California Northstate University College of Medicine Awarded NIH Grant To Support Cardiovascular Research
Photo Credit: CNU
Elk Grove, CA–Oct. 6–California Northstate University (CNU) announced today that Dr. Arpita K Vyas, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatric Endocrinology and Assistant Dean for Research at the College of Medicine, has received a four-year, $2.5-million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and National Heart Lung and Blood Institute.
As principal investigator, Dr. Vyas will lead and establish multi-institutional cardiovascular research studies with three collaborating universities–the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, and the University of California, Davis. The R01 research project grant titled Gestational Hyperandrogenism in Cardiovascular Programming (2020-2024) will address the mechanisms underlying sex-specific cardiovascular dysfunction in the offspring, secondary to excess androgens exposure prenatally. The project will advance the field of prenatal programming of the cardiovascular system.
Dr. Arpita K Vyas, MD
Dr. Vyas is a board-certified pediatric endocrinologist with a wide range of clinical expertise in endocrine disorders and a special interest in diabetes mellitus and hyperandrogenic disorders. She is affiliated with Sutter Medical Center Sacramento and is a member of the Sutter Institute of Medical Research Committee.
“It’s an honor to address the unmet needs in adverse cardiovascular programming affecting millions of children and adults worldwide, with the support of NIH, CNU, and the collaborators in various institutes,” said Dr. Vyas. “This funding will enable us to make significant strides in developing new and effective therapies that will help save lives.”
“Dr. Vyas is at the forefront of cardiovascular research,” said Dr. Catherine Yang, Vice President of Academic Affairs. “We are gratified to see her work recognized and supported by the nation’s premier medical research institutions and funded by NIH.”
Earlier this year, Dr. Yihui Shi, MD, PhD, Professor of Biochemistry, Immunology, and Physiology, CNU, College of Medicine, Department of Basic Science was awarded $385,000 from the National Cancer Institute, NIH project entitled ‘Identification of Synthetic Lethal Partners of Cancer Germline Mutations using Pan-Cancer Human Primary Tumor Data’ as Principal Investigator (PI). An additional award, $75,000 for Dr. Shi as PI on a sub-contract titled ‘HERV-K Blockade to Prevent RAS Activation in Breast Cancer” has been awarded. She has also recently awarded grants $93,500 from major pharmaceutical corporations in the areas of novel pathways in regulating cancer metastasis in animal models.
Dr. Shi is on the frontier of employing small molecule splicing modulators to treat cancer and is continuing to explore the application in cancer drug discovery targeting spliceosome. Prior to joining CNU, Dr. Shi worked on cancer research at Stanford Research Institute (SRI) and she is expanding her cancer research at CNU with continued collaboration with SRI.
About CA Northstate University
California Northstate University (CNU) is an institution of higher education dedicated to advancing the art and science of healthcare and to educating, training, and developing individuals to provide competent, patient-centered care. The University consists of five colleges: the College of Pharmacy, the College of Medicine, the College of Psychology, the College of Graduate Studies, and the College of Health Sciences.
The College of Pharmacy, the College of Medicine, and the College of Psychology offer a PharmD degree, an MD, and a PsyD degree respectively, whereas the College of Graduate Studies offers a Master of Pharmaceutical Sciences and a Master of Health Administration. The College of Health Sciences offers a B.S. degree in Health Sciences. Mission: The Mission of California Northstate University is to advance the art and science of healthcare. Vision: To provide innovative education and healthcare delivery systems.
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