Dr Kanika Jain is an Associate Research Scientist at Yale University School of Medicine. Her fascination with proteostasis and multifaceted Unfolded Protein Response (UPR) began during her PhD. As a postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Dr John Hwa, she became interested in the anucleate platelets. She now investigates the role of UPR and stress induced signaling in regulation of platelet function in cardiovascular diseases and beyond. Outside the lab, she is a voracious reader, fond of writing poems, baking and learning different dance styles. She credits her parents and spouse (also a scientist!) for encouraging and supporting her. She can be found on Twitter @Kanika0386.

Dr Michael M. Orlich earned his MS in molecular biomedicine at the University of Muenster (Germany) and his PhD at the University of Tuebingen (Germany) under the supervision of Alfred Nordheim. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow under the mentorship of Konstantin Gängel in the vascular biology unit at Uppsala University (Sweden). Michael is interested in vascular gene regulation and morphogenesis, especially in mural cells mediated regulation of blood vessel development and function. Michael has developed a deep interest in intravital microscopy, a technique with which he continues to study vascular pathologies. Outside of work, he enjoys hiking in the Swedish nature and Nordic ice-skating during wintertime.

Dr Ashley Pitzer earned her PhD in Pharmacology and Toxicology from the Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth University in the laboratory of Dr Pin-Lan Li, where she studied IL-1β-producing inflammasomes in vascular endothelial cell dysfunction. In 2019, Ashley joined the laboratory of Dr Annet Kirabo in the Division of Clinical Pharmacology at Vanderbilt University Medical Center with a research focus on ENaC regulation and its role in blood pressure homeostasis. She is particularly interested in how ENaC in myeloid-specific cells modulates salt-sensitive hypertension. Outside of the lab, Ashley enjoys concerts, weight-lifting and spending time with her fiancé and cats.

Dr Jing-Jing Zhou is a research investigator in Dr Hui-Lin Pan’s laboratory at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Dr. Zhou earned his PhD in cardiovascular physiology from Hebei Medical University in China. He has studied molecular and signaling mechanisms of myocardial ischemia and hypertension. Dr Zhou’s current research is focused on how the glutamatergic and GABAergic synaptic plasticity in the brain contributes to elevated sympathetic vasomotor tone in primary hypertension and secondary hypertension caused by stress and clinically used drugs. Outside of research, he loves mathematics, computer science and playing soccer. He can be found on Twitter @Jzhou31689966.

Dr Rosangela Hoshi is a postdoctoral researcher at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Boston, MA) after being awarded a Lemann Foundation Cardiovascular Research Postdoctoral Fellowship. Dr Hoshi’s interest in science began during her baccalaureate in Physical Therapy, followed by a MS at the Sao Paulo State University. She earned her PhD in Health Sciences at the Sao Jose do Rio Preto Medical School and received postdoctoral training in Epidemiology at the University of Sao Paulo, all in Brazil. The central focus of her academic life has been the extended comprehension of cardiovascular physiology and underlying conditions related to health and disease. Currently, her main research focus is the mechanistic understanding of cardiometabolic-related aspects using metabolomics and other omics. She can be found on Twitter @RosangelaHoshi.

Dr Pengfei Lu is an Associate in the laboratory of Dr Bin Zhou at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, where he also received systematic training in the field of heart development as a Postdoctoral Fellow supported by an AHA Postdoctoral Fellowship. He earned his BS and PhD from Shandong University and Shanghai Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, respectively, with substantial training in Molecular Biology, Stem Cell Biology and Gene Editing Technology. His major research interest is in heart development, disease and regeneration. Dr Lu will join Shanghai General Hospital of Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine as an independent Principal Investigator and lead its cardiovascular translational research initiative.