Omaida C. Velazquez, M.D., F.A,C.S., obtained her B.S. from Stevens Institute of Technology and received her M.D. from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, where she graduated Valedictorian her class in 1991. She trained in General Surgery and Vascular Surgery at the University…
more of Pennsylvania where she joined the Faculty, board certified in General and Vascular Surgery and served eight years becoming Associate Professor with tenure. In 2007, Dr. Velazquez joined the University of Miami as Chief and Associate Professor of Surgery, and David Kimmelman Endowed Chair, Vascular & Endovascular Surgery Division. In her clinical services, Dr. Velazquez focuses on endovascular and open-surgical treatments of vascular diseases. As a surgeon-scientist, Dr. Velazquez is the PI of two NIH R01 awards and has made seminal contributions in the area of angiogenesis, vasculogenesis, and wound healing. She reported in the Journal Clinical Investigation three key discoveries: (1) Diabetes results in decreased eNOS phosphorolation within the bone marrow, thus reducing mobilization of endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), (2) Diabetes results in downregulation of Stromal Derived Growth Factor 1 alpha (SDF-1α) within wounds, thus decreasing EPC homing to wounds, and (3) these two key diabetes-associated impairments in wound healing and neovascularization may be reversed by the combination of systemic hyperoxia and wound SDF-1α injections. Dr. Velazquez’s novel contributions may revolutionize the treatments for unsolved diseases in the field of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery such as peripheral vascular disease, diabetic microangiopathy, and non-healing diabetic chronic wounds.
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