Danielle “Nellie” Bruns, second from left, an associate professor in UW’s Division
of Kinesiology and Health, recently received a National Institutes of Health grant
aimed at specifically identifying factors that contribute to development of heart
failure in diabetic patients. UW students on Bruns’ lab research team are, from left,
Angelique Luna, Sushumna Satyanarayana and Jose Campos. (UW Photo)
According to the American Diabetes Association, diabetes was the eighth leading cause
of death in the United States in 2021, with heart failure in the presence of diabetes
adding significantly to those statistics.
The University of Wyoming’s Danielle “Nellie” Bruns, an associate professor in the
Division of Kinesiology and Health, has embarked on research aimed at specifically
identifying factors that contribute to development of heart failure in diabetic patients.
“Heart failure in the presence of diabetes is common and deadly,” Bruns says. “While
commonly thought of as occurring in the left side of the heart, right ventricular
(RV) dysfunction also is present in diabetes and contributes to poor health outcomes.
The purpose of our new award is to identify the mechanisms of RV dysfunction in diabetes.
We hope that, in the long term, our work will lead to identification of therapies
for the diabetic RV -- a huge unmet clinical need.”
Bruns’ research will be funded through a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant
totaling $323,277 over a year. The project is titled, “Mechanisms of right ventricular
dysfunction in type 2 diabetes.”
This funding will support the work of Bruns’ HEART Lab, located in UW’s Science Initiative
Building, and that of her student team, whose members include Jose Campos, an undergraduate
from Edgewater, Colo., and graduate students Angelique Luna, from El Paso, Texas,
and Sushumna Satyanarayana, from Bangalore, India.
“Individuals with diabetes are two to four times more likely to develop heart failure,
and any research that can help increase knowledge and bring awareness to this condition
is important,” Luna says. “We are excited to be able to contribute to this knowledge
and to increase the knowledge of the right ventricle in diabetes. The opportunity
to expand my knowledge and work in the HEART Lab will have a significant impact on
my future goals.”
“Understanding ventricle-specific complications of diabetes allows targeted drug design
that improves the function of each ventricle, essential for better patient outcomes,”
Satyanarayana adds. “By working on this project, I hope to learn new techniques and
improve my knowledge in the field of diabetes.”
While Bruns and her students’ research will shed light on the impact of RV dysfunction
in diabetic heart failure, the HEART Lab’s expansive research interests include the
molecular mechanisms underlying heart disease and heart failure; the impact of age
on the failing heart; sex differences in heart failure development and treatment;
and identification of new therapies for treatment of heart disease.
“Any research done in the field of heart disease is significant,” Campos says. “But,
when we have the chance of helping fill the knowledge gap between LV (left ventricle)
and RV dysfunction, it is hard to not be excited. I know that having an opportunity
to do research in a lab such as the HEART Lab will have a significant impact on my
goal to attend medical school, not only with the research questions themselves, but
also with all the lessons that come with working as a team.”
Qin “Arthur” Zhu, interim director of the Division of Kinesiology and Health, part
of UW’s College of Health Sciences, notes the importance of health care professionals,
including those with backgrounds in kinesiology, taking part in diabetic research.
“Dr. Bruns continues to amaze us with outstanding research,” Zhu says. “The research
project addresses a high-priority need in understanding diabetic cardiomyopathy, and
I am glad that such an important task is being tackled by scientists including kinesiologists.
Congratulations to Dr. Bruns and the HEART Lab.”
“I was thrilled when I heard that Nellie had received this grant from the NIH,” says
Michelle Hilaire, interim dean of the College of Health Sciences. “Her research not
only advances our understanding and knowledge in this clinical arena, but it also
has the ability to impact lives. As a certified diabetes care and education specialist,
I know that outcomes from her research will have direct implications on the care we
provide patients with diabetes.”
About the University of Wyoming College of Health Sciences
UW’s College of Health Sciences trains health and wellness professionals and researchers
in a wide variety of disciplines, including medicine, nursing, pharmacy, speech-language
pathology, social work, kinesiology, public health, health administration and disability
studies. The college also oversees residency and fellowship programs in Casper and
Cheyenne, as well as operating a speech/hearing clinic in Laramie and primary care
clinics in Laramie, Casper and Cheyenne.
With more than 1,600 undergraduate, graduate and professional students, the college
is dedicated to training the health and wellness workforce of Wyoming and conducting
high-quality research and community engagement, with a particular focus on rural and
frontier populations.
