Medical Student Recognized for Cardiovascular Research

A student researcher from the College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) has secured a prestigious Scholarship in Cardiovascular Disease from the American Heart Association (AHA).

Each year, the Scientific Councils of the AHA award $2,000 to students researching cardiovascular disease topics within basic, clinical, translational, or population sciences.

Working under the mentorship of Associate Professor of Biomedical Sciences Maria Alicia Carrillo Sepulveda, Ph.D., NYITCOM student Jac Lun Lin will investigate how reduced levels of testosterone increase the risk of men developing vascular metabolic complications. The study’s findings will help raise awareness about the negative impact of modern life, including the consumption of a Western diet, on testosterone levels and cardiometabolic complications.

According to the American Urological Association, two out of five men over age 45 exhibit testosterone deficiency. If left unaddressed, low levels of testosterone can lead to a series of complications, including metabolic and cardiovascular complications, says Sepulveda.

“Over the past 50 years, the levels of testosterone in men have dropped, and one of the potential causes is the westernized lifestyle,” she said. “While it is recognized that reduced levels of testosterone have various effects on men’s health, including metabolic and cardiovascular complications, there are knowledge gaps on how testosterone deficiency causes metabolic and vascular complications. Moreover, there is a lack of a preclinical model that better recapitulates the low testosterone condition on men exposed to modern lifestyles.”

In a rodent model, Lin and Sepulveda, a vascular physiology expert, will develop a new preclinical model of reduced testosterone levels that mimics the human condition. They will use radiotelemetry (the gold standard for monitoring blood pressure), high-resolution ultrasound to measure arterial stiffness, and vascular reactivity to measure endothelial (inner blood vessel) function. They will also characterize the metabolic profile to gain deeper insights into how deficient testosterone levels lead to metabolic and vascular changes.

“I joined Dr. Sepulveda’s lab during my first year at NYITCOM, with minimal wet lab experience. Throughout my time working with her, she has continued to push me to expand my scientific knowledge and research capabilities and encouraged me to present at scientific conferences,” says Lin.

“It was because of her dedicated mentorship that I decided to dedicate my Academic Medicine Scholar year expanding on my current research on male aging. While I am still undecided on which medical specialty I will enter after graduation, being awarded the AHA scholarship and conducting research during my Scholar year brings me one step closer to my goal of being a future physician-scientist and mentor to others.”

Lin follows in the footsteps of several other Academic Medicine Scholars from Sepulveda’s laboratory who have received AHA scholarships in recent years, including Nefia Chacko (expected to graduate in 2027), Nicole Maddie (D.O. ’24), Risa Kiernan (D.O. ’23), and Benjamin Kramer (D.O. ’19).