Biochemists receive $1.7 million NIH grant to fight heart disease at molecular level

Reto Asmis, Ph.D.

Reto Asmis, Ph.D., biochemistry professor and associate dean of the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, was awarded a four-year, $1.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to look at underlying causes of cardiovascular disease at the cellular level. The NIH grant may allow these scientists to develop new drug treatments that could be used to stop or prevent oxidative stress in monocytes (white blood cells formed in bone marrow) in order to prevent cardiovascular disease. “Findings from the studies proposed here are likely to have a major impact on both preventive and therapeutic strategies for a wide array of diseases – including atherosclerosis, heart failure, healing after a heart attack, and diabetic complications such as renal disease and impaired wound healing,” Dr. Asmis said.