American Heart Association Summer Undergraduate Training

 My name is Elizabeth Dacanay, and I am from Beaver, Pennsylvania. I am a senior biochemistry major with a mathematics minor at Saint Vincent College. I had the privilege of working in Dr. Ken Margulies’ lab under the mentorship of Dr. Benjamin Lee. My project focused on contractility modulation of living myocardial slices (LMS), which are thin, living sections of heart tissue. There are currently few disease modifying therapies that directly enhance cardiomyocyte contraction. LMS capture the complexity of the native structure and function of the heart, and so they have the potential to serve as a way to test contractility modulating compounds. Over the course of the summer, we developed and optimized a platform for the cultivation and biomimetic stimulation of rat LMS preparations and characterized the MT network and contractility of LMS during slice culture. Through this program, I had the opportunity to meet accomplished faculty and graduate students of Penn CVI, learn new laboratory techniques, shadow cardiologists, and expand my knowledge of cardiovascular disease. I enjoyed getting to know all the wonderful members of my cohort and exploring Philadelphia with them. This experience confirmed and deepened my interest in cardiology, and I am incredibly thankful for how it has helped me to grow personally and professionally.

My name is Taylor Gloystein, and I am from Wetumpka, Alabama. I am a rising senior studying bioengineering at Clemson University. I had the incredible opportunity to work with Dr. Alison Pouch over the summer! My project focused on enhancing quantification for bicuspid aortic valve surgical planning and evaluating new methods of measurement using 3D geometric modeling and transesophageal echocardiography. This program served as my introduction to computational research and was an incredible learning experience for me! Everyone at the Penn Cardiovascular Institute was extremely supportive and motivating throughout the summer. The weekly seminars provided the perfect opportunity to learn more about the application process, research ethics, and the various pathways to becoming a physician-scientist. These meetings were incredibly helpful in shaping my current career aspirations. I also greatly enjoyed getting to know everyone in my research cohort, and it was so fun getting to explore the city with a group of equally inspired individuals! I would highly recommend this program, as it is a uniquely enjoyable foundational research opportunity. 

I am Eniola Omogbai, a junior at Spelman College studying Biology with a minor in Public Health from Lagos, Nigeria.  This summer, I had the privilege of working in Dr. Zoltan Arany’s lab.  Under the exceptional mentorship of Natalie Brown and Yijun Yang, I studied the placenta-heart crosstalk during pregnancy.  This research is significant, as cardiovascular complications account for over 33% of pregnancy-related deaths.  Our focus was on understanding cardiac remodeling during healthy pregnancy.  We hypothesized that Placental Insulin-Like Growth Factor Binding Protein (IGFBP) proteases, specifically ADAM-12 and PAPP-A-2, secreted into maternal blood during pregnancy, mediate placenta-heart communication.  Through my involvement in this project, I learned new laboratory techniques, attended weekly breakfast meetings with outstanding Penn Cardiovascular Institute faculty and graduate students, and explored Philadelphia with my amazing cohort members.  Overall, I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to be part of this program and the personal and professional growth I experienced as a researcher.

I am Ju-Woo Nho, an undergraduate student studying Applied Mathematics-Biology at Brown University. This summer, I had the wonderful opportunity to delve into the world of computational genomics. Under the exceptional mentorship of Dr. Scott M. Damrauer and Dr. Michael G. Levin, I examined the genetic underpinnings of pericarditis through genome-wide association studies (GWAS). My work involved conducting fixed effects inverse-weighted meta-analyses and utilizing nearest gene annotation, credible sets after approximate Bayesian fine mapping, and MAGMA analysis for gene prioritization. The entire lab team provided unwavering support, and the collaborative environment I had the privilege of witnessing made me fall in love with the field. This program was a truly transformative experience, from the weekly CVI speaker breakfasts (I <3 Spread Bagelry) featuring giants in the scientific community to the camaraderie I formed with fellow participants.

My name is Shivani and I am a rising junior at Cornell University studying computational biology. During the summer, I worked in Dr. Jain's Lab where I worked alongside MD/PhD student Kaitlyn Shen on two projects. The first project was focused on finding an optimal dilution concentration at which we can detect LMNA gene knockdown in cardiomyocytes cells. The second project was focused on measuring how distance of lamina-associated domains of chromatin from nuclear lamina changes upon LMNA gene knockdown. I cannot thank the Jain Lab enough for providing me with a supportive and encouraging environment where I could venture out of the computational world and into molecular biology and wet lab research. It has been an immense privilege to work in an environment focused on bridging the gap between science and medicine. 

My name is Andrew Kim, and I’m an undergraduate student majoring in physiology at the University of Arizona.

This summer I had the opportunity to conduct research in Dr. Sharlene Day’s laboratory as a part of the AHA fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania. I had an incredible experience, furthering my interests with cardiac sarcomere biology and translational research.

My research project was to investigate the effects of missense variants in MYBPC3 on protein expression and sarcomeric localization. I developed skills in western blotting, iPSC culture, and immunofluorescence.

