Lab Overview

Vienna E. Brunt, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. She is interested in developing novel interventions to reduce blood pressure and cardiovascular risk in kidney disease patients.

Cardiovascular diseases are a leading cause of death in patients with kidney disease, which is often accompanied by hypertension, arterial stiffness, and impaired vascular function. Blood pressure management in these patients remains challenging. Novel interventions, especially non-pharmacological interventions, are drastically needed to reduce blood pressure and overall cardiovascular risk in kidney disease patients.

The Brunt Laboratory uses translational approaches to first screen and elucidate molecular mechanisms of novel interventions for reducing blood pressure and improving vascular function in rodent models of kidney disease, and then translate promising interventions into initial clinical trials in healthy older adults and kidney disease patients. We also use cell culture and isolated artery models combined with tissues from human patients to reverse translate and identify mechanisms of action.

Interventions of current interest are focused in three main areas: 1) dietary and supplement-based interventions that target the gut microbiome and its signaling; and 2) using passive heat therapy—the repeated chronic use of hot baths and saunas—which improves cardiovascular health through many of the same pathways as aerobic exercise training; and 3) anti-inflammatory agents.