Kessinger Lab

The Kessinger Lab is dedicated to the study of venous thromboembolism, cardiovascular disease, PTSD and lupus. Through the use of advanced imaging techniques and novel diagnostic and therapeutic agents, our work aims to understand these diseases to improve the treatment and diagnosis of patients world-wide.

News From The Kessinger Lab

NIH Awards $3.7 Million Grant to MMRI Researcher Investigating Pulmonary Embolism

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recently awarded a $3.7 million grant to support a project led by Principal Investigator, Chase Kessinger, Ph.D., assistant professor of biomedical research and translational medicine at Masonic Medical Research Institute (MMRI) to research the third most common cause of cardiovascular death, pulmonary embolism (PE).

Areas of Investigation

The Kessinger Lab’s research aims to integrate translational molecular imaging techniques and novel diagnostic and therapeutic agents to study and treat venous thromboembolism and cardiovascular disease. Over the last few years, we have provided novel in vivo techniques to examine and visualize inflammation and protease activity. We are now exploring other anti-inflammatory and fibrinolysis therapies and extending these findings to PET/CT for better treatment and stratification of patients with venous thrombi. More recent work aims to understand the biology of pulmonary embolism and pulmonary hypertension and the inflammatory response that drives pulmonary fibrosis.

Molecular imaging: Molecular imaging focuses on noninvasive imaging within living organism to monitor biochemical processes in realtime. The lab develops, validates and utilizes molecular imaging strategies to sense and quantify disease severity and therapeutic efficacy across numerous disease models.

Nanomedicine: A branch of medicine that applies the knowledge and tools of nanotechnology to the detection, treatment and prevention of disease. The lab utilizes biocompatible nanoparticles and multifunctional nanoplatforms for tracking, delivering and imaging purposes in living organisms.

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Lab Focus

Dr. Kessinger uses molecular imaging, nanomedicine, biology and more to study a variety of diseases.

Venous Thromboembolism

Chase Kessinger engaged in research

Dr. Kessinger is using molecular imaging to understand the role of venous thrombosis inflammation. Using intravital confocal of large vein thrombosis, he has shown the ability to capture high resolution spatial maps of the venous thrombosis inflammation and structure. He has provided novel in vivo techniques to examine and visualize inflammation and protease activity.

More recently, utilizing the same techniques, Dr. Kessinger has shown that statin therapy of established venous thrombi decreases both thrombus burden and vein wall scarring, two important factors that lead to post-thrombotic syndrome in humans.

Post-traumatic stress disorder

Dr. Kessinger aims to develop molecular imaging targets of novel biomarkers of PTSD. His goal is to use these imaging targets to aid in detection and treatment of PTSD and it’s symptoms. His current projects on PTSD involve the role of inflammation within the brain post trauma, specifically looking at microglia’s role within this process.

mmri staff conducting experiment

Lupus

Kessinger Lab looking at computer screen

Dr. Kessinger is understanding how immune cell activity in SLE can lead to the development of venous thromboembolism. Presently, his investigations study the inflammatory response and related biological responses in lupus with a goal of one day aiding in prevention of VTE episodes.

Inflammation

Inflammation is a biological response to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells or irradiation. It is a protective attempt by the organism to remove injurious stimuli and to initiate the healing process. In the lab we study the inflammatory processes and milieu involved in numerous diseases.

Lab technician using a dropper

Atherosclerosis

mmri staff conducting experiment

Atherosclerosis is a common condition that develops when a sticky substance called plaque builds up inside your arteries . Disease linked to atherosclerosis is the leading cause of death in the United States. About half of Americans between ages 45 and 84 have atherosclerosis and don’t know it.

Chase Kessinger

Meet Dr. Chase Kessinger

Assistant Professor
Biomedical Research and Translational Medicine

ckessinger@mmri.edu

Dr. Kessinger graduated from Texas A&M University in 2005 with a B.S. in Microbiology and continued to graduate school at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas. There, he studied cancer biology and nanomedicine. His work focused on the synthesis, validation, and application of multimodality, target nanoparticles for the early detection of lung cancer in the laboratory of Jinming Gao, Ph.D. This project provided a solid foundation for synthesizing and validating nanoparticles in vitro to in vivo while also realizing the limitations inherent in these nanoplatforms. By incorporating MRI and optical imaging agents in the final nanoparticle platform, he also gained a foundation in clinical and preclinical imaging principles and applications.

