“Sweethearts” Learn about Heart Health, Cardiovascular Research at UAMS

Faculty member in lab holding a model of an eye and talking to three students — Abdelrahman Fouda, Ph.D., holds a model of an eye as he discusses treatments for stroke and retinal diseases.

Faculty and lab teams from the departments of Pharmacology and Toxicology and Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences in the College of Medicine and Pharmaceutical Sciences in the College of Pharmacy hosted 30 “sweethearts” — high school sophomore and junior girls participating in the American Heart Association and AHA Arkansas Chapter “Sweethearts” program — on two evenings in January.

Faculty member holding a heart model and pointing to an image on a screen while a student uses an ultrasound to image a volunteer's heart — Kevin Phelan, Ph.D., works with a student to conduct ultrasound imaging of a heart, explaining the image with the help of a model of a heart.

Nancy Rusch, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, organized the event and welcomed each evening’s participants during an introductory session. Groups of “sweethearts” then rotated through five laboratories to learn about cardiovascular health and cardiovascular research at UAMS.

Two students looking into microscopes as a third student and lab member look on — Students view heart tissue, scarred due to high blood pressure, under the microscope, as well as live kidney cells, with help from graduate student Christoph Mora.

Conducted over several months, the AHA program focuses on heart healthy lifestyles, prevention of heart disease and volunteer work.

Participating laboratories and faculty included:

Abdelrahman Fouda, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, who discussed treatments for stroke and retinal diseases.
Yunmeng Liu, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, who along with trainees in the lab of Associate Professor Shengyu Mu, Ph.D., demonstrated blood pressure measurement and discussed salt-sensitive hypertension.
Nirmala Parajuli, DVM, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Toxicology, and staff, who discussed the team’s research to improve renal transplant outcomes.
Kevin Phelan, Ph.D., Professor of Neurobiology and Developmental Sciences, who demonstrated cardiovascular ultrasound imaging with hands-on opportunities for students to image the heart.
Amanda Stolarz, PharmD, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, who introduced the students to the lymphatic circulation and discussed her lab team’s efforts to find a treatment for lymphedema.

Kudos from the AHA Arkansas Chapter and Dr. Rusch to the many department administrators, faculty and trainees who contributed to this year’s event.

Watch for more about this event on the UAMS website soon!