World's Best Scientists 2026 revealed!

D-Index & Metrics

Biology and Biochemistry

D-Index
105
Citations
42087
World Ranking
1192
National Ranking
709

Overview

Gary K. Owens is affiliated with the University of Virginia in the United States. Their research spans multiple domains in biomedical science, focusing primarily on molecular biology and cardiovascular diseases.

Owens has contributed extensively to the study of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases, as well as related topics such as single-cell and spatial transcriptomics, angiogenesis and VEGF in cancer, adipokines, inflammation, metabolic diseases, and Kruppel-like factors research. Their work has intersected with cancer-related molecular mechanisms and galectins in cancer biology.

The main fields of study for Owens include biochemistry, genetics and molecular biology, immunology and microbiology, and medicine. Within these, the subfields that feature prominently in their publications are molecular biology, immunology, cancer research, genetics, and epidemiology.

Frequent co-authors collaborating with Owens include:

  • Rebecca A. Deaton (18 collaborations)
  • Santosh Karnewar (14 collaborations)
  • Gerard Pasterkamp (13 collaborations)
  • Laura S. Shankman (13 collaborations)
  • Gabriel F. Alencar (11 collaborations)

Owens has published repeatedly in several notable venues. The most frequent publication venues are:

  • Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (7 publications)
  • bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (7 publications)
  • Circulation (4 publications)
  • Free Radical Biology and Medicine (4 publications)
  • Circulation Research (3 publications)

Notable recent papers include:

  • "Stem Cell Pluripotency Genes Klf4 and Oct4 Regulate Complex SMC Phenotypic Changes Critical in Late-Stage Atherosclerotic Lesion Pathogenesis" (2020, Circulation)
  • "Multiple cell types contribute to the atherosclerotic lesion fibrous cap by PDGFRβ and bioenergetic mechanisms" (2021, Nature Metabolism)
  • "Clonally expanding smooth muscle cells promote atherosclerosis by escaping efferocytosis and activating the complement cascade" (2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
  • "Sex-Stratified Gene Regulatory Networks Reveal Female Key Driver Genes of Atherosclerosis Involved in Smooth Muscle Cell Phenotype Switching" (2021, Circulation)
  • "Genetic Regulation of Atherosclerosis-Relevant Phenotypes in Human Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells" (2020, Circulation Research)

Best Publications

  • Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells in Atherosclerosis

    Martin R. Bennett;Sanjay Sinha;Gary K. Owens

  • Angiotensin II induces hypertrophy, not hyperplasia, of cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells.

    A. A. T. Geisterfer;M. J. Peach;G. K. Owens

  • KLF4 Dependent Phenotypic Modulation of SMCs Plays a Key Role inAtherosclerotic Plaque Pathogenesis

    Laura S. Shankman;Delphine Gomez;Olga A. Cherepanova;Morgan Salmon

  • Recent insights into the cellular biology of atherosclerosis

    Ira Tabas;Guillermo García-Cardeña;Guillermo García-Cardeña;Gary K. Owens

  • Smooth muscle cell phenotypic switching in atherosclerosis

    Delphine Gomez;Gary K. Owens

  • Corrigendum: KLF4-dependent phenotypic modulation of smooth muscle cells has a key role in atherosclerotic plaque pathogenesis.

    Laura S Shankman;Delphine Gomez;Olga A Cherepanova;Morgan Salmon

  • Epigenetic Control of Smooth Muscle Cell Differentiation and Phenotypic Switching in Vascular Development and Disease

    Matthew R. Alexander;Gary K. Owens

  • Thrombin stimulates proliferation of cultured rat aortic smooth muscle cells by a proteolytically activated receptor.

    C A McNamara;I J Sarembock;L W Gimple;J W Fenton

  • Smooth muscle differentiation marker gene expression is regulated by RhoA-mediated actin polymerization.

    Christopher P. Mack;Avril V. Somlyo;Martina Hautmann;Andrew P. Somlyo

  • NOX1 OVEREXPRESSION POTENTIATES ANGIOTENSIN II-INDUCED HYPERTENSION AND VASCULAR SMOOTH MUSCLE HYPERTROPHY IN TRANSGENIC MICE

    Anna Dikalova;Roza Clempus;Bernard Lassègue;Guangjie Cheng

  • Myocardin Is a Key Regulator of CArG-Dependent Transcription of Multiple Smooth Muscle Marker Genes

    Tadashi Yoshida;Sanjay Sinha;Frédéric Dandré;Brian R. Wamhoff

  • Myocardin Is a Critical Serum Response Factor Cofactor in the Transcriptional Program Regulating Smooth Muscle Cell Differentiation

    Kevin L. Du;Hon S. Ip;Jian Li;Mary Chen

  • Transforming growth factor-beta-induced growth inhibition and cellular hypertrophy in cultured vascular smooth muscle cells.

    Gary K. Owens;A. A. T. Geisterfer;Yvonne Wei-Hwa Yang;Akira Komoriya

  • A Transforming Growth Factor β (TGFβ) Control Element Drives TGFβ-induced Stimulation of Smooth Muscle α-Actin Gene Expression in Concert with Two CArG Elements

    Martina B. Hautmann;Cort S. Madsen;Gary K. Owens

  • Kruppel-like Factor 4 Abrogates Myocardin-induced Activation of Smooth Muscle Gene Expression

    Yan Liu;Sanjay Sinha;Oliver G. McDonald;Yueting Shang

  • Smooth muscle phenotypic modulation is an early event in aortic aneurysms.

    Gorav Ailawadi;Christopher W. Moehle;Hong Pei;Sandra P. Walton

  • Positive- and Negative-acting Krüppel-like Transcription Factors Bind a Transforming Growth Factor β Control Element Required for Expression of the Smooth Muscle Cell Differentiation Marker SM22α in Vivo

    Paul J. Adam;Christopher P. Regan;Martina B. Hautmann;Gary K. Owens

  • Regulation of Smooth Muscle α-Actin Expression In Vivo Is Dependent on CArG Elements Within the 5′ and First Intron Promoter Regions

    Christopher P. Mack;Gary K. Owens

  • Control of SRF binding to CArG box chromatin regulates smooth muscle gene expression in vivo

    Oliver G. McDonald;Brian R. Wamhoff;Mark H. Hoofnagle;Gary K. Owens

  • Multiple repressor pathways contribute to phenotypic switching of vascular smooth muscle cells

    Keiko Kawai-Kowase;Gary K. Owens

Frequent Co-Authors

Gilbert R. Upchurch
Gilbert R. Upchurch University of Florida
Avril V. Somlyo
Avril V. Somlyo University of Virginia
Aaron S. Dumont
Aaron S. Dumont Tulane University
Robert M. Starke
Robert M. Starke University of Miami
Ichiro Manabe
Ichiro Manabe Chiba University
Thomas Quertermous
Thomas Quertermous Stanford University
Norbert Leitinger
Norbert Leitinger University of Virginia
Gerard Pasterkamp
Gerard Pasterkamp Utrecht University
Eric N. Olson
Eric N. Olson The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Robert H. Rosenwasser
Robert H. Rosenwasser Thomas Jefferson University

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