PHA GRANT AWARDEES
The Aldrighetti Research Award for Young Investigators
2020
Vineet Agrawal, M.D.
“TGF-beta Receptor 3 as a Novel Mediator of Endothelial Metabolism in PAH”
Instructor, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC)
2019
Ke Yuan, Ph.D.
“SDF1 Signaling: A Master Regulator of Mural Cell-Dependent Vascular Remodeling in PAH”
Associate Scientific Researcher and Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
Harvard Medical School, Boston Children’s Hospital Division of Pulmonary Medicine
2018
Zhiyu Dai, Ph.D.
“Role of Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition on Vascular Fibrosis in PAH”
Research Assistant Professor
Northwestern University
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago
2017
Nadine Al-Naamani, MD, MS
“Effect of obesity on treatment response in pulmonary arterial hypertension”
Instructor of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania
2016
Olivier Boucherat, PhD
“Forkhead-box (FOX) transcription factors in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”
Professor, Pneumology
L’Université Laval
Barst Fund Award Winners
2019
Jason Boehme, M.D.
“Pulmonary Vascular Smooth Muscle Metabolic Reprogramming in Congenital Heart Disease”
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
University of California, San Francisco
2018
Michael L. O’Byrne, M.D., MSCE
“Multidimensional evaluation of health-related quality of life in pediatric pulmonary hypertension”
London A. Lotarski Pediatric PH Research & Mentoring
Assistant Professor – CE (Pediatrics)
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
2016
Meghan Bernier, MD
“LOX-1: A Therapeutic Target for Pulmonary Hypertension in Lung Endothelium”
T32 Research Fellow
The Johns Hopkins Hospital
Rachel Hopper, MD
“Comprehensive Analysis of Persistent Pulmonary Hypertension in Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia”
Attending Physician
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Sheila Krishnan, DO
“Hypoxia-dependent Epigenetic Modifications in the Pulmonary Vasculature”
Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellow
Indiana University
2015
David Brian Frank, MD, PhD
“Wnt signaling progenitor cells in late lung development, regeneration, and repair”
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania
Vitaly Oleg Kheyfets, PhD
“The Cause and Effect of Decreased Wall Shear Stress in Pediatric Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”
University of Colorado Denver|Anschutz Medical Campus
Kara Nicole Goss, MD
“Right ventricular-pulmonary vascular interactions following postnatal hyperoxia exposure”
University of Wisconsin
2014
Rebecca Johnson Kameny, MD
“Right Ventricular Performance in Pediatric Pulmonary Hypertension and Congenital Heart Disease”
University of California, San Francisco
2013
Melanie Nies, MD“Pulmonary Hypertension Biomarkers”
Johns Hopkins University
Mehdi Fini, MD
“Role of Xanthine Oxidoreductase-Uric Acid Axis in Hypoxia Induced Pulmonary Hypertension”
University of Colorado Denver
PHA/ATS Research Fellowship
2019
Rahul Kumar, Ph.D.
“Crosstalk Between Bone Marrow Compartment and Inflamed Lungs in Hypoxic Pulmonary Hypertension”
Associate Professional Researcher, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center at University of California, San Francisco
Olivier Boucherat, Ph.D.
“Forkhead-box FOX) Transcription Factors in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”
Professor, Pneumology, L’Université Laval
Nadine Al-Naamani, M.D., M.S.
“Effect of obesity on treatment response in pulmonary arterial hypertension”
Instructor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
2018
Soban Umar, M.D.
“miR-125b as a Novel Therapeutic Target in Pulmonary Hypertension Associated with Pulmonary Fibrosis”
Assistant Professor-in-Residence
University of California, Los Angeles
2017
Andrew John Sweatt, MD
“Deep immunophenotyping of pulmonary arterial hypertension by unsupervised machine learning”
Instructor of Medicine
Stanford University
2016
Farbod Rahaghi, MD, PhD
“CT Imaging Markers of Pulmonary Arterial and Venous Remodeling in Pulmonary Hypertension”
Instructor, Pulmonary and Critical Care
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
2015
William M. Oldham, MD, PhD
“Metabolic Flux Analysis in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
2014
Ankit A. Desai, MD
“Enhanced risk profiles of sickle cell-related pulmonary hypertension – integrating genomics & imaging”
University of Arizona
2013
Brian Graham, MD
“Determining the impact of IL6 signaling in inflammation-induced pulmonary hypertension”
University of Colorado Denver
2012
Eric Austin, MD, MSCI
“Integrative Genomic Approach to Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
2011
Kazuyo Kegan, PhD
“Hypoxia-inducible factor-1 mediates Th2 immune response during development of pulmonary hypertension”
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Won Kyung Cho, PhD
“The Role of IL-13 in the Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”
Yale University School of Medicine
2010
Laura E. Fredenburgh, MD
“Oncogene Mutational Profiling in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Tim Lahm, MD
“Estrogen Metabolism and Autophagy in Hypoxic Pulmonary Hypertension”
Indiana University
2009
Ari Zaiman, MD, PhD
“Inhibition of TGF Beta Signaling in Endothelial Cells: Role in Pulmonary Hypertension”
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Lunyin Yu, MD
“Role of NHE1 Gene in Development of Pulmonary Hypertension and Vascular Remodeling”
Massachusetts General Hospital
