Faculty Mentors & Research Areas
Over the course of ten weeks during the summer, each fellow works closely with a faculty mentor on a cardiovascular research project. Since our fellowship program launched in 2020, we have partnered with 25+ faculty in over 20 research areas across VCU. Below is a sampling of past faculty mentors, their research areas, and examples of research projects past fellows have pursued under the faculty member’s mentorship. A full list of 2024 faculty mentors and areas of research will be provided to applicants in the application portal for each program. Students are then required to rank their top three choices of faculty to be paired with for the summer.
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Mentor Name |
Mentor Research Areas |
Project |
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Dr. Bernard Fuemmeler, PhD, MPH Professor Department of Health Behavior and Policy
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obesity, nutrition, physical activity, sedentary activity, epidemiology, statistical analyses, psychosocial factors |
“Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Childhood Obesity and Obesity-Related Behaviors” The student will help the laboratory investigate racial and ethnic disparities in childhood obesity and obesity related behaviors, such as sedentary activity and poor nutrition. Students working in the lab will be exposed to epidemiological methods for examining these disparities using existing databases. The goal of this research will be to describe some of the social and/or psychological factors that may contribute to childhood obesity and explain the variation we see between different racial and ethnic groups. |
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Dr. Jordana Kron, MD Associate Professor Department of Internal Medicine Division of Cardiology
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cardiac arrhythmias, electrophysiology, implantable cardioverter defibrillators, sarcoidosis
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“Cardiac Sarcoidosis Consortium Registry” The Cardiac Sarcoidosis Consortium is an international multicenter collaboration co-founded in 2011 by VCU, University of Michigan and University of Colorado and has a prospective registry of more than 700 patients with cardiac sarcoidosis from 25 centers. The student will help to update the database for the enrolled patients from VCU and also devise a hypothesis and query the database to try to answer a question with the current data. |
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Dr. Cory Trankle, MD Assistant Professor Department of Internal Medicine Division of Cardiology
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exercise test, left atrium, cardiac imaging, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) |
“Atrial Function During Stress Testing” This project aims to evaluate the ability of the atria (top chambers of the heart) to increase their squeezing function (contractility) during exercise. Prior technological limitations have prevented clear imaging of the atria during exercise. However, with improvements in MRI technology, we are now able to collect images of the atria during exercise-based stress tests. This project will retrospectively evaluate the function of the atria during stress tests and compare that function to the individuals' ability to exercise. The student will trace the atria of the heart on the MRI videos during rest and exercise, as well as build databases with obtained measurements. |
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Dr. Edward Lesnefsky, MD Professor Department of Internal Medicine Division of Cardiology and Dr. Qun Chen, PhD Associate Professor Department of Internal Medicine Division of Cardiology |
Myocardial injury is increased in aged heart following heart attack and accelerates the transition to post-infarction heart failure. Aging-induced mitochondrial dysfunction augments cardiac injury during heart attack. My recent research is focused on studying the mechanisms by which aging leads to mitochondrial dysfunction. The ultimate goal is to find effective therapeutic approaches to decrease cardiac injury by improving mitochondrial function in aged population.
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Our research finds that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress contributes to mitochondrial dysfunction during aging. Complex I is a key component of mitochondrial respiratory chain. We find that key protein subunits of complex I are decreased by aging. calpain is a mitochondrial localized protease. Activation of calpain leads to degradation of complex I subunits during heart attack. Thus, our project is to study if ER stress activates mitochondria-localized calpain causing depletion of subunits of complex I that results in the age-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. Our recent study shows that chronic treatment using metformin can decrease the ER stress in aged hearts. Thus, we will study if chronic metformin treatment can protect complex I in aged hearts by decreasing mitochondrial calpain activation through attenuation of the ER stress. In addition, we will study if the restoration of mitochondrial function with chronic metformin feeding will decrease cardiac injury in the aged hearts following heart attack.
