Sept. 29, 2014 | Sept. 29, 2014 | The Translational Research Institute (TRI) has selected Satish Kenchaiah, M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.C., Ming Li, Ph.D., and Taren Swindle, Ph.D., as the KL2 Mentored Career Development Award recipients for 2014.

They are among 16 KL2 recipients selected by TRI since 2010 and will receive two years of protected time, research support and training to help them quickly develop their research programs.

“I just can’t imagine a better support system to help me go from being a junior investigator with some experience to an independent lead investigator with the training I need,” said Swindle, whose comments were echoed by Li and Kenchaiah.

“We’re very excited about this year’s group of KL2 scholars,” said TRI Director Laura James, M.D. “They’re ready to launch innovative research programs that will translate to improved health, and we are here to help them.”

Below is a summary of each of their research programs:

Satish Kenchaiah

Kenchaiah is excited by the potential for assessing heart health and risk for heart-related conditions using cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). He is pursuing his goal by first analyzing MRI scans using a new custom-designed measurement tool and then combining his expertise in advanced cardiac imaging and cardiovascular epidemiology.

A cardiologist and epidemiologist who joined UAMS in 2013, he is as an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Preventive Cardiology Program. Kenchaiah’s novel research approach will involve the first known MRI measurements of heart mass (thickness) in 16 sections of the left ventricle – the largest and thickest of the 4 heart chambers – among living individuals rather than from autopsy specimens.

Based on his preliminary findings, Kenchaiah has been granted access to MRI scans of about 1,800 participants in the esteemed Framingham Heart Study located in Framingham, Massachusetts, where he initially received his training in cardiovascular epidemiology and subsequently continued as a co-investigator. He will analyze the 10-year-old MRI scans to determine normal and abnormal variations in the distribution of heart muscle mass and link them to a person’s heart health including risk for heart failure and sudden death. He will also look for genetic underpinnings and other factors related to variations in the distribution of heart muscle mass.

“If we can quantify muscle mass in various regions of the heart, we would potentially be able to predict poor outcomes, such as heart failure, much better than just by assessing the global mass of the left ventricle,” he said.

Ming Li

Inspired by his collaborations with Robert C. Elston, Ph.D., considered the founding father of modern statistical genetics, Li is using his KL2 to refine and develop novel statistical methods to detect gene interactions and gene and environmental interactions that are associated with congenital heart defects.

Li joined UAMS in 2012 as an assistant professor in the Division of Biostatistics, Department of Pediatrics.

Congenital heart defects can be caused by both genetic and environmental factors, including possible interactions between them. Most current studies have been focused on a genetic or environmental factor alone, and his research will investigate how the genes and environmental factors can jointly increase the disease risk.

He will apply his novel statistical method to samples from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Birth Defects Prevention Study (NBDPS), which includes Arkansas, where the study is led by UAMS’ Charlotte A. Hobbs, M.D., Ph.D. Li’s study involves approximately 1,000 affected babies and their parents and 1,000 unaffected babies and their mothers.

“Eventually we want to be able to identify individuals that are at high risk for congenital heart defects,” Li said. “The ultimate goal is personalized treatment. We’re going to identify the genetic profile of individuals and predict their risk of having a congenital heart defect.”

Taren Swindle

Swindle’s obesity and nutrition research was inspired by observing the interactions between early childhood educators and their students. Her KL2 study will explore the role of these educators in establishing children’s lifelong food attitudes and eating behaviors.

Swindle, who received a doctorate in educational psychology and research from the University of Memphis, became an assistant professor in 2013 in the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. She was working on a nutrition and obesity intervention program for students from low-income families when she observed that educators may need guidance on how to model and promote healthy attitudes and behaviors.

Her mixed-methods study initially involves interviews with 30 educators in Arkansas to better understand their backgrounds and beliefs related to nutrition and obesity. The interviews will be used to help develop a statewide survey of teachers.

“We hope these data can inform policies to provide training and support to help teachers become healthy role models for kids,” Swindle said.

KL2 awards provide 75 percent salary support (up to $52,000 a year) that allows dedicated time to research. Recipients also receive up to $25,000 a year in research funds, as well as travel funds, graduate-level tuition support, and assistance from mentors.