When: April 1st, 2026
Where: Paul D. Coverdell Center, Athens, GA
Meet our Keynote Speaker
Dr. Tammy Dugas
Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education at the College of Veterinary Medicine of LSU
Presenting: “Air-blood interface as a critical mediator of the cardiovascular health effects of air pollution exposures.”
About Dr. Dugas:
Dr. Tammy R. Dugas is a well-established investigator in the field of cardiovascular pharmacology and toxicology. After obtaining her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at Louisiana State University A&M College (LSU, Baton Rouge), she pursued a Doctor of Philosophy in chemistry, where her dissertation research delved into the biophysical chemistry associated with oxidative stress – this, at a time when oxidative stress research was in its infancy. She went on to complete a postdoctoral fellowship in biochemistry at the Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, and a second in environmental toxicology at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. Her first faculty position was in the Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology & Neuroscience at the LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, where she advanced through the ranks from tenure-track Assistant Professor to Professor. In 2014, she transitioned to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine in Baton Rouge, where she served as first Professor in the Department of Comparative Biomedical Sciences, then Department Head and now Associate Dean for Research and Graduate Education.
Dr. Dugas’s toxicological research focuses on the role of environmental factors in promoting cardiovascular and cardiopulmonary diseases. Studies aimed at elucidating mechanisms for these toxicities examine toxicant metabolism, endothelial cell injury (including mitochondrial oxidant stress) and dysfunction, stimulation of vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation, and dysregulation of epithelial-endothelial cell interactions in the lung. Her laboratory has been NIH-funded for most of the last 24 years. She has served on numerous editorial boards and review panels. She is currently Senior Associate Editor of Cardiovascular Toxicology and is a member of the Environmental Determinants of Disease (EDD) study section. She has been a member of the LSU Superfund Research Program since 2009, studying the role of airborne particulate matter generated through thermal decomposition of waste in promoting cardiopulmonary diseases. In 2025, she assumed leadership of the Center for Lung Biology and Disease Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) as Director and Principal Investigator. In this capacity, she is using her skills in mentoring to guide promising junior investigators conducting research in respiratory and inhalation biology toward research competitiveness. Finally, Dr. Dugas has a strong background in developing drug delivery approaches for natural products like polyphenols, with two approved patents (US8992603 and US8992471) and two pending patent applications (PCT/US2019/016302 and PCT/US2022/073054) that describe polyphenol-eluting coatings for medical devices used in peripheral artery disease interventions.