2008
Kewal Asosingh, PhD
“Role of Pulmonary Vascular Wall Resident Endothelial Progenitors and Circulating Bone Marrow-Derived Angiogenic Precursors in Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”
Cleveland Clinic
Qing Lu, DVM, PhD
“TGF-beta1 and Pulmonary Artery Hypertension”
Brown University
2007
Namasivayam Ambalavanan, MBBS, MD
“Transforming Growth Factor-β and Effects of Hypoxia on the Newborn Lung”
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Arlin Brice Blood, PhD
“The Interaction of Nitric Oxide and Hemoglobin in Regulation of Pulmonary Vascular Tone”
Loma Linda University School of Medicine
2006
Xinqi Wu, PhD
“Hypoxic Regulation of BMP Signaling and the Role of Id1 in the Development of Pulmonary Hypertension”
Children’s Hospital Boston
Todd Bull, MD
“The Role of Kaposi’s Sarcoma Herpesvirus in the Development of Severe Pulmonary Hypertension”
University of Colorado
PHA Proof of Concept Award Winners
2016
Kazuyo Kegan, PhD
“Illuminating AMPK function in crosstalk between Insulin Resistance and Pulmonary Hypertension”
Assistant Professor, Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine
Johns Hopkins University
2015
Ke Yuan, PhD
“The role of lung pericytes as a source of occluding pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells in PAH”
Stanford University
Soban Umar, MD, PhD
“Y Chromosome confers protection against pulmonary arterial hypertension”
University of California Los Angeles
2014
Daniel L. Fox, MD
“SSc-PAH Risk Score: Early Identification of Scleroderma-associated PAH by RV Strain, GDF-15 & IL&r”
University of Colorado Denver
Frances S. de Man, PhD
“A New Tool to Obtain Novel Insights in PAH-Induced Right Heart Failure”
VU University Medical Center Amsterdam
Fiona Murray, PhD
“A novel G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) target in pulmonary arterial hypertension”
University of Aberdeen, UK
Marc de Perrot, MD, MSc
“Photodynamic therapy for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension”
University of Toronto, Canada
2013
Evan L. Brittain, MD
“Cardiac Steatosis and Right Ventricular Failure in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”
Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Jiwang Chen, PhD
“Role of IL7/IL7R in the Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”
University of Illinois at Chicago
Kylie M. Drake, PhD
“Pharmacological Correction of BMP Signaling by Read-Through in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”
The Cleveland Clinic
Nicole M. Pohl, PhD
“Role of miR-181b in the Regulation of TRPC6 and the Development of Pulmonary Hypertension”
University of Illinois at Chicago
en-Rei Yu, MD, PhD
“The Role of Resident Monocytes in the Pathogenesis of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”
Duke University School of Medicine
2012
Michael Yeager, PhD
“Unfolded Protein Response Confers Apoptosis Resistance and Inflammation in Pulmonary Hypertension”
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center
Guofei Zhou, PhD
“AMPK and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”
University of Illinois College of Medicine
2011
Mary Beth Brown, PhD, PT, ATC
“Clinical Investigation of a Daily Walking Program plus L-Arginine Supplementation for the Treatment of Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”
Indiana University
Ferhaan Ahmad, MD, PhD
“Applying Genomics as a Springboard to Novel Mechanisms of Pulmonary Hypertension”
University of Pittsburgh
PHA/NHLBI Mentored Clinical Scientist Award
2016
John Huetsch, MD
“The Calpain/CaMKII/NHE Signaling Pathway in PAH”
Instructor of Medicine
Johns Hopkins University
2015
Laura Mercer-Rosa, MD, MSCE
“Right Ventricular Remodeling and Outcome in Tetralogy of Fallot”
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
2014
Tien Peng, MD
“The role of Hedghehog signaling in pulmonary arterial hypertension”
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
2013
Bradley A. Maron, MD
“Aldosterone impairs endothelin B-dependent synthesis of nitric oxide to promote pulmonary arterial hypertension.”
Brigham & Women’s Hospital
2012
Vinicio A. de Jesus Perez, MD
“The role of the Wnt/planar cell polarity pathway in pulmonary angiogenesis.”
Stanford University Medical Center
2011
Edda Spiekerkoetter, MD
“Modulating BMPRII signaling in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”
Stanford University Medical Center
2010
Stephen Y. Chan, MD
“Functions of Hypoxia-Induced MicroRNA-210 in Pulmonary Vascular Endothelium”
Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School
2009
Stephen Mathai, MD, MHS
“Neurohormonal Activation in Scleroderma related Pulmonary Hypertension”
Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine
2008
Daniel Greif, MD
“Morphogenesis of the Pulmonary Artery Smooth Muscle Layer”
Stanford University
2007
Peter Oishi, MD
“Vascular Dysfunction with Increased Pulmonary Blood Flow: A Role for PPAR Gamma”
University of California San Francisco
2006
Paul B. Yu, MD, PhD
“The Role of the BMP Type II Receptor in Vascular Function”
Massachusetts General Hospital
2005
Roberta L Keller, MD
“Chronic Sildenafil for Severe Diaphragmatic Hernia”
University of California San Francisco
2004
Theresa R. Grover, MD
“Role of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor in Neonatal Pulmonary Hypertension”
University of Colorado Health Sciences Center and The Children’s Hospital Perinatal Research Facility
2003
Reda Girgis, MD
“Statins in Experimental Pulmonary Hypertension”
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine