American Heart Association Awards $1.26 Million to UK for Cardiovascular Research

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 9, 2014) – The University of Kentucky has been awarded research grants totaling $1.26 million by The American Heart Association.

The nine grants will fund research underway at the Gill Heart Institute's Saha Cardiovascular Research Center and the University of Kentucky College of Medicine.

“The support of the American Heart Association greatly augments the cardiovascular research environment at the University of Kentucky. We are particularly appreciative of the focus on our trainees and early career faculty,” said Dr. Alan Daugherty, director at the UK Saha Cardiovascular Research Center. 

The grants are:

A $308,000 grant to Charles Chung, Ph.D., UK Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, to study what controls how fast the heart relaxes, which relates to controlling blood pressure.. This research will continue to be funded through June 2018. 

A $231,000 grant to Binggang Xiang, Ph.D., UK Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, to study how platelets can also regulate inflammatory response and protect against septic shock. This research will continue to be funded through June 2017. 

A $154,000 grant to Sabire Ozcan, Ph.D., UK Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, to study insulin secretion from the pancreas, and the cardiovascular complications associated with diabetes. This research will continue to be funded through June 2016. 

A $154,000 grant to Moriel Vandsburger, Ph.D., UK Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, to study the emergence of fibrotic tissue, which can accelerate many common chronic diseases including hypertension and diabetes. This research will continue to be funded through June 2016. 

A $154,000 grant to Zhenyu Li, Ph.D., UK Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, to understand whether plasma natriuretic peptides play a role in the creation of cardiovascular disease. The research will continue to be funded through June 2016.

A $93,000 grant to Janet Manning, Ph.D., UK Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, to study a protein called Rad and how removing this protein protects the heart from long-term consequences of heart attacks. This research will continue to be funded through June 2016. 

A $91,000 grant to Linyuan Jing, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, to understand the link between obesity and death due to heart disease. This research will continue to be funded through June 2016.

A $52,000 grant to Yasir Alsiraj, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, to understand why women are less susceptible than men to Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms. This research will continue to be funded through June 2016. 

A $26,000 grant to Yu Wang, University of Kentucky College of Medicine, to study the link between hypertension in women, menopause and obesity. This research will continue to be funded through June 2015. 

“One of the primary goals of the American Heart Association is to provide the necessary funding for state-of-the-art cardiovascular research and treatments,” said Joey Maggard, Executive Director of the Central Kentucky Chapter of the American Heart Association. “We are pleased to offer our support to the University of Kentucky’s research projects, and we look forward to seeing the new medical advances that are developed.”