Upon completing his Ph.D. in Cancer Biology in 2010, Dr. Kessinger joined Dr. Farouc A. Jaffer's lab at the Cardiovascular Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) as a Ruth L. Kirschstein. During his fellowship, Dr. Kessinger focused on utilizing molecular imaging techniques to understand inflammation in venous thrombosis, atherosclerosis, and arteriovenous fistula. In 2015, Dr. Kessinger was promoted to instructor at MGH/Harvard Medical School. He has since focused his work in venous thromboembolism, specifically pulmonary embolism, and systematically investigating the role of inflammation, thrombus age on thrombus biology, and resolution mechanisms. In 2018, Dr. Kessinger joined MMRI as an instructor in Dr. Jason C. McCarthy’s lab and manager of the histology, imaging and surgery core (HIS core). In 2022, Dr. Kessinger was promoted to assistant professor of biomedical research and translational medicine. He continues to integrate molecular imaging modalities and novel agents to aim in addressing biological hypotheses in cardiovascular disease and, more specifically, venous thromboembolism, fibrosis, and atherosclerosis.

Lab Members

Felipe Lamenza, Ph.D.

Felipe Lamenza, Ph.D.

Postdoctoral Fellow

Dr. Felipe Lamenza received his Bachelor of Science from The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, with a major in biology and minor in microbiology, and became the Oghumu Laboratory first Ph.D. student, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio. Lamenza’s research projects focus on developing novel mouse models, immune therapies, and understanding the role of glucocorticoids in the development and progression of head and neck squamous cell carcinomas.

Peyton Guy

Peyton Guy

Research Assistant

Guy holds a bachelor’s degree from St. John Fisher University, Rochester, New York. Guy joined MMRI in 2025.

Mey_final

Melody Mey

Research Assistant

Mey holds a bachelor’s degree in biology with a minor in medical anthropology from Syracuse University, Syracuse, N.Y. Mey joined MMRI in 2025.

Past Members

Rena Collandra, 2020-2021
Donna Le, 2021-2023
Anna Burkhartzmeyer, Summer 2022
Riley Cott, 2023-2024
Caitlin Snyder, Summer 2023
Steven Negron, 2021-2024
Dmytro Davydenko, Summer 2024
Raegan Weems, Summer 2024
Negar Mehrabi, 2024-2025
Josh Macera, 2024-2025
Willa Pratt, Summer 2025

