The American Heart Association has selected Kelsey Watts, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow in biomedical engineering and genome sciences and a member of Mete Civelek's Lab, 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.
Watts will collaborate with Patricia Rodriguez-Lozano, MD, an assistant professor in the department of medicine and director of UVA Health's Women’s Heart Health Care Program, on a project to investigate the effect of using a sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i) to mitigate inflammation in women with angina with nonobstructive coronary artery disease (ANOCA).
ANOCA is more prevalent in women, and there are currently no targeted treatments for it. Watts's work may lead to a better understanding of how to best treat female heart disease.
Watts has also secured funding for her research on inflammatory pathways in ANOCA patients from UVA's Coulter Center for Translational Research via the Center's Post Doctoral Scholars Award. This novel grant mechanism provides postdocs in biomedical engineering with research funds to pursue their own independent research directions.
Congratulations, Kelsey!