Inhye Park

I am currently working as a Postdoctoral Researcher in the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology at the University of Oxford. I completed a DPhil in Molecular and Cellular Medicine at the University of Oxford in 2019, after obtaining a Master’s degree in Biomedicine from University College London and BSc in Life Sciences from Hanyang University, Korea. My DPhil project focussed on understanding how a C-type lectin receptor CLEC4A2 directs macrophages towards a protective function in atherosclerosis. In this study, I identified CLEC4A2 as a regulator of vascular macrophage homeostasis, restraining inflammation and facilitating cholesterol efflux during atherogenesis. As part of my project, I generated a comprehensive atlas of vascular immune cells in atherosclerotic mice using mass cytometry and single cell RNA sequencing.

 I was awarded a Novo Nordisk Postdoctoral Research Fellowship to pursue a new project from September 2021, under the supervision of Professor Claudia Monaco (Kennedy Institute), Dr Alexey Epanchintsev (NNRCO), Professor Irina Udalova (Kennedy Institute) and Professor Paul Riley (DPAG/IDRM). My project aims to investigate the new molecular mechanisms of vascular macrophages and their interactions with vascular cells to alleviate cardiometabolic diseases. Using single-cell transcriptomic data of immune cells from human and murine atherosclerotic tissues, I will identify novel candidate molecules that define homeostatic functions of macrophages. The validation of the targets will be performed using iPSC-derived macrophages, human vascular tissues, and in vivo mouse models.