The UNC Department of Surgery is pleased to announce that the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has awarded Dr. Adam W. Akerman, PhD, an R01 grant and a 4-year funding period for his study entitled: “Enhanced Biochemical Monitoring for Aortic Aneurysm Disease.”
Dr. Akerman and his team—which includes Drs. John Ikonomidis and Chris Agala from the UNC Department of Surgery and a collaboration with the UVA School of Medicine—have developed novel assays to quantify aneurysm biomarkers and enhance the biochemical monitoring of aortic aneurysm. Their primary goal is to advance a standardized screening technique that determines aneurysm presence, location, and diameter; such information may be used for risk stratification and will surely mitigate life-threatening aortic complications in the general population.
Dr. Akerman, an assistant professor in the department of surgery, joined UNC Chapel Hill in 2017. He currently serves as the Director of the UNC Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery Cardiovascular Research Laboratory.
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