UK Receives $1.2 Million from American Heart Association for Research
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 10, 2013) — The American Heart Association has awarded eight research grants totaling $1.235 million to the University of Kentucky, including the UK Saha Cardiovascular Research Center and the UK College of Medicine. The goal of these studies is to aid in the development of new cardiovascular treatments to reduce deaths from heart disease and stroke.
“Financial support from the American Heart Association has been an important component in the development of the expansive group of cardiovascular researchers at UK,” said Dr. Alan Daugherty, director at the UK Saha Cardiovascular Research Center. “Over the years, their support has been invaluable in promoting the careers of many graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty members.”
A $308,000 grant has been awarded to Bradley Gelfand, assistant professor in the Department of Opthalmology and Visual Sciences, to continue his work with atherosclerotic plaques in artery walls and how RNA molecules found in these areas may contribute to the disease. His work will continue to be funded through June, 2017.
A $308,000 grant has been awarded to Frederique Yiannikouris, research assistant professor in the Graduate Center for Nutritional Sciences, to understand the mechanism of obesity induced hypertension and Type 2 Diabetes. This work will continue to be funded through June, 2017.
A $150,000 grant has been awarded to Michael Murphy, associate professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, to study the effects of metabolic disease and its link to mid-life obesity. The goal is to develop new procedures to reduce the risk of stroke and diabetes. This work will continue to be funded through 2014.
A $140,000 grant has been awarded to Florin Despa, associate professor of pharmacology, to study how elevated blood levels of amylin accumulate in the heart and how it can be prevented. The work will continue to be funded through June, 2015.
A $132,000 grant has been awarded to Venkateswaran Subramanian, research assistant professor in the Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, for his work on studying the functional role of a molecule called calpain. This molecule has been known to increase a patient’s risk of atherosclerosis, or the hardening of the arteries. This work will continue to be funded through 2014.
A $93,000 grant has been awarded to Marina Falaleeva, post-doctoral fellow in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, to study the genetics behind a person’s likelihood to regain weight after weight loss. This work will continue to be funded through June, 2015.
A $52,000 grant has been awarded to Michael Petriello, graduate student in the Graduate Center for Nutritional Sciences, to study how special fatty acids found in foods like healthy fish can help prevent heart disease. This work will continue to be funded through June, 2015.
A $52,000 grant has been awarded to Wei Zhang, graduate student in the Graduate Center for Toxicology, to help understand and develop new approaches to reduce the risk of cardiotoxicity as a patient undergoes chemotherapy. This work 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.”
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Allison Elliott-Shannon, University of Kentucky, Allison.Elliott@uky.edu
Matt Rountree, American Heart Association, Matt.Rountree@heart.org