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Dr. Sangeeta Shah, MD Associate Professor Department of Internal Medicine
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Preventive Health, Middle School Education, Health awareness, Hypertension |
“TEACH BP” It has been shown that children can affect their parents’ awareness of health issues and influence their behavior. The PI of this study is collaborating with faculty in the VCU School of Education and with educators in the Hopewell public school system to provide an age appropriate didactic and experiential learning program on the topic of hypertension for 4th graders. Elementary students will learn how to measure the blood pressure of their adult caregivers and advise them on when to seek medical evaluation. The ultimate goal is to raise community awareness for a very common health concern. A summer intern for this project will participate in the planning and execution of the TEACH BP program in Hopewell schools, as well learning methods of data collection and analysis for this community engaged research project. |
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Dr. Alex Lucas, PhD Instructor Department of Health Behavior and Policy
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Cancer survivorship, Behavioral Interventions, Physical Activity, Quality of Life |
“Behavioral Exercise Training to Reduce Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Men Undergoing Androgen Deprivation Therapy” The student will assist us as we develop and refine a behavioral exercise training intervention, that can be remotely delivered to men from medically underserved communities diagnosed with prostate cancer. The goal of this research is to refine a behavioral exercise intervention to buffer the negative sequalae of treatment with ADT. The student will gain experience with functional exercise testing, and creating materials that will be delivered remotely to support exercise training. Students may also be involved in the collection of qualitative interview data to help understand the different experiences of patients who are attempting to adopt exercise while living in rural or urban areas. |
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Dr. Anindita Das, PhD Associate Professor Department of Internal Medicine Division of Cardiology |
Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, Myocardial pre/post-conditioning, Chemotherapeutic-induced cardiotoxicity, mTOR signaling, Cancer biology, Inflammation, Apoptosis, microRNAs
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Project 1: Role of miRNAs against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in diabetic heart We are interested to examine the contributions of miRNAs to heart pathology in the diabetic context, including a polycistronic miRNA cluster, miR-17-92. Using cardiomyocyte-specific diabetic miR-17-92 knockout/Knock-in mice, we will scrutinize the critical role of miR-17-92 in the setting of acute myocardial infarction in diabetic mice. Project 2: Effect of Combination Therapy (with PDE5-mTOR Inhibitors) in Attenuation of Chemotherapy/immunotherapy-induced Cardiotoxicity. Chemotherapeutic agents and immunotherapy cause systemic inflammation and serious multi-organ toxicity, including cardiotoxicity in many cancer patients. Our lab is also interested to examine the effect of a novel combination therapy (with PDE5-mTOR inhibitors) in attenuation of chemotherapy/immunotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity.
Students can learn basic Cardio-Oncology research skills by performing experiments in vitro cellular and molecular biology (cardiomyocytes and cancer cells) as well as in vivo (mouse) cardiotoxicity models.
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Dr. Salvatore Carbone, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Kinesiology & Health Sciences
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diet, nutrition, heart failure, obesity, diabetes, fitness |
“Unsaturated Fatty Acids to Improve Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Patients with Obesity and Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction” The project investigates the effects of a diet rich in healthy fats found in food like extra-virgin olive oil, nuts and avocado, in patients with obesity and heart failure. After received adequate training, the student will work with me directly on a daily basis to help with data collection, including collection of medical and nutritional data, and processing of blood samples, and will ultimately learn how to generate a research poster under my supervision. |
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Sponsor Name |
Sponsor Research Areas |
Project |
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Dr. Patricia Sime, MD, FRCP Professor and Chair Department of Internal Medicine |
Pulmonary fibrosis, interstitial lung disease, and chronic lung inflammatory disease |
“Assessing effectiveness of therapies in patients with fibrosing lung disease” We are building a database of patients with interstitial lung disease, including clinical data and samples obtained before and after the start of treatment. We seek to determine if treatments are effective in reducing disease burden, and if we can identify non-invasive biomarkers of treatment efficacy. The student will work with our team to enter patient data in a database, and to investigate whether therapies improve patient health, and whether efficacy is influenced by disease phenotype or other patient characteristics. The student will also do some biomarker testing of biological samples to determine if biomarkers correlate with clinical outcomes.