Publications

  1. Kessinger, CW, Chen, L, Huang, F, Lin, J, Davenport, A, Lin, Z et al.. Diet-induced steatohepatitis does not cause heart failure with preserved ejection fraction in male middle-aged C57BL/6N mice. PLoS One. 2025;20 (12):e0339642. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0339642. PubMed PMID:41460785 PubMed Central PMC12747382.
  2. Lamenza, FF, Kessinger, CW. The role of chondroitin sulfate in venous thrombosis, organization, and resolution. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2026;330 (1):H46-H48. doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00855.2025. PubMed PMID:41285405 PubMed Central PMC12757775.
  3. Sun, Y, Mishra, AK, Chanrasekhar, V, Door, M, Kessinger, CW, Xu, B et al.. Deletion of PTP1B in cardiomyocytes alters cardiac metabolic signaling to protect against cardiomyopathy induced by a high-fat diet. Sci Signal. 2025;18 (896):eadp6006. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.adp6006. PubMed PMID:40694612 PubMed Central PMC12445919.
  4. Davenport, A, Kessinger, CW, Pfeiffer, RD, Shah, N, Xu, R, Abel, ED et al.. Comparative analysis of two independent Myh6-Cre transgenic mouse lines. J Mol Cell Cardiol Plus. 2024;9 :. doi: 10.1016/j.jmccpl.2024.100081. PubMed PMID:39323506 PubMed Central PMC11423776.
  5. Zhou, P, Kessinger, CW, Gu, F, Davenport, A, King, JS, Wang, G et al.. Vestigial like 4 regulates the adipogenesis of classical brown adipose tissue. bioRxiv. 2024; :. doi: 10.1101/2024.07.09.602788. PubMed PMID:39026854 PubMed Central PMC11257599.
  6. Bose, RJ, Kessinger, CW, Dhammu, T, Singh, T, Shealy, MW, Ha, K et al.. Biomimetic Nanomaterials for the Immunomodulation of the Cardiosplenic Axis Postmyocardial Infarction. Adv Mater. 2024;36 (8):e2304615. doi: 10.1002/adma.202304615. PubMed PMID:37934471 PubMed Central PMC10922695.
  7. Sheldon, C, Kessinger, CW, Sun, Y, Kontaridis, MI, Ma, Q, Hammoud, SS et al.. Myh6 promoter-driven Cre recombinase excises floxed DNA fragments in a subset of male germline cells. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2023;175 :62-66. doi: 10.1016/j.yjmcc.2022.12.005. PubMed PMID:36584478 PubMed Central PMC9974737.
  8. Ha, K, Zheng, X, Kessinger, CW, Mauskapf, A, Li, W, Kawamura, Y et al.. In Vivo Platelet Detection Using a Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa-Targeted Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging Probe. ACS Sens. 2021;6 (6):2225-2232. doi: 10.1021/acssensors.1c00124. PubMed PMID:34056903 PubMed Central PMC8767556.
  9. Kessinger, CW, Qi, G, Hassan, MZO, Henke, PK, Tawakol, A, Jaffer, FA et al.. Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Imaging Predicts Vein Wall Scarring and Statin Benefit in Murine Venous Thrombosis. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging. 2021;14 (3):e011898. doi: 10.1161/CIRCIMAGING.120.011898. PubMed PMID:33724049 PubMed Central PMC8202732.
  10. Li, W, Kessinger, CW, Orii, M, Lee, H, Wang, L, Weinberg, I et al.. Time-Restricted Salutary Effects of Blood Flow Restoration on Venous Thrombosis and Vein Wall Injury in Mouse and Human Subjects. Circulation. 2021;143 (12):1224-1238. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.120.049096. PubMed PMID:33445952 PubMed Central PMC7988304.
  11. Chowdhury, MM, Singh, K, Albaghdadi, MS, Khraishah, H, Mauskapf, A, Kessinger, CW et al.. Paclitaxel Drug-Coated Balloon Angioplasty Suppresses Progression and Inflammation of Experimental Atherosclerosis in Rabbits. JACC Basic Transl Sci. 2020;5 (7):685-695. doi: 10.1016/j.jacbts.2020.04.007. PubMed PMID:32760856 PubMed Central PMC7393431.
  12. Cui, J, Kessinger, CW, Jhajj, HS, Grau, MS, Misra, S, Libby, P et al.. Atorvastatin Reduces In Vivo Fibrin Deposition and Macrophage Accumulation, and Improves Primary Patency Duration and Maturation of Murine Arteriovenous Fistula. J Am Soc Nephrol. 2020;31 (5):931-945. doi: 10.1681/ASN.2019060612. PubMed PMID:32152232 PubMed Central PMC7217409.
  13. Lino Cardenas, CL, Kessinger, CW, Chou, E, Ghoshhajra, B, Yeri, AS, Das, S et al.. HDAC9 complex inhibition improves smooth muscle-dependent stenotic vascular disease. JCI Insight. 2019;4 (2):. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.124706. PubMed PMID:30674723 PubMed Central PMC6413784.
