Kathryn Morelli, Ph.D. (left), points out neurons and their axon projections on an image of a brain organoid with graduate assistant Abby Kirch, cellular, molecular, and biomedical sciences doctoral candidate. (photo: Ceilidh Kehoe)
Vermont Business Magazine At a state-of-the-art biomedical research center at the University of Vermont, a cadre of early-career scientists is uncovering the complexities of the heart-brain connection. The researchers —experts in medicine, epidemiology, chemistry, pharmacology, molecular physiology, biophysics, rehabilitation and movement science, and more — will share their diverse projects and findings at a public symposium on June 11-12 at UVM’s Davis Center.
A recently renewed $12 million, five-year National Institutes of Health Center of Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) grant supports the work, which spans a wide-range of heart- and brain-health issues, including impacts of cardiovascular disease on brain motor function, brain blood flow, and cognitive decline. The grant is administered through the Vermont Center for Cardiovascular and Brain Health (VCCBH at the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine).
The VCCBH launched in 2020 with an initial $12 million Phase I NIH grant.
A distinctive aspect of the VCCBH is its emphasis on team-based, interdisciplinary mentorship from both senior and peer mentors. This model creates a pipeline of investigators who become project directors and establish their own, independent research projects. The variety of disciplines and research studies all focused on brain and cardiovascular health helps foster collaborations that can help answer scientific riddles and find solutions to the most pressing health problems
Co-led by Mary Cushman, M.D., M.Sc., University Distinguished Professor and vice chair in the Department of Medicine, and Mark Nelson, Ph.D., University Distinguished Professor and chair of the Department of Pharmacology, the goal of the center is to expand UVM’s research capacity and support early career investigators exploring cardiovascular and brain health.
“We support young investigators with pilot awards, so they grow the research mission with new grants, attract new students and postdoctoral fellows, and conduct cutting edge research here in Vermont,” Cushman said. “We are developing the next generation of world-class researchers on major scientific and health issues. This is good for UVM, the health network, and for the community.”
At the two-day symposium, more than 30 early career investigators will present their research projects in five- to fifteen-minute presentations, and 39 will present posters. Many investigators will be available to answer questions. Some of these investigators and their projects include the following:
- Maria-Cristina Bravo, Ph.D., assistant professor of pathology and laboratory medicine, will describe predictive clues for blood clots in pregnancies with and without preeclampsia, a potentially fatal complication which impacts 1 in 15 pregnancies in the United States. Bravo’s research seeks to measure the amount and functional clotting properties of vesicles—sub-cellular components that are released from cells—during and after pregnancy to potentially lower the risk of a mother developing a clot.
- Mansour Gergi, M.D., assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, will describe his efforts to identify cancer patients who are at high-risk for bleeding, which impacts 1 in 7 cancer patients admitted to the hospital. Many of these bleeding events may be related to medical interventions that could potentially be avoided or modified, such as starting a blood thinner to prevent a blood clot or a procedure that might be deferred. If clinicians know a patient has a high bleeding risk, they can adjust care decisions to improve patient safety and save lives.
- Kathryn Morelli, Ph.D., assistant professor of neurological sciences, will explain how tiny changes at the RNA level may lead to critical changes in the blood-brain barrier, the protective interface between the bloodstream and the brain. These small molecular disruptions can lead to frontotemporal dementia, the most common form of dementia for people under age 60. Morelli’s lab uses human stem cell-based models to understand how these early RNA-level changes contribute to blood-brain barrier dysfunction and neurodegenerative disease, with an aim to prevent this devastating condition.
- Nicholas Klug, Ph.D., assistant professor of pharmacology will describe the main veins that drain blood from the brain, which were previously thought to act like passive pipes. Klug’s research shows these veins actually contain muscle cells that let them actively tighten and relax, much like arteries, to control how blood leaves the brain. This means the brain may have a previously unrecognized way to regulate blood flow and pressure within the brain. This new information may help prevent brain diseases including stroke, migraine headaches, and dementia.
Registration for the symposium is free, and the community is invited to attend.
“It’s a showcase of the outstanding research being done at UVM on cardiovascular and brain health, with a focus on the next generation of researchers,” said Cushman. “Young people thinking about going into medicine, research, or the corporate world can see what’s going on here.”
The symposium will also feature a keynote presentation about blood biomarkers for stroke and dementia by W. Taylor Kimberly, M.D., Ph.D., Chief of Neurocritical Care at Massachusetts General Hospital and Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School.
See the symposium agenda here.
Register for the symposium here.
Captions for attached photos:
- Nicholas Klug, Ph.D., in his lab with a spinning disk confocal microscope that he uses to look at tissue sections and live imaging of brain cells. At the symposium, Klug will present his research that shows brain veins have muscle cells that allow them to tighten and relax. (photo: Ceilidh Kehoe)
- Mansour Gergi, M.D., describes his efforts to identify cancer patients who are at high-risk for bleeding, to improve patient safety and save lives. (photo: Ceilidh Kehoe)
Research projects like these have contributed to the University of Vermont’s designation by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education as an R1 institution, placing it in the top tier of research universities in the U.S.
About the Larner College of Medicine at the University of Vermont
Founded in 1822, the Robert Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont is the seventh-oldest medical school in the nation. The college is dedicated to developing exceptional physicians and scientists by offering innovative curriculum design, state-of-the-art research facilities, and clinical partnerships with leading health care institutions. The college’s commitment to excellence has earned national recognition, attracting talented students, trainees, physicians, and researchers from across the country and around the world. With a focus on inclusive excellence, the Larner College of Medicine prides itself on cultivating an environment that uplifts and supports its faculty and student populations while advancing medical education, research, and patient care in Vermont and beyond.
6.8.2026. Larner, M.D. College of Medicine at the University of Vermont uvm.edu/larnermed
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