The American Heart Association has selected Alexander Clark, a postdoctoral research fellow in the department of biomedical engineering, for the AHA Postdoctoral Fellowship. This prestigious one- to two-year fellowship helps ease the path to research independence for postdocs who are answering an investigative question in cardiovascular, cerebrovascular or brain health research.
Clark will use the award to study gene regulatory networks in cardiomyocyte differentiation as a member of the Cardiac Systems Biology Group with the mentorship, support, and scientific guidance of Professor Jeff Saucerman. Using computational modeling and induced pluripotent stem cells, Clark will explore the distinct mechanisms driving atrial versus ventricular chamber development in the heart.
Switching gears from basic to translational research, Clark is also the recipient of a Scholars Award from UVA's Coulter Center fro Translational Research. This novel grant mechanism supports postdocs as they pursue their own independent research directions. Clark is using the funding to identify FDA-approved drugs to stabilize heart development in the presence of a damaging genetic mutation.
Congratulations on both of these awards, Alex!