What are some of Dr. Oparil's contributions to vascular biology and hypertension research?
Dr. Oparil has made a number of innovative discoveries with major clinical impact, such as observing that angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) is involved in vascular disease, leading to the development of ACE-Is; identifying endothelin as the major mediator of pulmonary hypertension and pulmonary vascular disease, leading to the development of a class of drugs for patients with pulmonary hypertension; and defining novel pathways by which blood vessels are protected from injury by estrogens, providing crucial information on potential targets for future gene therapy.