SBS students earn awards for outstanding cardiovascular research
The School of Biomedical Sciences has announced new student awards and an upcoming symposium to support and enhance translational cardiovascular research at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth.
SBS students Selina Tucker and Lindsey Hudson are recipients of the inaugural Robert J. Hardin Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Translational Cardiovascular Research. The awards will be presented annually to PhD and MS students based on research achievements including publications, presentations at national and international meetings, grants and research awards.
“These inaugural awards recognize the high-quality research of these very deserving students,” said Dr. Johnathan Tune, chair and professor of physiology and anatomy at HSC.
“Cardiovascular issues like heart disease and stroke affect millions of Americans every year. With these awards and the upcoming symposium, we’re raising awareness for cardiovascular health and calling attention to the critical research happening right here at HSC.”
Selina Tucker is a PhD candidate in the Department of Physiology and Anatomy. Her research is exploring how blood and oxygen levels to the heart change in mothers who have recently given birth. Findings could help improve treatments that reduce the risk of death in new mothers. Tucker works under the mentorship of Tune.
“As a young woman, this research is especially important to me. My hope is that it will help provide the groundwork for me and other women to have babies while also enjoying healthy and happy lives,” Tucker said.
“It is an honor to receive this award in its first year and at a very important time in my trainee career as I am finishing up my dissertation this summer.”
Lindsey Hudson is an MS student in the Department of Physiology and Anatomy. Her research aims to better understand the relationship between the stiffness of the carotid artery, blood flow changes in the brain, and protection of oxygen in the brain.
Her lab has developed a proposed therapy to increase survival rates during severe blood loss or other conditions that cause low oxygen in the brain. Her project will help the research team understand how vascular function might affect the effectiveness of the proposed therapy and how the treatment may affect conditions like stroke or cardiac arrest, particularly in older individuals with increased arterial stiffness. Hudson works under the mentorship of Dr. Caroline Rickards, associate professor of physiology.
“Blood loss after trauma is the leading cause of death in Americans aged 1 to 46. I was drawn to this research because I worked in a hospital emergency department for years, and I saw first-hand the consequences of the limited interventions we have for severe bleeding,” Hudson said.
“I’m extremely thankful to have the opportunity to continue to be a part of this work that could potentially save lives.”
The monetary awards will support research projects Tucker and Hudson are conducting as part of their degree requirements. They will also present their research at the upcoming Robert J. Hardin Translational Cardiovascular Research Symposium, which will be held at HSC later this year.
The awards and symposium are supported by the Robert J. Hardin Heart and Cancer Research Fund, the Department of Physiology and Anatomy and the School of Biomedical Sciences at The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth.
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