Congratulations to Xiaoyi Liu as the Recipient of a Two-Year Predoctoral Fellowship from the American Heart Association
Monday, January 1, 2024
Xiaoyi Liu, 4th year graduate student in the laboratory of Dr. Eric Small was awarded a two-year American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship entitled, “Sprr2b/p53 dependent control of cardiac fibroblast proliferation and fibrosis”.
Project Summary
Heart disease is accompanied by the accumulation of cardiac fibroblasts that deposit extracellular matrix to generate a fibrotic scar. In this project, we will investigate how tumor suppressor proteins, including p53, control the magnitude and timing of cardiac fibroblast proliferation and cardiac fibrosis. We will also test a novel mechanism that regulates ubiquitin-mediated degradation of p53 in cardiac fibroblasts, via interactions with the Sprr2b protein. Ultimately, our findings will identify strategies to limit fibroblast expansion and the development of pathological cardiac fibrosis in heart disease.