Dr. Carlos Garcia has served as Dean of the School of Mathematics, Science and Engineering since 2012. He is an experienced, innovative, collaborative leader in higher education who has served as an educator, scholar, supervisor, and administrator. His administrative expertise and experience include but are not limited to: strategic planning, shared governance, institutional (SACS-COC) & program accreditation, program development and assessment, budgeting and financial management, institutional advancement, interdisciplinary program development, administrative organization, academic support services management, academic integrity processes, faculty development, rank and tenure review, personnel management, student advising models, international education and global initiatives, educational technology, and student guided pathways to graduation. Dr. Garcia is a visionary director of growth, creatively maneuvering through the ambiguities of new market identification, outreach, and expansion, balancing objective data and human compassion committed to serving the various communities we serve in higher education.
Research Description
My cellular and molecular toxicology research laboratory group is interested in the mechanisms of neurodegeneration in the diabetic retina, peripheral nerves, and brain. A major aim of our research is to understand the role of cytokines in the early development of non-proliferative diabetic retinopathy. We are investigating the processes that regulate the apoptotic cell death in diabetic rats and the alterations in cell signaling pathways that may lead to vision loss or encephalopathy. Recently we have initiated investigations of cytokine-mediated signal transduction changes in five functionally important brain regions, the amygdala, cerebral cortex, cerebellum, hippocampus, and hypothalamus of diabetic animals.
A second area of research is to shed light on the impact of ozone air pollution exposure on the retina, cardiovascular and nervous systems. The work includes changes to visual sensitivity demonstrated by changes in the electroretinogram in ozone-exposed mammals. We have documented cardiac physiological and biochemical abnormalities along with enhanced death signaling in ozone-exposed ischemic-reperfused hearts and continue to work on the mechanism of action that leads to cardiac dysfunction. An interrelated area of investigation is the impact of air pollution exposure on the molecular mechanisms of circadian clock action in retinal cells. Our work includes i) measuring changes in retinal dopamine and its metabolites due to ozone exposure using HPLC techniques and ii) using molecular biological procedures, to evaluate alterations in the expression of core circadian clock genes in the mammalian retina following ozone exposure.
A third area of interest is to plan and implement health information technology useful for public health research. More specifically, my focus is the establishment of a health information exchange (HIE) that connects eleven counties in South Texas. The aggregate data from the HIE will be used to measure the status of chronic diseases in South Texas particularly the investigation of diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and asthma,