Five Internal Medicine pre- and post-doctoral researchers were honored with American Heart Association (AHA) fellowship awards. Gokul Patil, MS, PhD; Himani Thakkar, PhD; Vinnyfred Vincent, PhD; Jayashree Jena, PhD; and Ayushi Sood each were notified of their acceptances in December 2024.

To be eligible, predoctoral AHA award applicants are required to be full-time students enrolled in a post-baccalaureate PhD, MD, DO, DVM, PharmD, DDS, DrPH, or PhD program with a scientific focus and seeking research training with a sponsor. Postdoctoral applicants must hold a degree from the programs listed, but not be pursuing another doctoral degree, may have no more than five years of research training or experience since obtaining their degree, and are expected to devote at least 80 percent of their work to research activities. These awards are prestigious: in the 2023-2024 award cycle, fewer than 30 percent of proposals were awarded funding.

Each of Internal Medicine’s five award recipients are making important contributions to UI Health Care and to science with their research.

Gokul Patil, MS, PhD, is a postdoctoral research scholar in the lab of Sanjana Dayal, PhD, FAHA, in the Division of Hematology, Oncology, and Blood & Marrow Transplantation. Patil received a two-year, $161,248 AHA award to advance his research in the fields of thrombosis and inflammation, specifically the role of the NLRP3 inflammasome in thrombo-inflammation (abnormal blood clotting) associated with long COVID.

“The NLRP3 inflammasome is a protein complex that plays a critical role in the body’s inflammatory response. In long COVID, persistent activation of this inflammasome may lead to chronic inflammation and increased clot formation, which can result in complications such as strokes or heart attacks,” Patil said. “My project aims to identify the specific pathways involved and evaluate potential interventions to mitigate these risks.”

Patil notes that this research has the potential to address urgent clinical problems, contributing to the development of therapeutic strategies that could benefit not only COVID-19 patients but also those suffering from other inflammatory diseases linked to abnormal clotting.

“First and foremost, I thank my mentor Professor Sanjana Dayal, for her guidance and support. I also extend my thanks to Dr. Dale Abel and Dr. Steven Lentz, for their invaluable insights. Special acknowledgment goes to Dr. Alejandro Comellas Freymond and Dr. Prajwal Gurung for their collaborative efforts, and Dr. Vandana Ghormade, who provided me with formal training in hematology during my PhD in India. Receiving this award is not only a personal achievement but also an acknowledgment of the collaborative efforts of my mentor and lab colleagues. I am excited to continue working in this dynamic field and contributing to advancements in cardiovascular health.”

Vinnyfred Vincent, PhD, is a postdoctoral research scholar in the lab of Bhagirath Chaurasia, MSc, PhD, in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism. He was honored with an award of $153,712 over two years to advance the lab’s research on the role of ceramides in obesity-related diabetes.

Ceramides are a specific class of fat molecules which accumulate in the body during obesity and contribute to many of its harmful side effects, including diabetes and heart disease. In the Chaurasia Lab’s research, a molecule called bone morphogenic protein 3 (BMP3) was identified, along with its role in the mediation of the harmful effects of ceramides.

“We hypothesize that inhibiting BMP3 in the context of obesity could prevent the onset of complications such as diabetes. By targeting BMP3, our goal is to pave the way for developing novel therapeutic strategies to combat obesity-related diabetes,” Vincent explained.

“I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to my mentor, Dr. Bhagirath Chaurasia, for his guidance and support in shaping this proposal. I also want to acknowledge Aaron Tran, a former master’s student in our lab, for his invaluable contributions in generating the preliminary data for this project. Finally, I thank my family, especially my wife, Himani Thakkar [see below!], for their unwavering support, which has been instrumental in my journey.”

Himani Thakkar, PhD, is also a postdoctoral research scholar in the Chaurasia Lab, and was awarded $161,248 over two years to investigate the role of ceramides in regulating the function of a specialized immune cell called regulatory T-cells (Treg cells).

With this funding, Thakkar aims to explore how ceramides affect the function of Treg cells in obesity. She explained that Treg cells play a crucial role in controlling inflammation and maintaining metabolic balance in the human body. In obesity, the buildup of ceramides in Treg cells impairs their ability to suppress inflammation, which, in turn, increases the risk of diabetes.