  14. Lino Cardenas, CL, Kessinger, CW, Cheng, Y, MacDonald, C, MacGillivray, T, Ghoshhajra, B et al.. An HDAC9-MALAT1-BRG1 complex mediates smooth muscle dysfunction in thoracic aortic aneurysm. Nat Commun. 2018;9 (1):1009. doi: 10.1038/s41467-018-03394-7. PubMed PMID:29520069 PubMed Central PMC5843596.
  15. Lino Cardenas, CL, Kessinger, CW, MacDonald, C, Jassar, AS, Isselbacher, EM, Jaffer, FA et al.. Inhibition of the methyltranferase EZH2 improves aortic performance in experimental thoracic aortic aneurysm. JCI Insight. 2018;3 (5):. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.97493. PubMed PMID:29515022 PubMed Central PMC5922285.
  16. Wang, Y, Gao, H, Kessinger, CW, Schmaier, A, Jaffer, FA, Simon, DI et al.. Myeloid-related protein-14 regulates deep vein thrombosis. JCI Insight. 2017;2 (11):. doi: 10.1172/jci.insight.91356. PubMed PMID:28570273 PubMed Central PMC5453698.
  17. Osborn, EA, Kessinger, CW, Tawakol, A, Jaffer, FA. Metabolic and Molecular Imaging of Atherosclerosis and Venous Thromboembolism. J Nucl Med. 2017;58 (6):871-877. doi: 10.2967/jnumed.116.182873. PubMed PMID:28450558 PubMed Central PMC5450364.
  18. Obi, AT, Andraska, E, Kanthi, Y, Kessinger, CW, Elfline, M, Luke, C et al.. Endotoxaemia-augmented murine venous thrombosis is dependent on TLR-4 and ICAM-1, and potentiated by neutropenia. Thromb Haemost. 2017;117 (2):339-348. doi: 10.1160/TH16-03-0218. PubMed PMID:27975098 PubMed Central PMC5436925.
  19. Stein-Merlob, AF, Kessinger, CW, Erdem, SS, Zelada, H, Hilderbrand, SA, Lin, CP et al.. Blood Accessibility to Fibrin in Venous Thrombosis is Thrombus Age-Dependent and Predicts Fibrinolytic Efficacy: An In Vivo Fibrin Molecular Imaging Study. Theranostics. 2015;5 (12):1317-27. doi: 10.7150/thno.12494. PubMed PMID:26516370 PubMed Central PMC4615735.
  20. Tawakol, A, Hara, T, Truelove, J, Wojtkiewicz, GR, Hucker, WJ, MacNabb, MH et al.. Response to Letter Regarding Article, "18F-Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography Enables the Detection of Recurrent Same-Site Deep Vein Thrombosis by Illuminating Recently Formed, Neutrophil-Rich Thrombus". Circulation. 2015;131 (24):e531-2. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.014802. PubMed PMID:26078375 .
  21. Kessinger, CW, Kim, JW, Henke, PK, Thompson, B, McCarthy, JR, Hara, T et al.. Statins improve the resolution of established murine venous thrombosis: reductions in thrombus burden and vein wall scarring. PLoS One. 2015;10 (2):e0116621. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0116621. PubMed PMID:25680183 PubMed Central PMC4334538.
  22. Cui, J, Kessinger, CW, McCarthy, JR, Sosnovik, DE, Libby, P, Thadhani, RI et al.. In vivo nanoparticle assessment of pathological endothelium predicts the development of inflow stenosis in murine arteriovenous fistula. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2015;35 (1):189-96. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.114.304483. PubMed PMID:25395614 PubMed Central PMC4270948.
  23. Lauriol, J, Keith, K, Jaffré, F, Couvillon, A, Saci, A, Goonasekera, SA et al.. RhoA signaling in cardiomyocytes protects against stress-induced heart failure but facilitates cardiac fibrosis. Sci Signal. 2014;7 (348):ra100. doi: 10.1126/scisignal.2005262. PubMed PMID:25336613 PubMed Central PMC4300109.
  24. Hara, T, Truelove, J, Tawakol, A, Wojtkiewicz, GR, Hucker, WJ, MacNabb, MH et al.. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography enables the detection of recurrent same-site deep vein thrombosis by illuminating recently formed, neutrophil-rich thrombus. Circulation. 2014;130 (13):1044-52. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.114.008902. PubMed PMID:25070665 PubMed Central PMC4174982.
  25. Sawada, N, Jiang, A, Takizawa, F, Safdar, A, Manika, A, Tesmenitsky, Y et al.. Endothelial PGC-1α mediates vascular dysfunction in diabetes. Cell Metab. 2014;19 (2):246-58. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2013.12.014. PubMed PMID:24506866 PubMed Central PMC4040246.
  26. Togao, O, Kessinger, CW, Huang, G, Soesbe, TC, Sagiyama, K, Dimitrov, I et al.. Characterization of lung cancer by amide proton transfer (APT) imaging: an in-vivo study in an orthotopic mouse model. PLoS One. 2013;8 (10):e77019. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0077019. PubMed PMID:24143199 PubMed Central PMC3797134.
