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Ashley C. Johnson, PhD, MS

Ashley C. Johnson, PhD, MS

Assistant Professor

Department:
SOM-Cell and Molecular Biology

Email:
acjohnson2@umc.edu

Work Phone:
(601) 984-1629

Biography

Ashley C. Johnson, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cell and Molecular Biology. Her research interests include genetic factors that predispose organisms to hypertension, kidney injury and chronic kidney disease. She is also interested in examining physiological effects of epigenetic modifications and transcriptomic changes involved in preeclampsia.

Dr. Johnson is an experienced molecular biologist with training in multiple genomics applications. She has worked within the Molecular and Genomics Core Facility at UMMC since it was established in 2010. Her research endeavors focus on a variety of assays, including bulk and single cell/nuclei RNA sequencing, spatial transcriptomics, methylation and whole-genome sequencing.

After receiving her BS in Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Dr. Johnson began her research career as a lab assistant at Vanderbilt University under Dr. Robert Coffey. Her research experience continued under the mentorship of Dr. Michael Garrett in 2010 at UMMC. She continued her education, receiving her MS in Biomedical Sciences and PhD in Experimental Therapeutics and Pharmacology at UMMC. Her current research focuses on the genetics of hypertension and preeclampsia, while utilized her vast background in genetic models and next-generation sequencing techniques, to identify biomarkers and novel therapeutic targets.

Education

University of Mississippi Medical Center, PhD, Experimental Therapeutics & Pharmacology2025
University of Mississippi Medical Center, MS, Biomedical Sciences2015
University of Wisconsin-Platteville, BS, Biology2008

Current Positions

Assistant Professor, School of Medicine07/2025 - Present
The University of Mississippi Medical Center
Jackson, Mississippi 39216

Publications

Method/Experimental Technique

Peterson SM, Wang X, Johnson AC, Coate ID, Garrett MR, Didion SP Estimation of Nephron Number in Whole Kidney using the Acid Maceration Method2019

