HomeCirculation ResearchVol. 120, No. 8Meet the First Authors Free AccessIn BriefPDF/EPUBAboutView PDFView EPUBSections ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload citationsTrack citationsPermissions ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InMendeleyReddit Jump toFree AccessIn BriefPDF/EPUBMeet the First Authors Originally published14 Apr 2017https://doi.org/10.1161/RES.0000000000000147Circulation Research. 2017;120:1214–1215Polydom Affects Lymphatic Vessel Remodeling (p 1276)Download figureDownload PowerPointNanami Morooka is a PhD student at Osaka University in Japan, conducting her thesis research in Kiyotochi Sekiguchi’s Laboratory. Nanami received her BS and Master’s Degrees in Chemistry from Osaka University. In the study featured in this issue, she discovered that mice lacking the extracellular matrix protein “polydom” have a defect in lymphatic vessel remodeling. She thinks that listening to disco funk music helps her with her delicate microscopic dissection, and dancing in the dark room is secret to getting good images of whole-mount samples. Her dream is to uncover the mechanism underlying lymphatic and blood vascular development, with the hope that future research will be able to apply her findings to clinical solutions.Lipid Droplets in Endothelium (p 1289)Download figureDownload PowerPointDr Andrew Kuo earned a BS in Zoology from National Taiwan University and his PhD in Cell Biology from Yale University under the supervision of Dr William C. Sessa. During his PhD training, he became passionate about lipid metabolism in endothelial biology. He will continue his postdoctoral training with Dr Timothy Hla at Boston Children’s Hospital with the goal of studying sphingosine-1-phosphate biology. His long-term goal is to unveil the diverse functions of lipids in the context of vascular biology. His favorite lipid molecule is dolichol.miRNA Mimics for Cardiac Regeneration (p 1298)Download figureDownload PowerPointDr Pierluigi Lesizza earned his MD in 2014 at the University of Trieste, Italy. He is now pursuing his PhD in Cardiology at the University of Trieste under the supervision of Dr Gianfranco Sinagra, and collaborating with the Molecular Medicine Laboratory of ICGEB, Trieste (supervisor: Prof Mauro Giacca). He became familiar with the field of regenerative medicine during his University studies and has been drawn to the potential development of innovative therapies for heart failure exploiting the mechanisms of heart regeneration. He would like to continue working both in clinics and at the bench to try to translate basic research discoveries to clinical therapies.Novel Sympathetic Function: Positive Adhesiotropy (p 1305)Download figureDownload PowerPointDr Camilla Schinner has been fascinated by science and anatomy and is especially intrigued by the cardiovascular system since the beginning of her medical studies. As a result, she conducted her MD thesis (common in German medical educational system) at the Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, LMU Munich, resulting in this manuscript. The question of how cells maintain contact, especially in the heart, is the main focus of her research. In November 2016, she graduated from medical school and started her career in anatomy. For her, anatomy provides the perfect combination of biomedical science, and teaching students is an exciting and important subject.3D-Printed Scaffolds for Engineered Myocardium (p 1318)Download figureDownload PowerPointDr Ling Gao is a postdoctoral associate in the laboratory of Professor Jianyi (Jay) Zhang, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Biological Pharmacy and a Master of Science in Physiology from Nanjing University, and then he earned a Doctoral degree in Physiology at Shanghai Jiao Tong University. Dr Gao’s research currently focuses on using 3 lineages of human iPSC-derived cardiac cells (cardiac myocytes, smooth-muscle cells, and endothelial cells) to generate cardiovascular tissues and then testing these engineered tissues in a porcine model of left-ventricular remodeling.Meta-Analysis of Cell Therapy for PAD (p 1326)Download figureDownload PowerPointDr Mauro Rigato earned his MD at the University of Padova in 2008 and concluded a 5-year residency in the Unit of Endocrinology, directed by Dr A. Avogaro. He is experienced in the management of patients with diabetic complications, especially foot and cardiovascular disease, which represent major health care issues worldwide. Dr Rigato is currently concluding his PhD studies in Translational Medicine under the supervision of Dr G.P. Fadini, with a focus on stem cells in diabetes and its complications. He is also involved in a project for the study of diabetes in Africa. In his free time, he likes mountaineering and travelling. Previous Back to top Next FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails April 14, 2017Vol 120, Issue 8 Advertisement Article InformationMetrics © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.https://doi.org/10.1161/RES.0000000000000147PMID: 28408442 Originally publishedApril 14, 2017 PDF download Advertisement