Postdoctoral Fellow Dr. Toni M. West Awarded AHA Postdoctoral Fellowship

Dr. Toni M. West has recently been awarded a 2-year fellowship from the American Heart Association to complete her project entitled, “Elucidating the Role of Altered Cyclic Stretch in Bicuspid Aortic Valves: Implications for Cell Signaling and Mechanics.” Through her work in WCCMS, Toni is collaborating closely with Dr. Aaron Baker from UT BME and Dr. Giovanni Ferrari from Columbia University to identify novel pharmacological targets for human aortic stenosis. To identify such targets, Dr. West is investigating signaling networks that are hyper-activated in valve interstitial cells when these cells are under cyclical mechanical loads similar to those seen in bicuspid aortic valves.