American Heart Association awards over $400,000 to UK for Cardiovascular Research
LEXINGTON, Ky. (September 8, 2015) – The University of Kentucky has been awarded research grants totaling over $400,000 by the American Heart Association.
These grants will fund research within the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Saha Cardiovascular Research Center .
The grants are:
A $52,000 grant was awarded to Hua Qing, post-doctoral fellow of Dr. Dennis Bruemmer, Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, to study how telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) contributes to the development of atherosclerosis.
A $15,162 grant was awarded to Ellen Hahn, PhD, RN, University of Kentucky College of Nursing, for her work in rural Kentucky communities in developing a smoke-free policy and advance some free policies throughout the entire state.
A $52,000 grant was awarded to Hye Jang, post-doctoral fellow of Dr. Emilia Galperin, Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, for her work in studying scaffold protein Shoc2, and its relationship with the development of congenital heart disease.
An $89,000 grant was awarded to Leryn Reynolds, post-doctoral fellow of Dr. Kevin Pearson, Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, for her work in examining mechanisms of metabolic programming to in utero exposure to smoke in humans and the critical timeframe of smoke exposure in relation to metabolic and obesity profiles.
A $52,000 grant was awarded to Joshi Smita, post-doctoral fellow of Dr. Sidney Whiteheart, for her research in studying a family of proteins which regulate platelet functions. Her study will determine the roles of three members of the SNARE protein family in platelet biology regarding cardiovascular functions.
A $154,000 grant was awarded to Kenneth Campbell, PhD, Department of Physiology, Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, for his work in determining how collagen impacts the power developed by myocardial samples from failing and non-failing hearts, whether treatment with a ventricular assist device produces region-specific effects, and how transmural patterns of myocardial function impact global ventricular function.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. The Gill Heart Institute’s Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, and University of Kentucky College of Medicine, partnered with the American Heart Association, has a solid commitment to finding a cure for heart disease. Through the AHA’s grants, our team is able to make advancements on accomplishing this goal.