Dr. Reza Ardehali, assistant professor of cardiology and member of the UCLA Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, received the 2015 Douglas P. Zipes Distinguished Young Scientist Award from the American College of Cardiology (ACC). He is the first UCLA faculty member to receive this international award, which recognizes early-career scientists who have made exceptional contributions to the field of cardiovascular disease and who have a comprehensive and impressive body of basic or clinical scientific research.
Ardehali, who studies the molecular mechanisms of heart development, received the award on March 16 at the ACC's 64th Annual Scientific Session and Expo in San Diego. During the conference, he delivered a keynote lecture that describes his most recent research, which seeks to better understand how pluripotent stem cells might be used for heart repair. Pluripotent stem cells have the capability to turn into any other type of cell in the body, including heart muscle cells, called cardiomyocytes, which are damaged during a heart attack and have a very limited ability to regenerate.
“The study of cellular therapies for heart regeneration is a fascinating area that has the potential to change the lives of millions around the world," Ardehali said. "Our recent research findings seek to unlock some of the mysteries of the heart in order to move the possibility of cardiovascular cell therapies forward."
Ardehali’s research is funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the National Institutes of Health Director’s New Innovator Award, the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center Scholars in Translational Medicine Program and Research Award, the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology and the Steinhart-Reed Foundation.
Read the complete story at the Broad Stem Cell Research Center.
