Who we are
A lab built around one question and many disciplines.
Physicians, scientists, statisticians, and trainees. The work spans bedside cohorts to bench mechanism, so the team does too.
Life in the lab
Ten years of a group that mostly eats together.
Symposia, send-offs, holidays, and the occasional river. Photographs span the Michigan years through Galveston.
Principal Investigator
Salim S. Hayek, MD
Chair and Professor, Department of Internal Medicine
Salim Hayek is a cardiologist and NIH-funded physician-scientist who turns biomarker biology into risk prediction clinicians can act on. His work identified suPAR, the soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor, as a causal and modifiable driver of injury across the kidney, heart, and vasculature, reported in the New England Journal of Medicine, Nature Medicine, and the Journal of Clinical Investigation. His group is advancing it from biomarker to therapeutic target through human genetics, mechanistic models, and two patented anti-suPAR approaches.
A cardiovascular specialist in cardio-oncology, he created the CARE-BMT registry and derived from it a cardiovascular risk score for patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, alongside an immune checkpoint inhibitor myocarditis registry contributing to the international ICI-Myocarditis consortium. He is a former Chair of the American Heart Association's Cardio-Oncology Committee.
He was elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2026, and has received the American College of Cardiology's Douglas P. Zipes Distinguished Young Scientist Award, the American Heart Association's Samuel A. Levine Early Career Investigator Award, and the Jerome W. Conn Award for Excellence in Research. Formerly at the American University of Beirut, the University of Ottawa, Emory University, and the University of Michigan. Currently Chair of the Department of Internal Medicine at UTMB.
- Inflammation
- Biomarkers
- Risk Prediction
- CKM Disease
- Cardio-Oncology
The team
Postdoctoral Fellows and Research Staff
-
Anis Ismail, MD, MSc
Postdoctoral Fellow
Genetic and molecular mechanisms of suPAR in cardiovascular and kidney disease.
Background
He earned his MD (2022) and MS in Biology and Medical Sciences (2020) from Université Saint-Joseph, Lebanon, and previously investigated early cardiac fibrosis and clinical predictors of COVID-19 outcomes.
-
Ramya Elangovan
Senior Research Associate
Inflammatory mechanisms in cardiovascular disease, with a focus on suPAR-driven macrophage responses.
Background
She holds a master's in medical biotechnology from the University of Illinois Chicago and previously worked in the biotech industry, where she developed an interest in translational research bridging discovery and therapeutic application.
-
Grace Erne
Research Associate
Cardiovascular research, joining the lab at UTMB from the Michigan group.
Background
She earned her BS in biomolecular science with a minor in French from the University of Michigan, where she joined the lab as a first-year student through the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program and stayed on as a research assistant. She is headed for an MD-PhD with a cardiology research focus.
The team
Medical Students
-
Maarya Akmal
Medical Student, c/o 2026
Clinical and cell culture research in cardiovascular disease.
Background
She earned her BS in public health from Texas A&M University and previously conducted research at the National Institute of Mental Health.
-
Thierry Kochkarian
Medical Student, c/o 2026
Preventive cardiology questions in large EHR datasets, including post-PCI antithrombotic therapy and GLP-1 outcomes.
Background
He is pursuing a career in cardiology with research interests in preventive cardiology, lifestyle modification, and the integration of nutrition and exercise into evidence-based care.
-
Bobby Bobby
Medical Student, c/o 2027
Basic and clinical projects on the inflammatory drivers of cardiovascular and CKM disease.
Background
Before medical school he earned his BS in nursing from UTMB and worked as a critical care and perioperative nurse at UTMB and the Texas Medical Center.
-
Niyanshi Gaddam
Medical Student, c/o 2027
The intersection of cardio-oncology and psychiatry, across several ongoing cardiovascular projects.
Background
She earned her BS in biology from Texas A&M University.
-
Mckenna De Bever
Medical Student, c/o 2028
Temporal kinetics of troponin I and troponin T in patients receiving immune checkpoint inhibitors.
Background
She earned both her BS in biomedical sciences and her MS in medical sciences from Texas A&M University.
The team
Research Operations
-
Pennelope Kunkle
Program Manager
Runs research operations for the lab and supports the UTMB Transformation Office across projects.
Background
She holds a BS in biochemistry and chemistry from the University of California, San Diego, and has over 15 years of experience managing translational research laboratories at the University of Michigan, Scripps Research Institute, and SUNY Stony Brook.
-
Theresa Farhat, PhD
Scientific Writer and Editor
Leads scientific communications and grant development.
Background
She earned her PhD in human genetics from McGill University, with prior training in biochemistry and molecular genetics at the American University of Beirut, and has led research and program management roles in global health.
Where they went
Alumni
41 trainees and staff have come through the lab across Michigan and Galveston. Most are now in cardiology fellowships, faculty posts, or graduate training of their own.
Show all 41 alumni Hide alumni
- Chris Adam Research assistant, undergraduate
- Kingsley Amadi, BS Master's in biotechnology, Georgetown University
- Elizabeth Anderson, MPH Research associate
- Tariq Azam, MD Attending cardiologist, North Shore University, Chicago
- Alina Bardwell Project associate, John Snow, Inc., Boston
- Hanna Berlin, MD Obstetrics and gynecology residency, Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak
- Brayden Bitterman Research associate
- Tonimarie Catalan Clinical research coordinator
- Jiazi Chen Moved to computer science
- Ryan Paul Clarance Biostatistics undergraduate
- Kristen Machado Diaz Clinical research coordinator
- Mohamad Fardous Research, completing a BCN degree
- Rafey Feroze, MD Cardiology fellowship, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve
- Bahjat Ghazzal, MD Internal medicine resident, UMass Chan Medical School
- Maggie Ginter-Frankovich Claesen Lab, Cleveland Clinic
- Bhavna Guduguntla, MD Internal medicine residency, Washington University
- Christopher Hoeger, MD Cardiovascular medicine fellowship, Beth Israel Deaconess, Harvard
- Jakob Hupe Medical student research fellow
- Christina Hutten, PhD, MS Postdoctoral research fellow
- Christopher Launius, BS Study coordinator, Schuler Lab, University of Michigan
- Chelsea Meloche, MD Cardiology fellowship, Texas Heart Institute, Houston
- Nathan Meyette, BSN, RN Travelling nurse, preparing for medical school
- Moses Nelapudi Honors research thesis student, moved to patient care
- Patrick O'Hayer, MD Chief medical resident, internal medicine
- Kishan Padalia, MD Cardiology fellowship, Colorado
- Michael Pan, MD Cardiology fellowship, Harbor-UCLA Medical Center
- Daniel Perry, MD Trinity Health Michigan
- Ian Pizzo Clinical research coordinator
- Feriel Presswalla Research laboratory specialist
- Matthew Rochlen Undergraduate research programme student, headed for medicine
- Husam Shadid, MD Cardiology fellowship, UT Houston and MD Anderson Cancer Center
- Easheta Shah Public health studies, University of Michigan
- Rohan Shah Medical student, UTMB; internal medicine residency
- Iman Shaikh Summer undergraduate research fellow, applying to medical school
- Noor Sulaiman Research assistant
- Annika Tekumulla Laboratory assistant, undergraduate
- Caroline Tilley Patient care technician, applying to physician assistant programs
- Medha Tripathi Research assistant, undergraduate
- Alexi Vasbinder, PhD, RN Assistant professor, University of Washington School of Nursing
- Jeffrey Xie, MD, PhD Basic science at Michigan, headed for a cardiology fellowship
- Peiyao Zhao, BS Biostatistics, University of Michigan School of Public Health