About Dr. O'Toole

Timothy O'Toole

Timothy O'Toole, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Medicine

Timothy O’Toole, Ph.D., received his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Biological Chemistry where he studied defects in purine metabolism.

He has held prior positions at the Scripps Research Institute in LaJolla, CA, and at the Cleveland Clinic where he studied integrin signaling and platelet and endothelial biology.

He has been a faculty member in the Department of Medicine, Institute for Molecular Cardiology and Diabetes and Obesity Center (DOC) since 2006 and holds associate appointments in the Department of Biochemistry and in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology.

Dr. O’Toole is also Director of the Flow Cytometry Core of  the DOC.

He reviews manuscripts for multiple journals, is an Editor for Circulation Research and serves on an American Heart Association Study Section.

Representative Publications:

  • Haberzettl P, Conklin DJ, Abplanalp WT, Bhatnagar A, O'Toole TE. Inhalation of Fine Particulate Matter Impairs Endothelial Progenitor Cell Function Via Pulmonary Oxidative Stress. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2018 Jan;38(1):131-142. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.117.309971. Epub 2017 Nov 30. PubMed PMID: 29191925; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5746456.
  • Abplanalp W, DeJarnett N, Riggs DW, Conklin DJ, McCracken JP, Srivastava S, Xie Z, Rai S, Bhatnagar A, O'Toole TE. Benzene exposure is associated with cardiovascular disease risk. PLoS One. 2017 Sep 8;12(9):e0183602. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0183602. eCollection 2017. PubMed PMID: 28886060; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5590846.
  • Pope CA 3rd, Bhatnagar A, McCracken JP, Abplanalp W, Conklin DJ, O'Toole T. Exposure to Fine Particulate Air Pollution Is Associated With Endothelial Injury and Systemic Inflammation. Circ Res. 2016 Nov 11;119(11):1204-1214. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.116.309279. PubMed PMID: 27780829; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5215745.
  • Abplanalp WT, Conklin DJ, Cantor JM, Ginsberg MH, Wysoczynski M, Bhatnagar A, O'Toole TE. Enhanced Integrin α4β1-Mediated Adhesion Contributes to a Mobilization Defect of Endothelial Progenitor Cells in Diabetes. Diabetes. 2016 Nov;65(11):3505-3515. PubMed PMID: 27495221; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5079633.
  • Haberzettl P, O'Toole TE, Bhatnagar A, Conklin DJ. Exposure to Fine Particulate Air Pollution Causes Vascular Insulin Resistance by Inducing Pulmonary Oxidative Stress. Environ Health Perspect. 2016 Dec;124(12):1830-1839. PubMed PMID: 27128347; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5132639.
  • DeJarnett N, Yeager R, Conklin DJ, Lee J, O'Toole TE, McCracken J, Abplanalp W, Srivastava S, Riggs DW, Hamzeh I, Wagner S, Chugh A, DeFilippis A, Ciszewski T, Wyatt B, Becher C, Higdon D, Ramos KS, Tollerud DJ, Myers JA, Rai SN, Shah J, Zafar N, Krishnasamy SS, Prabhu SD, Bhatnagar A. Residential Proximity to Major Roadways Is Associated With Increased Levels of AC133+ Circulating Angiogenic Cells. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2015 Nov;35(11):2468-77. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.115.305724. PubMed PMID: 26293462; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4862408.
  • DeJarnett N, Conklin DJ, Riggs DW, Myers JA, O'Toole TE, Hamzeh I, Wagner S, Chugh A, Ramos KS, Srivastava S, Higdon D, Tollerud DJ, DeFilippis A, Becher C, Wyatt B, McCracken J, Abplanalp W, Rai SN, Ciszewski T, Xie Z, Yeager R, Prabhu SD, Bhatnagar A. Acrolein exposure is associated with increased cardiovascular disease risk. J Am Heart Assoc. 2014 Aug 6;3(4). pii: e000934. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.114.000934. PubMed PMID: 25099132; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4310380.
  • O'Toole TE, Abplanalp W, Li X, Cooper N, Conklin DJ, Haberzettl P, Bhatnagar A. Acrolein decreases endothelial cell migration and insulin sensitivity through induction of let-7a. Toxicol Sci. 2014 Aug 1;140(2):271-82. doi: 10.1093/toxsci/kfu087. PubMed PMID: 24812010; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC4176051.
  • Haberzettl P, Lee J, Duggineni D, McCracken J, Bolanowski D, O'Toole TE, Bhatnagar A, Conklin DJ. Exposure to ambient air fine particulate matter prevents VEGF-induced mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells from the bone marrow. Environ Health Perspect. 2012 Jun;120(6):848-56. doi: 10.1289/ehp.1104206. PubMed PMID: 22418586; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3385427.
  • Wheat LA, Haberzettl P, Hellmann J, Baba SP, Bertke M, Lee J, McCracken J, O'Toole TE, Bhatnagar A, Conklin DJ. Acrolein inhalation prevents vascular endothelial growth factor-induced mobilization of Flk-1+/Sca-1+ cells in mice. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2011 Jul;31(7):1598-606. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.111.227124. PubMed PMID: 21527748; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3182098.
  • O'Toole TE, Bialkowska K, Li X, Fox JE. Tiam1 is recruited to β1-integrin complexes by 14-3-3ζ where it mediates integrin-induced Rac1 activation and motility. J Cell Physiol. 2011 Nov;226(11):2965-78. doi: 10.1002/jcp.22644. PubMed PMID: 21302295.
  • O'Toole TE, Hellmann J, Wheat L, Haberzettl P, Lee J, Conklin DJ, Bhatnagar A, Pope CA 3rd. Episodic exposure to fine particulate air pollution decreases circulating levels of endothelial progenitor cells. Circ Res. 2010 Jul 23;107(2):200-3. doi: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.110.222679. PubMed PMID: 20595651; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2943671.