As part of this year’s Summer Research internship Program (SRIP), five undergraduate students have joined CVRC labs to build research skills and gain lab experience. Participants live at UVA for ten weeks, are partnered with a student mentor, and complete an intensive professional development series throughout the program. The internship is capped by an internal conference where the students present their research.
Ruthvik Jeenigiri is working in the Abbate Lab to identify age-based differences in heart failure. “I’m South Asian, and South Asians are very disproportionately affected by heart conditions, so I’m excited to work in a cardiology lab,” Ruthvik explained. “I want to be a physician, so I’m enjoying working for a physician researcher. I’ve been able to shadow Dr. Abbate in the clinic and understand what his work is like.” Ruthvik will leave the SRIP program with more confidence in his research skills, ability to solve problems independently, and cardiovascular knowledge. “I’m learning things I wouldn’t be exposed to until medical school,” he said.
Gerardina Abbate, working under Antonio Abbate, MD, PhD, is searching for connections between the brain and heart in Takotsubo Syndrome. “Takotsubo Syndrome looks like a heart attack, but it isn’t,” she explained, “It’s triggered by an emotional or physical stressor, and we think the brain connection is overlooked. I’m interested in cardiology and neurology, so this project is a mix of both worlds that I like.” Gerardina hopes to become an expert who uses her specialist knowledge of this condition to raise awareness of it.
Dalma Kaszala is working in the Abbate Lab to understand the neurological underpinnings of Takotsubo Syndrome. The daughter of a cardiologist, Dalma’s interest in cardiology is grounded in understanding how the body’s different systems are networked. “Heart failure leads to the failure of so many other parts of the body—there’s a lot of variety in the cases and that’s really interesting,” she explained. SRIP provides opportunities to grow both as a researcher and communicator, especially important given her interest in clinical research.
Raegan Canada, mentored by Antonio Abbate, MD, PhD, is studying the brain structures in patients with Takotsubo Syndrome, a transient defect in the heart’s left ventricle, hoping to identify correlations that may explain the disease. “I am really interested in how the heart interacts with the rest of the body, and am very excited about Dr. Abbate’s work,” she said. Raegan’s work is exposing her to research’s “soft skills” – reading papers, assessing data, and presenting her findings.