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Dr. Bernard Fuemmeler, PhD, MPH Professor Department of Health Behavior and Policy
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Obesity, nutrition, physical activity, sedentary activity, epidemiology, statistical analyses, psychosocial factors
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“Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Childhood Obesity and Obesity-Related Behaviors” The student will help the laboratory investigate racial and ethnic disparities in childhood obesity and obesity related behaviors, such as sedentary activity and poor nutrition. Students working in the lab will be exposed to epidemiological methods for examining these disparities using existing databases. The goal of this research will be to describe some of the social and/or psychological factors that may contribute to childhood obesity and explain the variation we see between different racial and ethnic groups. |
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Dr. John Wilson, MD, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Biomedical Engineering
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Cardiovascular mechanics, MRI, aortic aneurysms, image analysis
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Aortic diseases, like aneurysms and dissections, remain a significant challenge to treat for each unique patient. New magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques allow researchers to collect large amounts of data about the biomechanical properties of the aortic wall and the flowing blood that could help meet this need. This project will involve learning about these properties, how to calculate them from MRI data using custom MATLAB programs and commercial software, and then statistically compare the results between healthy patients and those with various aortic diseases like hypertension and Marfan Syndrome.
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Dr. Frank Raucci, MD, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Pediatrics
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Pediatric cardiology, cardiomyopathy, neuromuscular cardiology, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, ion channels
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"Targeting Pannexin 1 as a Novel Mechanism for Arrhythmia and Fibrosis in Duchenne Cardiomyopathy" The primary focus of our lab is using basic and translational studies to probe the understanding of the role of ion channels in the development of arrhythmia and fibrosis in pediatric and young adult cardiomyopathies and heart failure. One of the main projects is understanding the role of the large conductance channel, pannexin 1, in the pathophysiology of Duchenne cardiomyopathy. We use mouse and induced pluripotent stem cell models to understand the underlying mechanisms of this process. Team members will learn basic laboratory skills, allowing them to perform acquisition and analysis of data from biological models and formulate a mentored abstract at the conclusion of the rotation.
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Dr. Anindita Das, PhD Associate Professor Department of Internal Medicine Division of Cardiology |
Myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury, Myocardial pre/post-conditioning, Chemotherapeutic-induced cardiotoxicity, mTOR signaling, Cancer biology, Inflammation, Apoptosis, microRNAs
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“Cardioprotective role of miR-17-92 against myocardial ischemia/reperfusion injury in diabetic heart” We are interested to examine the contributions of miRNAs to heart pathology in the diabetic context, including a polycistronic miRNA cluster, miR-17-92. Dysregulation of miR-17-92 was shown to cause lethal cardiovascular diseases, including cardiomyopathy, arrhythmias, and cardiac hypertrophy. To scrutinize the critical role of miR-17-92 in the setting of acute myocardial infarction in diabetic mice, high-fat diet (HFD)-induced diabetic cardiac-specific conditional miR-17-92-deficient (miR-17-92 KO) as well as knock-in mice (miR-17-92-KI) will be subjected myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. We will evaluate post-I/R myocardial infarction, cardiomyocyte apoptosis and myocardial inflammation. We will also examine the inflammasome formation and necrosis/apoptosis in adult primary cardiomyocytes of diabetic miR-17-92 KO/KI and WT mice following simulated ischemia/reoxygenation injury. Our study will reveal whether miR-17-92 therapy could offer a protective and anti-inflammatory effect against myocardial infarction in diabetes.
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Dr. Yaorong Ge, PhD Professor Software and Information Systems |
Health Informatics, Clinical Information and Decision Support Systems, Data Warehousing, Data Analytics, Machine Learning, Medical Imaging and Image Analysis |
“Comparing EHR data and clinical study data for accurate prediction of heart failure risks in cancer patients.” Measurements collected in clinical studies such as DETECT and PREVENT are performed in a research environment and may be either not available or not of the same high quality in routine clinical care. On the other hand, routine clinical care may involve more encounters with patients and thus collect more data during the course of treatment. In this study, we will use clinical study data from DETECT and PREVENT and the models based on these data to investigate the best approaches to developing heart failure prediction models that leverage routine clinical data recorded in EHR. |
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Dr. Salvatore Carbone, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Kinesiology & Health Sciences
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Diet, nutrition, heart failure, obesity, diabetes, fitness |
“Unsaturated Fatty Acids to Improve Cardiorespiratory Fitness in Patients with Obesity and Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction” The project investigates the effects of a diet rich in healthy fats found in food like extra-virgin olive oil, nuts and avocado, in patients with obesity and heart failure. After received adequate training, the student will work with me directly on a daily basis to help with data collection, including collection of medical and nutritional data, and processing of blood samples, and will ultimately learn how to generate a research poster under my supervision. |
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Dr. Edward Lesnefsky, MD Professor Department of Internal Medicine Division of Cardiology and Dr. Qun Chen, PhD Associate Professor Department of Internal Medicine Division of Cardiology |
Myocardial injury is increased in aged heart following heart attack and accelerates the transition to post-infarction heart failure. Aging-induced mitochondrial dysfunction augments cardiac injury during heart attack. My recent research is focused on studying the mechanisms by which aging leads to mitochondrial dysfunction. The ultimate goal is to find effective therapeutic approaches to decrease cardiac injury by improving mitochondrial function in aged population.
