University of Pittsburgh researcher Arturo Valentin has received a two-year American Heart Association fellowship to study the use of new polymers in the repair of weakened arteries.
Valentin will explore the development of artificial grafts, how they degrade and the factors that control how living cells turn grafts into neo-arteries. Valentin is a postdoctoral researcher who focuses on mechanobiology in Pitt’s Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and the fellowship is valued at $97,000.
“This AHA fellowship will support our research to build replacement arteries utilizing advanced synthetic polymers as grafts that better treat patients with peripheral artery disease or who must undergo cardiac bypass surgery,” Valentin said in a prepared statement.
Clinical trials resulting from the research are anticipated within several years.