  27. Saxena, A, Kessinger, CW, Thompson, B, McCarthy, JR, Iwamoto, Y, Lin, CP et al.. High-resolution optical mapping of inflammatory macrophages following endovascular arterial injury. Mol Imaging Biol. 2013;15 (3):282-9. doi: 10.1007/s11307-012-0599-2. PubMed PMID:23090852 PubMed Central PMC3650124.
  28. Ripplinger, CM, Kessinger, CW, Li, C, Kim, JW, McCarthy, JR, Weissleder, R et al.. Inflammation modulates murine venous thrombosis resolution in vivo: assessment by multimodal fluorescence molecular imaging. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2012;32 (11):2616-24. doi: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.112.251983. PubMed PMID:22995524 PubMed Central PMC3516622.
  29. Hara, T, Bhayana, B, Thompson, B, Kessinger, CW, Khatri, A, McCarthy, JR et al.. Molecular imaging of fibrin deposition in deep vein thrombosis using fibrin-targeted near-infrared fluorescence. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. 2012;5 (6):607-15. doi: 10.1016/j.jcmg.2012.01.017. PubMed PMID:22698530 PubMed Central PMC3376390.
  30. Kessinger, CW, Togao, O, Khemtong, C, Huang, G, Takahashi, M, Gao, J et al.. Investigation of In Vivo Targeting Kinetics of α(v)β(3)-Specific Superparamagnetic Nanoprobes by Time-Resolved MRI. Theranostics. 2011;1 :263-73. doi: 10.7150/thno/v01p0263. PubMed PMID:21562632 PubMed Central PMC3092449.
  31. Khemtong, C, Togao, O, Ren, J, Kessinger, CW, Takahashi, M, Sherry, AD et al.. Off-resonance saturation MRI of superparamagnetic nanoprobes: theoretical models and experimental validations. J Magn Reson. 2011;209 (1):53-60. doi: 10.1016/j.jmr.2010.12.013. PubMed PMID:21277813 PubMed Central PMC3045750.
  32. Ding, H, Sumer, BD, Kessinger, CW, Dong, Y, Huang, G, Boothman, DA et al.. Nanoscopic micelle delivery improves the photophysical properties and efficacy of photodynamic therapy of protoporphyrin IX. J Control Release. 2011;151 (3):271-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jconrel.2011.01.004. PubMed PMID:21232562 PubMed Central PMC3101298.
  33. Kessinger, CW, Khemtong, C, Togao, O, Takahashi, M, Sumer, BD, Gao, J et al.. In vivo angiogenesis imaging of solid tumors by alpha(v)beta(3)-targeted, dual-modality micellar nanoprobes. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2010;235 (8):957-65. doi: 10.1258/ebm.2010.010096. PubMed PMID:20660096 .
  34. Cohen, EM, Ding, H, Kessinger, CW, Khemtong, C, Gao, J, Sumer, BD et al.. Polymeric micelle nanoparticles for photodynamic treatment of head and neck cancer cells. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2010;143 (1):109-15. doi: 10.1016/j.otohns.2010.03.032. PubMed PMID:20620628 .
  35. Blanco, E, Bey, EA, Khemtong, C, Yang, SG, Setti-Guthi, J, Chen, H et al.. Beta-lapachone micellar nanotherapeutics for non-small cell lung cancer therapy. Cancer Res. 2010;70 (10):3896-904. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-09-3995. PubMed PMID:20460521 PubMed Central PMC2873165.
  36. Khemtong, C, Kessinger, CW, Togao, O, Ren, J, Takahashi, M, Sherry, AD et al.. Off-resonance saturation magnetic resonance imaging of superparamagnetic polymeric micelles. Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2009;2009 :4095-7. doi: 10.1109/IEMBS.2009.5334550. PubMed PMID:19964823 PubMed Central PMC2821283.
  37. Guthi, JS, Yang, SG, Huang, G, Li, S, Khemtong, C, Kessinger, CW et al.. MRI-visible micellar nanomedicine for targeted drug delivery to lung cancer cells. Mol Pharm. 2010;7 (1):32-40. doi: 10.1021/mp9001393. PubMed PMID:19708690 PubMed Central PMC2891983.
  38. Khemtong, C, Kessinger, CW, Gao, J. Polymeric nanomedicine for cancer MR imaging and drug delivery. Chem Commun (Camb). 2009; (24):3497-510. doi: 10.1039/b821865j. PubMed PMID:19521593 PubMed Central PMC2850565.
  39. Khemtong, C, Kessinger, CW, Ren, J, Bey, EA, Yang, SG, Guthi, JS et al.. In vivo off-resonance saturation magnetic resonance imaging of alphavbeta3-targeted superparamagnetic nanoparticles. Cancer Res. 2009;69 (4):1651-8. doi: 10.1158/0008-5472.CAN-08-3231. PubMed PMID:19190328 PubMed Central PMC2821739.
  40. Blanco, E, Kessinger, CW, Sumer, BD, Gao, J. Multifunctional micellar nanomedicine for cancer therapy. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2009;234 (2):123-31. doi: 10.3181/0808-MR-250. PubMed PMID:19064945 PubMed Central PMC2864888.
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Research Assistant

Chase Kessinger, Ph.D.

Chase Kessinger, Ph.D.

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