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Anne W. Manning

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UT RESEARCHER AWARDED NIH GRANT TO IMPROVE CARDIAC FUNCTION IN HEART ATTACK PATIENTS

 

            Memphis, Tennessee (July 29, 2005) – Yao Sun, MD, PhD, professor of medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), has been awarded a 1.4 million dollar National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to investigate how to improve cardiac function in patients following a heart attack.

            “Chronic heart failure appears most commonly in patients who have suffered a heart attack (myocardial infarction, MI).  We are trying to better understand the cardiac repairing processes post-MI, which are usually degenerative, so that interventions can be developed that will improve cardiac function and lead to higher survival rates and longer, healthier lives for these patients,” said Dr. Sun.

“Dr. Sun’s research promises to make a positive impact on the recovery rate of heart patients. She is internationally recognized for her cardiac research, and has been invited to present her findings in Europe and Asia. Her work and reputation contribute to UTHSC’s bench strength as a world-class venue for academic medicine,” commented Henry G. Herrod, MD, dean of the UTHSC College of Medicine.

Dr. Sun received her MD and PhD from Harbin Medical University, China, and earned postdoctoral fellowships from the University of Melbourne, Australia, and the University of Missouri-Columbia.  She received the Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association and is on the editorial board for experimental and clinical cardiology, as well as molecular and cellular biochemistry.

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