Following the publication of our article about four postdoctoral researchers receiving fellowships from the American Heart Association (AHA), we learned of an additional one awarded to an Iowa scientist. Dr. Manasa Nayak, a member of Dr. Anil Chauhan’s lab, raises the total number of AHA postdoctoral fellowships awarded to Internal Medicine researchers to five.

Dr. Nayak will use this funding to study the role of PKM2 (pyruvate kinase M2) in platelet function and arterial thrombosis. The cellular responses initiated upon platelet activation are all energy-consuming. Interestingly, platelets exhibit a high level of aerobic glycolysis relative to oxidative phosphorylation, which they hypothesize fuels platelet function responses. Because platelet-rich thrombi occlude blood vessels, triggering myocardial infarction and stroke, Dr. Nayak’s research could have implications for millions of people around the world and for billions of dollars each year in healthcare-related costs.

Dr. Nayak credits his award to Dr.Chauhan, an accomplished investigator in the field of thrombosis,stroke, and vascular biology. “Dr. Chauhan is a great mentor who creates anenvironment that is supportive, stimulating, and open-minded. His guidance togenerate the preliminary data and in the grant-writing process has been veryvital.”