Stella (Styliani) Goulopoulou

Stella (Styliani) Goulopoulou, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
styling.goulopoulou@unthsc.edu

Education

• Ph.D. – Exercise Physiology & Science Education, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA, 2010
• M.S. – Exercise Science, Syracuse University,Syracuse, NY, USA – 2004
• B.S. – Physical Education & Sports Science, Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece – 2001

Websites

• Lab: www.unthsc.edu/goulopouloulab
• Experts: https://experts.unthsc.edu/en/persons/stella-goulopoulou
• Scholar Google: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=F36eNRsAAAAJ&hl=en https://www.linkedin.com/in/stella-goulopoulou-phd-a4162671

Personal Bio

Dr. Stella Goulopoulou is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Physiology and Anatomy. Dr. Goulopoulou received her MS and PhD degrees from Syracuse University at Syracuse, NY. Her MS studies focused on pediatric cardiovascular exercise physiology, while her PhD thesis was on the effects of exercise training on venous function in patients with hypertension. At the end of her graduate studies in 2010, she transitioned from the field of applied human physiology to basic science research and did her postdoctoral training in vascular physiology in Augusta University. In 2014, she started her own research program at UNTHSC. At UNTHSC, Dr. Goulopoulou has established a vascular physiology laboratory with a focus on women’s cardiovascular health and particular emphasis on maternal vascular physiology during pregnancy and postpartum. Dr. Goulopoulou’s teaching responsibilities include a) lecturing cardiovascular physiology in graduate, physician assistant and physical therapy program courses and b) training graduate and medical students in research in the laboratory. Dr. Goulopoulou is dedicated to her trainees’ and students’ learning and professional development. Dr. Goulopoulou’s service activities focus on a) graduate education and trainee advocacy, and b) women’s health advocacy and outreach. Dr. Goulopoulou is originally from Greece, where she was born and grew up until she came to the US for graduate studies. She is an avid reader, cook, and traveler, and she loves exercising and spending time with her family and friends.

Research Interests

The main goal of our research program is to delineate mechanisms of maternal cardiovascular dysfunction in preeclampsia, and identify therapeutic targets to reduce maternal mortality and morbidity during pregnancy and postpartum. Other research interests include: mechanisms of uterine blood flow during pregnancy, structural and functional plasticity of the female vascular system, and development of computational models to predict adverse pregnancy outcomes using machine learning approaches.

Research Keywords

pregnancy, vascular physiology, placental biology, mitochondrial DNA, preeclampsia, machine learning

Current Projects

• Role of circulating cell-free mitochondrial DNA in healthy pregnancy and preeclampsia
• Mechanisms of mitochondrial DNA release from syncytiotrophoblasts into the maternal circulation
• Molecular pathways underlying uterine vascular adaptations in normal pregnancy

Current Funding

• 1R01HL146562-01A1 (2020-2024)

Teaching Interests

• Cardiovascular physiology
• Scientific Communication

Teaching Statement

My teaching and mentoring philosophy is that all students should have equal opportunities for learning in a safe, supportive, and intellectually stimulating environment. To provide equal opportunities for learning, a teacher should first acknowledge their own biases about characteristics that contribute to their students’ identity (i.e. sex, gender, race, sexual orientation, nationality) which may influence the teacher’s perspectives and expectations about the student’s capacity to learn. I believe the students’ background, prior experiences, successes and failures determine their response to our instruction and thus, the effectiveness of our teaching. Therefore, in my classes, I create opportunities for all students to be heard and valued, to participate in the learning process by active engagement, and to break out of their comfort zone by challenging predetermined notions and current dogmas in the scientific literature.

UNTHSC Committees and Service

• GSBS-Traditional Graduate Admissions Committee (2015-present)
• GSBS-Graduate Faculty Council (elected position, 2019-2022)
• GSBSScholarship Committee (2019-present)
• Integrative Physiology Program Curriculum Committee
• Departmental (Physiology & Anatomy)
• GraduateProgram Advisory Committee (2020-present)
• Women’s Cardiovascular and Brain Health Symposium (2019-present), founder & committee chair

National/International Committees and Service

• American Heart Association
• Trainee Advocacy Committee (TAC)
• Council on Hypertension (2017-present) – American Heart Association Go Red
• Women in Science & Medicine Subcommittee
• American Heart Association, Leadership Committee
• Council on Hypertension (2017-present)
• AmericanPhysiological Society, Steering Committee
• Cardiovascular Section (2020-present) – American Physiological Society, Programming Committee,
• Cardiovascular Section (2020-present) – Editorial boards: Hypertension, American Journal of Hypertension – Associate Editor: Pharmacological Research