Funded by the AHA award, future research will investigate whether inhibiting ceramide production can improve Treg cell function, reduce inflammation, and prevent diabetes. Armed with this knowledge, novel approaches to treating obesity-related metabolic disorders and cardiovascular diseases could become a reality.

“I would like to express my gratitude to my mentor, Dr. Bhagirath Chaurasia, for his guidance, support, and invaluable feedback in developing this project. I am also deeply thankful to my family for their constant encouragement and support,” Thakkar said.

Jayashree Jena, PhD, is a postdoctoral Fellow (Former T32 Trainee) in the lab of Renata Pereira Alambert, PhD, in the Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism. She was awarded an AHA award for her project entitled Effects of CYP2E1 expression in thermogenic adipocytes in the regulation of metabolic homeostasis, with funding of $176,020 for a period of two years.

According to Jena, the prevalence of obesity has been increasing in both men and women in the United States and worldwide, but relative to men, women are somewhat protected from the most adverse effects. Understanding why could help provide better personalized treatments to combat obesity and associated diseases.

Researchers have found that a type of fat cell called brown adipocytes (BA) can help fight obesity by generating heat. In a study on mice, the Pereira Lab noticed a difference between males and females when a specific growth factor (GDF15) was removed from their BA. Male mice were more likely to gain weight on a high-fat diet, while females were more resistant to weight gain compared to normal mice. They further discovered that a protein called CYP2E1 is increased in BA of obese female mice but reduced in males. High levels of CYP2E1 is linked with weight loss, whereas reduction of this protein is linked with weight gain. To learn more, the researchers plan to study mice without CYP2E1 in their BA to see if this protein plays a key role in protecting females from obesity and helping BA produce heat.

“Our central hypothesis is that CYP2E1 induction in brown adipocytes of female mice is required for metabolic protection during diet-induced obesity, and that CYP2E1 contributes to BA function to maintain energy homeostasis in female mice, but is dispensable in males,” Jena said. “This study may inform new therapies for the treatment of obesity and associated conditions, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease.”

“I would like to acknowledge my mentor, Dr. Pereira, for her support and guidance in all aspects related to this proposal, from generation and interpretation of preliminary data to the grant writing process, her mentorship was vital for this successful outcome. I have also received support from my previous mentor Dr. Brian T. O’Neill, MD, PhD, associate professor in the division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, and Dr. Dale Abel, MD, PhD, former chair of Internal Medicine. I am very thankful to my lab mates Ayushi and Josh for their assistance with the experiments. Finally, I would also like to thank my husband, Dr. Manasa Kumar Nayak, PhD, research assistant professor of Internal Medicine, for his constant support and love that motivates me to keep going, and my parents and family members for helping shape me into the person I am today.”

Ayushi Sood is a PhD candidate also in Alambert’s lab, and was awarded a predoctoral fellowship award of $69,548 for two years, which she plans to use to study the potential protective effects of growth differentiation factor 15 (GDF15) on the heart.

As heart diseases are currently the leading cause of death in the United States, improved treatments and preventative measures for this range of conditions is the subject of extensive research. Studies suggest that activation of brown fat cells (BF cells) may help reduce heart disease susceptibility by releasing protective proteins. One example of these proteins is GDF15, the levels of which are high in the blood of organisms undergoing a myocardial infarction (MI). Which cells secrete it in this process, and the subsequent effects, are unknown.

Studies suggest that blocking GDF15 secretion from BF cells in mice reduced GDF15 in the blood and shortened lifespan of mice post-MI, leading the Pereira Lab to hypothesize that BF cells secrete GDF15 to protect the heart during an MI. They hope to confirm this hypothesis and whether GDF15’s receptor in the brain is required for this protection in order to inform future treatments for a range of heart diseases.

“I hope to discover brown adipose tissue/brown fat cell’s role in GDF15’s release from the tissue following a cardiac event,” Sood explained. “This could also lead to the discovery of a novel mechanism by which we could leverage the activation of brown adipose tissue in the case of cardiac diseases and advance the field of cardiometabolic diseases and the translational perspective of the field.”

“I would like to thank my mentor, Dr. Renata Pereira Alambert, as her unwavering support led to this successful application. I would also like to thank my lab members, Dr. Jayashree Jena and Joshua Peterson as they helped me immensely in conducting my experiments and teaching me many things around the lab.”

Proposals such as these make it possible for UI Health Care to be a part of cutting-edge research with the goal of improving patient lives and reducing barriers to quality care. Congratulations to these remarkable researchers!