Dr. Raquibul Hasan
Associate Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Education
- Postdoctoral Fellow, Vascular Physiology, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
- Ph.D. in Pharmacology, University of Cambridge
- M.S. in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Jahangirnagar University
- B.Pharm, Jahangirnagar University
Research Background and Interests
Dr. Raquibul Hasan is a tenured Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences at Mercer University College of Pharmacy, with a joint appointment in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Mercer University School of Medicine. Before joining Mercer in 2018, he earned his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Cambridge, UK, and completed postdoctoral training in vascular biology at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, supported by an American Heart Association (AHA) fellowship. The Hasan Laboratory of Cardiovascular Pharmacology and Therapeutics is dedicated to discovering and developing new therapies for cardiopulmonary, metabolic, and cerebrovascular diseases. We focus on ion channels, G-protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs), and their signaling pathways as drug targets, with the goal of discovering novel therapeutics and repurposing existing drugs to improve vascular dysfunction in conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, pulmonary hypertension, cognitive decline, and stroke.
A central theme of our work is the endothelin (ET) system, which plays a critical role in diseases driven by excessive endothelin-1 (ET-1) production. Our long-term goal is to develop first-in-class therapeutics that not only block ET-1 receptor overstimulation but also reduce ET-1 overproduction—a strategy with transformative potential for treating drug-resistant hypertension, obesity-induced diabetes and insulin resistance, and pulmonary hypertension. Beyond ET-1, the lab also investigates bioactive natural products, including metabolites produced by the gut microbiome, and commonly used FDA-approved drugs such as statins, to better understand their beneficial and adverse cardiovascular effects and to guide more personalized therapy.
We use an integrative, multidisciplinary approach that spans in silico drug discovery, in vitrovalidation, and mechanistic studies with genetic, biophysical, biochemical, molecular, and cell biology techniques. Our research extends beyond the cardiovascular system to explore how the immune system and gut microbiome influence both cardiovascular and brain health. The Hasan Lab is currently funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the American Heart Association (AHA).
We actively collaborate within Mercer, regionally with Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology, and internationally with the University of Cambridge, UK. Together, we aim to translate mechanistic insights into innovative therapies that address today’s most pressing cardiovascular health challenges.
Courses
- PHA 329 Pharmacy Fundamentals
- PHA 463 Cardiovascular and Renal Pharmacotherapy I
- PHA 464 Cardiovascular and Renal Pharmacotherapy II
- PHA 537 Gastrointestinal and Musculoskeletal Pharmacotherapy
- PHA 547 Nervous System Pharmacotherapy
- PHA 799 Thesis Research
- PHA 899 Doctoral Research