|
Our research finds that endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress contributes to mitochondrial dysfunction during aging. Complex I is a key component of mitochondrial respiratory chain. We find that key protein subunits of complex I are decreased by aging. calpain is a mitochondrial localized protease. Activation of calpain leads to degradation of complex I subunits during heart attack. Thus, our project is to study if ER stress activates mitochondria-localized calpain causing depletion of subunits of complex I that results in the age-induced mitochondrial dysfunction. Our recent study shows that chronic treatment using metformin can decrease the ER stress in aged hearts. Thus, we will study if chronic metformin treatment can protect complex I in aged hearts by decreasing mitochondrial calpain activation through attenuation of the ER stress. In addition, we will study if the restoration of mitochondrial function with chronic metformin feeding will decrease cardiac injury in the aged hearts following heart attack.
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Dr. Stefano Toldo, PhD Associate Professor Department of Internal Medicine Division of Cardiology |
Inflammation, heart failure, myocardial infarction, pericarditis, heart transplantation, preclinical testing of anti-inflammatory drugs in animal models of disease. |
“Pharmaceutical grade cannabidiol in the treatment of acute pericarditis.” The project focuses on testing the effects of Cannabidiol in the treatment of acute pericarditis in the mouse. Cannabidiol (CBD) is a plant-derived compound tested and proven to work in several animal disease models. It reduces heart dysfunction and fibrosis in mouse models of diabetes or myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle). Pericarditis is an inflammatory disease of the pericardium, a sac that covers the heart. Patients with pericarditis experience intense chest pain and cannot live a regular everyday life. Few drugs can treat pericarditis. However, in patients with severe forms of pericarditis (recurrent or chronic), these are ineffective or may have undesired effects. We plan to test the efficacy of synthetic CBD in a unique mouse model of pericarditis developed at VCU. We will define whether CBD protects mice from pericarditis by reducing the inflammatory response. This study will pave the way for future clinical testing. The student will learn about pericarditis and the current understanding of the pathophysiological process. The student will learn to use and interpret ultrasound imaging, administer treatments to mice, perform histological and immunological assays, and perform other techniques like ELISA assays and real-time PCR.
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Dr. Greg Hundley, MD Professor, Department of Internal Medicine Chair, Division of Cardiology Director, Pauley Heart Center
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Imaging, cardio-oncology, cardiology, breast cancer |
Students in this program will work on a research team involved in cardiovascular human subjects research. Imaging sciences will represent a large component of the program. Students will gain exposure to echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging, cardiac catheterization and develop a research question that will use one or more of these modalities to define an important outcome using one of these modalities. Current research include the areas of cardio-oncology (why are patients treated for cancer dying from cardiovascular events as opposed to cancer?), exercise (what exercise regimens are readily accessible in the community that lower cardiovascular risk?), and heart failure (how can we improve one’s exercise intolerance when they have heart failure?) Students in this program will work in imaging departments, engage patients, work with exercise equipment, and perform advanced imaging analyses. |
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Dr. Moe Makkiya, MD Assistant Professor Department of Internal Medicine Division of Cardiology |
Cardiac imaging, cardiac echocardiography, new software and innovation in cardiac imaging, valvular heart disease, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. |
Speckle-Tracking Exercise Echocardiography with Novel Imaging Technique of Higher Frame Rate Echocardiography is the primary imaging modality in evaluating heart disease given its feasibility, easy accessibility, low cost, and lack of ionizing radiation. Global longitudinal strain (GLS) derived from speckle-tracking echocardiography (STE) detects subclinical myocardial dysfunction and can predict cardiac outcomes, however its use is limited in exercise testing. The goal of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of relatively high frame rate for STE exercise stress echocardiography. The student will trace the ventricles of the heart on the echo videos during rest and exercise, and perform strain images as well as build databases with obtained measurements.
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