Department of Medicine Faculty Profile

Stephen Archer
Section of Cardiology
Professor of Medicine
Harold Hines Jr. Professor of Medicine; Chief, Section of Cardiology
e-mail: sarcher@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu
Referring Physician Access Line: 1-877-DOM-2730

Training:

Degree	Year	Institution	Area
BA	1977	Queens University at Kingston Faculty of Arts and Sciences	Arts and Science
MD	1981	Queen's University	Medicine
Internship	1982	Royal Colombian Hospital
Residency	1985	University of Minnesota	Internal Medicine
Fellowship	1988	University of Minnesota	Cardiology

Academic Interests:

Dr. Archer is an eminent clinical cardiologist and translational vascular biologist who studies mechanisms of oxygen sensing and develops experimental therapies for human diseases. His Translational Cardiovascular Research program explores the molecular basis for oxygen-sensing in two important blood vessels, the ductus arteriosus (DA) and pulmonary artery. Both arteries have similar, integrated O2-sensing systems that control vascular tone, consisting of a mitochondrial redox sensor, a diffusible mediator and an electrical effector (potassium and calcium channels). Dr. Archer and colleagues have made seminal contributions to understanding the mechanisms of hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction and oxygen-induced constriction of the ductus arteriosus. Dr. Archer also discovered a major mechanism of nitric oxide-induced vasorelaxation (activation of potassium channels) and has translated this basic science observation into a new treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension in humans (oral sildenafil). He and his colleagues have also patented the use of an oral pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase inhibitor as a potential treatment for several human cancers. Dr. Archer’s research strives for “Bench-Bedside” solutions for persistent DA, a common form of congenital heart disease, and pulmonary arterial hypertension, a fatal illness of young adults.

Clinical Interests:

Pulmonary hypertension, echocardiography and general cardiology (with a special interest in aortic valve disease). He is committed to enhancing the quality, efficiency and user friendliness of the University of Chicago Cardiology program for patients and referring doctors. These initiatives include building a Heart and Vascular Institute.

Representative Publications:

Weir EK, Lopez-Barneo J, Buckler KJ, Archer SL. Acute oxygen-sensing mechanisms. N Engl J Med 2005. 353:19:42-55.
Archer SL, Wu XC, Thebaud B, Nsair A, Bonnet S, Tyrrell B, McMurtry MS, Hashimoto K, Harry G, Michelakis ED 2004 Preferential expression and function of voltage-gated, O2-sensitive K+ channels in resistance pulmonary arteries explains regional heterogeneity in hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction: ionic diversity in smooth muscle cells. Circ Res 95:308-318.
Archer SL. The making of a physician-scientist--the process has a pattern: lessons from the lives of Nobel laureates in medicine and physiology. Eur Heart J.2007;28(4):510-514.
Bonnet S, Archer SL,Allalunis-Turner J,Haromy A,Beaulieu C,Thompson R,Lee CT,Lopaschuk GD,Puttagunta L,Bonnet S,Harry G,Hashimoto K,Porter CJ,Andrade MA,Thebaud B,Michelakis ED. A mitochondria-K+ channel axis is suppressed in cancer and its normalization promotes apoptosis and inhibits cancer growth. Cancer Cell.2007;11(1):37-51.
Bonnet S, Michelakis ED, Porter CJ, Andrade-Navarro MA, Thebaud B, Bonnet S, Haromy A, Harry G, Moudgil R, McMurtry MS, Weir EK, Archer SL. An abnormal mitochondrial-hypoxia inducible factor-1alpha-Kv channel pathway disrupts oxygen sensing and triggers pulmonary arterial hypertension in fawn hooded rats: similarities to human pulmonary arterial hypertension. Circulation.2006;113:2630-2641