The Day lab members and the cardiovascular institute faculty were extremely supportive, and I couldn’t have asked for a better environment to hone new skills and foster meaningful relationships. This fellowship reinforced by aspirations to become a physician scientist in the field of cardiovascular academia.

My name is Sumin Jeong, and I am an undergraduate student studying bioengineering at Rice University in Houston, Texas. 

This summer, I was part of the AHA Fellowship Program at University of Pennsylvania and had an amazing experience in Dr. Brenner's lab.

My research mainly focused on probing various drugs that inhibit different inflammation pathways induced by lipid nanoparticles (LNPs). 

Not only was the project itself very cutting edge and intriguing, but also the hard-working and supportive mentors I met in the lab were the highlights of this summer that I truly feel very grateful for. This fellowship will definitely serve as a foundation in my research career as I plan to pursue a PhD in biomedical engineering in the future.     

My name is Kaustubh Koya, and I am an undergraduate at Vanderbilt University from Memphis, TN majoring in Molecular & Cellular Biology and Economics. I was fortunate enough to work in the Arany lab with Nicholas Forelli on the effect of SGLT2 inhibitors in heart failure, learning a wide assortment of methods from western blots to Langendorff experiments. The experience helped establish my pursuit of cardiology throughout my career, and I can't thank my mentors enough for all their guidance throughout the program. I had an amazing time being a part of the AHA cohort, meeting innovative leaders in many avenues of the medical field, and experiencing the CVI at UPenn. The reservoir of bagels we had weekly was also a huge bonus. 

My name is Danielle Jathan and I am from Kingston, Jamaica. I am a junior majoring in Biology at LeMoyne-Owen College in Memphis, Tennessee. This summer has been a memorable and insightful experience. I had the opportunity to be a part of the American Heart Association Summer Research Fellowship at the prestigious University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine Cardiovascular Institute. During this incredible experience, I had the privilege to delve into the fascinating world of cardiovascular research, with a particular focus on Vascular Biology, at the Mark Kahn Lab. My research project focused on the investigation of the proliferation of murine placental endothelial cells in vivo. This work allowed me to contribute to our understanding of the intricate processes that underlie placental vascular development, a critical aspect of maternal-fetal health. It was an incredible journey filled with learning, collaboration, and the opportunity to work with some of the brightest minds in the field such as my mentor, Mark Kahn, M.D., who provided guidance and immense support throughout the duration of the research project. I am grateful for the mentorship and the chance to contribute to groundbreaking research that has the potential to impact healthcare and improve lives

My name is Christina Copeland. I am from Williamstown, New Jersey and I attend Howard University. I was accepted as a 2023 AHA Summer Internship Fellow to study epigenetic research at The Jain Lab. I worked with Dr. Rajan Jain and Dr. Parisha Shah to analyze the nuclear lamina of colorectal cancer cells. During this research opportunity, I conducted advanced biological techniques such as transfection to reduce the presence of lamina in the nucleus of the colorectal cancer cells. This allowed me to discover the molecular implications of lamina protein reduction in this specific cell type. The AHA Summer Internship program provided an exceptional support network and professional connections that will support me throughout my academic and professional journey.

My name is Jaiden Outten, and I am originally from The Bahamas. I am a graduating senior at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Georgia. This summer I was privileged to have the opportunity to participate in the American Heart Association Summer Research Fellowship in the Penn Cardiovascular Institute. This experience was transformative in so many ways as I gained insight into the numerous avenues in medicine. With the program’s focus on biomedical research, I had the pleasure of studying Type II Diabetes and liver metabolism in the Titchenell Lab with Dr. Jaclyn Welles. My project was centered on investigating the functional role of the Ndufaf6 gene in liver metabolism, an important step to hopefully discover new targets for anti-diabetic therapeutics. It was a joy each day to work alongside bright individuals excited about their research. I was inspired by the physician-scientists and other researchers who took the time to share advice and their path to success. The AHA Summer Research Fellowship was an enriching experience that invigorated my passion for medicine and desire to have a broader impact on healthcare through research.

My name is Patrick Moore, and I am a senior undergraduate student at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. During the summer before my senior year of college, I had the amazing opportunity to conduct research in Dr. Sharlene Day's lab through the Penn AHA fellowship program. In the lab, I was able to conduct my own project that studied two recently identified HSPB7 single nucleotide polymorphisms shown to be risk alleles for patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Not only this, but I also had the opportunity to collaborate with Dr. Marcus Wagner, a post-doctoral researcher in the Day lab, on his project. Under the guidance of Dr. Day, Dr. Wagner, and the manager of the Day Lab, Jaime Yob, I was able to learn a variety of new experimental assays, such as immunohistochemistry and gene cloning. Along with learning new techniques, this program, and the individuals I interacted with at the Penn CVI, have had a profound impact on my outlook for a career as a physician-scientist and the plans I have for my time in medical school. I would highly recommend this program to any student, regardless of how much previous research experience you possess, interested in pursuing an MD, MD-PhD, or PhD program in the future.