Dr. Chitaley received her PhD from the Department of Physiology at the University of Michigan under the guidance of the internationally known hypertension expert, Dr. Clinton Webb. Her post-doctoral training was conducted at the Department of Surgery at the University of Washington under the mentorship of the Dr. Alexander Clowes. Dr. Chitaley's research background is in mechanisms of vascular contraction, migration and proliferation, especially as they pertain to pathologies such as hypertension, restenosis and erectile dysfunction. Her research focus is on mechanisms of vascular dysfunction in the context of insults such as diabetes and chronic air pollution exposure. Projects in the laboratory range from general vascular reactivity pertinent to hypertension to mechanisms of vascular dysfunction underlying diabetic-erectile dysfunction. The ultimate goal of her research is to improve vascular health through the identification of potential novel therapeutic targets for clinical application. Dr. Chitaley is currently funded through various NIH grants (NIDDK and NIEHS), including an R01 grant aimed at studying the role of elastin in veno-occlusive function. Dr. Chitaley is a member of the Awards Committee for the American Physiologic Society and is on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Urology. She has more than 25 publications and book chapters and has presented her work at national and international conferences. Dr. Chitaley has also been the recipient of young investigator awards from the American Physiological Society, Society for Basic Urologic Research and Merck, as well as awards from the Sexual Medicine Society, International Society for Impotence Research, American Society for Investigative Pathology, the University of Washington, and the Medical College of Georgia.
