Cassie J Rowe

PhD

Department of Primary Appointment:
School of Medicine
Surgery
Title
Research Assistant Professor
Location: Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD
Research Interests:
blast, severe musculoskeletal tissue loss and trauma, hemorrhagic shock, burn injury, and neurotrauma
Email
cassie.rowe.ctr@usuhs.edu
Office Phone
301-295-3726

Education

2019 PhD American University, Washington D.C.
2016 M.S. American University, Washington D.C.
2014 B.S. Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY

Biography

Dr. Cassie J. Rowe is a Research Assistant Professor with a primary appointment in the Department of Surgery and a secondary appointment in the Neuroscience Program at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU). She is also an Investigator within the Surgical Critical Care Initiative (SC2i). Prior to joining SC2i in November 2025, Dr. Rowe served as a Staff Scientist with the Henry M. Jackson Foundation (HJF) within the Cellular Biology and Regenerative Medicine Program.

Dr. Rowe’s research bridges a foundational background in molecular neuroscience with highly translational surgical critical care. Her laboratory is fundamentally driven by the desire to understand the systemic biological responses to severe polytrauma. Specifically, she investigates how peripheral injuries—such as severe extremity trauma, hemorrhage, and tourniquet-induced ischemia—drive immune modulation, coagulopathy, and remote organ dysfunction. A major focus of her current research explores systemic-to-central nervous system cross-talk, characterizing how trauma-induced systemic inflammation acts as a critical mediator of secondary brain injury. By leveraging robust preclinical mammalian models alongside SC2i’s comprehensive human clinical biospecimen repository, her team works bidirectionally to translate mechanistic findings into the clinical trauma space.

Before transitioning into surgical trauma research in 2019, Dr. Rowe established a strong foundation in basic molecular biology and neuroscience. She earned her Ph.D. in Behavior, Cognition, and Neuroscience from American University in 2019, following her M.S. in Biology. Her early work utilized diverse model systems to explore the long-term complications of metabolic and environmental stress on the central nervous system. Today, she applies this rigorous methodological framework, including advanced in vivo surgical models and downstream multi-omic bioinformatics, to military-relevant injuries. Her ultimate goal is to identify early shared biomarkers (such as NGAL) and targeted therapeutics that resolve damaging inflammation, stabilize the microvasculature, and promote tissue regeneration for critically injured service members and civilians.

Representative Bibliography

Biosketch Link
Publications

Killingsworth ZK, Chaudhary M, Mares JA, Ellery H, Rowe CJ, Stewart IJ, Walker PF, Burmeister DM. Mitigation of Ischemia/Reperfusion-Induced Acute Kidney Injury by Canagliflozin Is Associated with Altered Mitochondrial Dynamics and Reduced Proliferation in Swine. Biomolecules. 2026 Feb 10;16(2):279. doi: 10.3390/biom16020279. PMID: 41750349; PMCID: PMC12938736.

Rowe CJ, Nwaolu U, Spreadborough PJ, Davis TA. Neutrophil Gelatinase-Associated Lipocalin: A Shared Early Biomarker of Remote Organ Dysfunction in Blast-Induced Extremity Trauma. Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Aug 12;26(16):7794. doi: 10.3390/ijms26167794. PMID: 40869116; PMCID: PMC12386635.

Rowe CJ, Nwaolu U, Martin L, Huang BJ, Mang J, Salinas D, Schlaff CD, Ghenbot S, Lansford JL, Potter BK, Schobel SA, Gann ER, Davis TA. Systemic inflammation following traumatic injury and its impact on neuroinflammatory gene expression in the rodent brain. J Neuroinflammation. 2024 Aug 28;21(1):211. doi: 10.1186/s12974-024-03205-5. PMID: 39198925; PMCID: PMC11360339.

Rowe CJ, Nwaolu U, Salinas D, Hong J, Nunez J, Lansford JL, McCarthy CF, Potter BK, Levi BH, Davis TA. Inhibition of focal adhesion kinase 2 results in a macrophage polarization shift to M2 which attenuates local and systemic inflammation and reduces heterotopic ossification after polysystem extremity trauma. Front Immunol. 2023 Dec 5;14:1280884. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1280884. PMID: 38116014; PMCID: PMC10728492.

Rowe CJ, Mang J, Huang B, Dommaraju K, Potter BK, Schobel SA, Gann ER, Davis TA. Systemic inflammation induced from remote extremity trauma is a critical driver of secondary brain injury. Mol Cell Neurosci. 2023 Sep;126:103878. doi: 10.1016/j.mcn.2023.103878. Epub 2023 Jul 12. PMID: 37451414.

Dragon AH, Rowe CJ, Rhodes AM, Pak OL, Davis TA, Ronzier E. Systematic Identification of the Optimal Housekeeping Genes for Accurate Transcriptomic and Proteomic Profiling of Tissues following Complex Traumatic Injury. Methods Protoc. 2023 Feb 23;6(2):22. doi: 10.3390/mps6020022. PMID: 36961042; PMCID: PMC10037587.

Rowe CJ, Walsh SA, Dragon AH, Rhodes AM, Pak OL, Ronzier E, Levi B, Potter BK, Spreadborough PJ, Davis TA. Tourniquet-induced ischemia creates increased risk of organ dysfunction and mortality following delayed limb amputation. Injury. 2023 Mar 4:S0020-1383(23)00179-1. doi: 10.1016/j.injury.2023.02.047. Epub ahead of print.

Rowe CJ, Delbridge-Perry M, Bonan NF, Cohen A, Bentley M, DeCicco-Skinner KL, Davidson T, Connaughton VP. Time dependent effects of prolonged hyperglycemia in zebrafish brain and retina. Front Ophthalmol (Lausanne). 2022 Aug 25;2:947571. doi: 10.3389/fopht.2022.947571. PMID: 38983568; PMCID: PMC11182107.