Gregory J. Kato, MD 
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, DHHS
Bethesda, Maryland

Presentation Title
Mechanisms of Vasculopathy in Sickle Cell Disease (Summary of Presentation)

Dr. Kato directs the Sickle Cell Vascular Disease Unit in the Vascular Medicine Branch of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and an investigator in the Critical Care Medicine Department at the NIH Clinical Center.  He is board certified in pediatric hematology-oncology, serves as part-time faculty at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and is an attending physician at Howard University Hospital, in Washington, DC.  His current research is geared toward understanding mechanisms of vascular complications of sickle cell disease, especially pulmonary hypertension, and finding new therapeutic approaches for this vasculopathy.  His work focuses on markers and mediators of endothelial dysfunction in sickle cell disease, particularly those that affect nitric oxide homeostasis.