Journal Article

Wu W, Challagundla L, Milner AR, Garrett MR, Johnson AC Systemic and Proximal Tubule Specific Knockout of Arhgef11 and Impact on Hypertension and Kidney Injury Physiological Genomics. 2026 Jun 1. doi: 10.1152/physiolgenomics.00299.2025. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 42222933.2026
Milner AR, Johnson AC, Attipoe EM, Wu W, Challagundla L, Garrett MR Methylseq, single-nuclei RNAseq, and discovery proteomics identify pathways associated with nephron-deficit CKD in the HSRA rat model Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2025 Apr 1;328(4):F470-F488. doi: 10.1152/ajprenal.00258.2024. Epub 2025 Feb 21. PMID: 39982494; PMCID: PMC12224070.2025
Younes ST, Showmaker K, Johnson AC, Garrett MR, Ryan MJ Single cell RNA sequencing reveals ferritin as a key mediator of autoimmune pre-disposition in a mouse model of systemic lupus erythematosus2021
Cobb MB, Wu W, Attipoe EM, Johnson AC, Garrett MR Nephron-deficient HSRA rats exhibit renal injury with age but have limited renal damage from streptozotocin-induced hyperglycemia2021
Ishimwe JA, Akinleye A, Johnson AC, Garrett MR, Sasser JM Gestational gut microbial remodeling is impaired in a rat model of preeclampsia superimposed on chronic hypertension2021
Keele GR, Prokop JW, He H, Holl K, Littrell J, Deal AW, Kim Y, Kyle PB, Attipoe E, Johnson AC, Uhl KL, Sirpilla OL, Jahanbakhsh S, Robinson M, Levy S, Valdar W, Garrett MR, Solberg Woods LC Sept8/SEPTIN8 involvement in cellular structure and kidney damage is identified by genetic mapping and a novel human tubule hypoxic model2021
Turbeville HR, Johnson AC, Garrett MR, Dent EL, Sasser JM Nitric oxide and oxidative stress pathways do not contribute to sex differences in renal injury and function in Dahl SS/Jr rats Physiol Rep. 2020 Jul;8(13):e14440. doi: 10.14814/phy2.14440. PMID: 32652814; PMCID: PMC73540912020
Turbeville HR, Johnson AC, Garrett MR, Sasser JM Sildenafil Citrate Does Not Reprogram Risk of Hypertension and Chronic Kidney Disease in Offspring of Preeclamptic Pregnancies in the Dahl SS/Jr Rat Kidney360. 2020 Apr 17;1(6):510-520. doi: 10.34067/KID.0001062020. PMID: 35368603; PMCID: PMC88093122020
McPherson KC, Shields CA, Poudel B, Johnson AC, Taylor L, Stubbs C, Nichols A, Cornelius DC, Garrett MR, Williams JM Altered renal hemodynamics is associated with glomerular lipid accumulation in obese Dahl salt-sensitive leptin receptor mutant rats2020
Johnson AC, Wu W, Attipoe EM, Sasser JM, Taylor EB, Showmaker KC, Kyle PB, Lindsey ML, Garrett MR Loss of Arhgef11 in the Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rat Protects Against Hypertension-Induced Renal Injury. Hypertension 2020 Apr;75(4):1012-1024. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.119.14338. Epub 2020 Mar 9. PMID: 32148127; PMCID: PMC81678182020
Showmaker KC, Cobb MB, Johnson AC, Yang W, Garrett MR Whole genome sequencing and novel candidate genes for CAKUT and altered nephrogenesis in the HSRA rat2020
Maeda KJ, Showmaker KC, Johnson AC, Garrett MR, Sasser JM Spontaneous superimposed preeclampsia: chronology and expression unveiled by temporal transcriptomic analysis2019
Zhou Y, Castonguay P, Sidhom EH, Clark AR, Dvela-Levitt M, Kim S, Sieber J, Wieder N, Jung JY, Andreeva S, Reichardt J, Dubois F, Hoffmann SC, Basgen JM, Montesinos MS, Weins A, Johnson AC, Lander ES, Garrett MR, Hopkins CR, Greka A A small-molecule inhibitor of TRPC5 ion channels suppresses progressive kidney disease in animal models2017
McPherson KC, Taylor L, Johnson AC, Didion SP, Geurts AM, Garrett MR, Williams JM Early development of podocyte injury independently of hyperglycemia and elevations in arterial pressure in nondiabetic obese Dahl SS leptin receptor mutant rats2016
Wang X, Johnson AC, Sasser JM, Williams JM, Solberg Woods LC, Garrett MR Spontaneous one-kidney rats are more susceptible to develop hypertension by DOCA-NaCl and subsequent kidney injury compared with uninephrectomized rats Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2016 May 1;310(10):F1054-64. doi: 10.1152/ajprenal.00555.2015. Epub 2016 Mar 2. PMID: 26936874; PMCID: PMC50020612016
Jia Z, Johnson AC, Wang X, Guo Z, Dreisbach AW, Lewin JR, Kyle PB, Garrett MR Allelic Variants in Arhgef11 via the Rho-Rock Pathway Are Linked to Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Contributes to Kidney Injury in the Dahl Salt-Sensitive Rat PLoS One. 2015 Jul 14;10(7):e0132553. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0132553. PMID: 26172442; PMCID: PMC45015672015
Wang X, Johnson AC, Williams JM, White T, Chade AR, Zhang J, Liu R, Roman RJ, Lee JW, Kyle PB, Solberg-Woods L, Garrett MR Nephron Deficiency and Predisposition to Renal Injury in a Novel One-Kidney Genetic Model J Am Soc Nephrol. 2015 Jul;26(7):1634-46. doi: 10.1681/ASN.2014040328. Epub 2014 Oct 27. PMID: 25349207; PMCID: PMC44835802014
Westbrook L, Johnson AC, Regner KR, Williams JM, Mattson DL, Kyle PB, Henegar JR, Garrett MR Genetic susceptibility and loss of Nr4a1 enhances macrophage-mediated renal injury in CKD J Am Soc Nephrol. 2014 Nov;25(11):2499-510. doi: 10.1681/ASN.2013070786. Epub 2014 Apr 10. PMID: 24722447; PMCID: PMC42145192014
Johnson AC, Lee JW, Harmon AC, Morris Z, Wang X, Fratkin J, Rapp JP, Gomez-Sanchez E, Garrett MR A mutation in the start codon of γ-crystallin D leads to nuclear cataracts in the Dahl SS/Jr-Ctr strain Mamm Genome. 2013 Apr;24(3-4):95-104. doi: 10.1007/s00335-013-9447-1. Epub 2013 Feb 13. PMID: 23404175; PMCID: PMC36289382013
Williams JM, Johnson AC, Stelloh C, Dreisbach AW, Franceschini N, Regner KR, Townsend RR, Roman RJ, Garrett MR Genetic variants in Arhgef11 are associated with kidney injury in the Dahl salt-sensitive rat Hypertension. 2012 Nov;60(5):1157-68. doi: 10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.112.199240. Epub 2012 Sep 17. PMID: 22987919; PMCID: PMC35058842012
Regner KR, Harmon AC, Williams JM, Stelloh C, Johnson AC, Kyle PB, Lerch-Gaggl A, White SM, Garrett MR Increased susceptibility to kidney injury by transfer of genomic segment from SHR onto Dahl S genetic background2012

Honors, Awards, and Recognition

Member, Phi Kappa Phi2025
Graduate Research Poster Award, UMMC School of Graduate Studies2024
Meritorious Research Service-Staff, UMMC Excellence in Research2019

Committee Service

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE-GROUP ON WOMEN IN MEDICINE AND SCIENCE, Steering Committee Member2026 - Present
CMB Outreach Committee, Member2026 - Present

Other Service

Molecular and Genomics Core Facility, Associate Director05/2026 - Present

Directed Student Learning

Supervised Research, Advised: Imani Swann2026 - 2026
Dissertation Committee Chair, Advised: Farah Hamdad2026 - Present