dobre M, Fink JC, Weir MR. Clin Cardiol. 2017 Sep;40(9) Epub 2017 May 26.

Education

Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)
University of Madras, India
1988

Residencies, Internships and Fellowships

Residency in Internal Medicine
Erie County Medical Center
1994
Fellowship in Cardiovascular Disease
Emory University Hospital
1998
Research Fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine
Cornell University
2002
Fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine
Duke University Medical Center
2004

Additional Information

  • 1990-1994: Assistant Instructor, Department of Internal Medicine, SUNY at Buffalo
  • 1994: Chief Medical Resident, VA Medical Center, SUNY at Buffalo.
  • 1994-1998: Instructor, Department of Internal Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine
  • 1998-2003: Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • 2001-2003:  Co-Director, Vascular Medicine Training Program, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
  • 2003-2006: Director Cardiovascular MR and CT Imaging, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York
  • 2006-2013:Professor of Medicine (With Tenure), the Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
  • 2006-2013: Director of Vascular Medicine, Co-Director CT and MR Imaging Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
  • 2006-2013: Associate Director, Davis Heart Lung Research Institute, Columbus, OH
  • 2013-2015:Head, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore
  • 2013-2016: Melvin Sharoky Endowed Professorship, University of Maryland School of Medicine
  • 2016: Asst. Chair, Translational Research, Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine