Newscope
University researcher receives AHA Established Investigator Award
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| John N. Buchholz, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology in the School of Medicine (left), confers with Charles Hewitt, senior research assistant for the department of physiology and pharmacology, about the research project funded by the American Heart Association. |
School of Medicine researcher John N. Buchholz, PhD, associate professor of pharmacology, has been awarded the American Heart Association's prestigious Established Investigator Award. This award is only given to established scientists in institutions of higher education in the United States.
A $300,000 grant was awarded for Dr. Buchholz's project, titled "Impact of Age on Intracellular Calcium Buffering in Vascular Adrenergic Nerves." The project is funded for four years beginning January, 2000, and ending December, 2003.
This year, the American Heart Association funded 85 Established Investigator Awards out of 3,000 applications submitted. "The competition is extremely stiff,² Dr. Buchholz says. "The majority of the applications are not funded."
Dr. Buchholz's project will address the phenomenon of "creeping² or rising blood pressure with advancing age. "With advancing age, there is a tendency for blood pressure to gradually increase," Dr. Buchholz says. "This puts additional stress on the heart and can lead to an increase in the risk for stroke."
Dr. Buchholz's research will enhance the understanding of the impact of age on the function of critical calcium control systems in adrenergic nerves.
"Understanding this particular nerve type and how these nerves function with advancing age will, hopefully, lead to intervention strategies designed to maintain maximum function of nerves that control blood pressure," Dr. Buchholz elaborates.
Dr. Buchholz, the primary researcher, is collaborating with Daisy DeLeón, PhD, associate professor of physiology and pharmacology, also a School of Medicine researcher. Others working on the project include Charles Hewitt, senior research assistant in the department of physiology and pharmacology; and William Pottorf, MS, a pre-doctoral fellow in the Graduate School.
Dr. Buchholz has either authored or co-authored more than 25 scientific publications and nearly 50 abstracts. He is also a grant reviewer for American Heart National Center.