Sanjana Dayal, PhD, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine, has received a two-year, $200,000 Innovative Project Award (IPA) from the American Heart Association. Dr. Dayal and her research team will investigate how aging-related changes in the gut microbiome affect thrombosis. This novel study will also examine how the antioxidant glutathione peroxidase 1 (Gpx1) alters the gut microbiome. This work will be done in collaboration with Dr. Ashutosh Mangalam, Assistant Professor of Pathology. Other studies in Dr. Dayal’s lab under an NIH R01 have examined the role of intra-platelet oxidative pathways in platelet activation and thrombosis during aging. In this new work, they have found that overexpression of Gpx1 can protect aging mice from the adverse effects of increased platelet activation associated with thrombosis.
With the IPA and an appreciation for gut microbiota as a key influencer of system health, Dr. Dayal and her team will employ mechanistic studies with the potential for identification and future development of new strategies to decrease thrombosis in the elderly. Dr. Dayal also hopes that a greater understanding of the ways in which the gut microbiome has an impact on cardiovascular diseases could also uncover ways in which it affects other aging-related health concerns such as vascular dementia, another ongoing area of interest for Dr. Dayal.