Profiles in Research
Highlighting projects by our grantees
Zechen Chong, Ph.D.
"I noticed that because of limitations in technology, many unresolved problems in genomics were actually computational problems. So, I decided to take advantage of my computational skills and apply them to the genomics field to solve these problems in order to improve the overall health of the human being."
![](https://www.heart.org/-/media/Images/Professional/Institute/zechen_chong_600.jpg?h=600&iar=0&mw=600&w=600&hash=D0107CAAC633D2D1E11792F78A32040A)
![](https://www.heart.org/-/media/Images/Professional/Institute/johncole.jpg?h=600&iar=0&mw=600&w=600&hash=0DBDD7AD11A9DD660900DDCF0DD8A4DC)
John W. Cole, M.D.
"We're looking to see if there’s a high incidence of certain genetic variants in stroke cases and have been able to tease out some genetic risks using our young-onset stroke model."
Brian P. Delisle, Ph.D.
“Part of precision medicine is not only looking at genetic variants but also taken into account the gene and environment interactions that may also contribute to the risk for this disease.”
![](https://www.heart.org/-/media/Images/Professional/Institute/BrianPDeslislecropped.jpg?h=600&iar=0&mw=600&w=600&hash=AFB2F01827CFDB0CD24906F91A9603DA)
![](https://www.heart.org/-/media/Images/Professional/Institute/guido-falcone.jpg?h=600&iar=0&mw=600&w=600&hash=87F05B6D333667D60FD0866F29976790)
Guido Falcone, M.D., Sc.D., M.P.H.
"Once we identify one of these mutations, we can look at a combination of [them] and try to gauge a person's risk even before [they] have the disease. That’s the world of precision medicine."
Stacey Knight, Ph.D.
"Our project takes those two very large datasets and uses the AHA Precision Medicine Platform to accelerate findings of cardiovascular disease-related genetic causes."
![](https://www.heart.org/-/media/Images/Professional/Institute/staceyknight.jpg?h=600&iar=0&mw=600&w=600&hash=63E84B01DDD4CF31CB7572A551EA1B8A)
![](https://www.heart.org/-/media/Images/Professional/Institute/bonnieky.jpg?h=600&iar=0&mw=600&w=600&hash=DD6C66F624910F3F2CC6CDD4C3054470)
Bonnie Ky, M.D., M.S.C.E.
"I've been fortunate to obtain funding for a project focusing specifically on using imaging to identify new patterns of cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients."
Anand Rohatgi, M.D., M.S.C.S.
"Using these large cohorts of people with available specimens and the deep phenotyping approach, we’ll better understand HDL's precise function."
![](https://www.heart.org/-/media/Images/Professional/Institute/anandrohatginew.jpg?h=600&iar=0&mw=600&w=600&hash=5AF221A5D7B5C39F13B07E3C22381D92)
![](https://www.heart.org/-/media/Images/Professional/Institute/Yuan_Chune1581435540329.jpg?h=300&iar=0&mw=600&w=300&hash=6B249B208DD503EEF9D84E65C7571F78)
Chun Yuan, Ph.D.
“In order to prevent heart attack or stroke, we really need to understand how atherosclerosis develops and how it evolves over time.”
Juan Zhao, Ph.D.
“Looking beyond conventional factors is essential for accurate stroke prevention, especially given that stroke is preventable, and its first sign may be fatal"
![](https://www.heart.org/-/media/Images/Professional/Institute/juan_zhao.jpg?h=494&iar=0&mw=600&w=494&hash=91E3D51A587B0089DD0AAAE8E6045A42)