Program Enrichment

Dr. Antentor Hinton, Jr. is the Ernest E. Just Early Career Investigator in the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at Vanderbilt University and serves as the Director of the Organelle Center Lab at Meharry Medical College. His research program uses advanced imaging techniques, such as SBF-SEM and FIB-SEM, to investigate mitochondrial and ER interactions in the context of diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases.

Dr. Hinton’s team explores the molecular mechanisms and neural circuits that regulate blood pressure, baroreflex sensitivity, and stroke. Using genetically engineered mouse models through Cre-Lox recombination, they manipulate nuclear transcription factors (ERα/β, SRC1–3) and mitochondrial genes including OPA-1 and components of the MICOS complex within defined neuronal populations.

He was recently recognized with a Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Science Leadership Award for his work on 3D reconstruction of mitochondria and other organelles. Dr. Hinton completed postdoctoral training in the lab of Dr. E. Dale Abel, where he uncovered mechanisms of insulin regulation of OPA-1 in muscle and brain. He is a former Burroughs Wellcome Fund Postdoctoral Enrichment Scholar, EE Just Postgraduate Fellow, and Ford Foundation Fellow.

To date, Dr. Hinton has published 133 scientific articles, received 60 awards, and delivered over 200 invited talks. As an African American male and the first in his family to earn a Ph.D., he is deeply committed to mentorship. He has mentored more than 90 individuals across all levels of training, including graduate and medical students, postbacs, undergraduates, residents, and postdoctoral fellows.

Dr. Hinton currently supervises 2 visiting faculty, 1 research instructor, 1 staff scientist, 2 postdocs, 3 technicians, 3 graduate students, 2 postbac students, and 10 undergraduates. At the Organelle Center, he mentors 1 Research Assistant Professor, 2 research instructors, 1 technician, and 1 graduate student.

His mentorship philosophy is grounded in data-driven strategies—such as quotients, Individual Development Plans, and career development workshops—to enable personalized, timely growth. This approach has yielded exceptional outcomes: his undergraduate mentees have received Fulbright and Marshall scholarships, medical students have matched into prestigious residency programs including at Yale, and postdocs have secured faculty positions, including at James Madison University.