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Indian American researcher honored with American Heart Association Award

Bina Joe was awarded for groundbreaking research linking gut bacteria to blood pressure regulation.

The Excellence in Hypertension Research Award recognizes Distinguished University Professor Dr. Bina Joe. / Image - UToledo

An Indian American researcher at The University of Toledo (UToledo), Bina Joe, has been awarded the American Heart Association's (AHA) Excellence in Hypertension Research Award, in recognition of her work on the connection between gut microbiota and blood pressure regulation.

Joe, a distinguished university professor and chair of UToledo's Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, received the award from the AHA Council on Hypertension, which honors major achievements in hypertension research

“Bringing this award home is a very big recognition not only for me but for our institution as a place that continues to contribute to the field of hypertension internationally,” Joe said. 

Joe's research at UToledo, where she has worked since 2001, has focused on understanding hypertension mechanisms affecting millions worldwide. In 2015, she published groundbreaking research that linked gut bacteria to hypertension, opening a new field of study in microbiota and blood pressure. Her lab recently made strides by demonstrating that engineered gut bacteria could lower blood pressure, offering potential for new treatment avenues.

Her collaborative research has further revealed that gut bacteria may affect blood pressure medication efficacy and that boosting beta hydroxybutyrate, a liver-produced chemical, could lower blood pressure. Currently, Joe’s team is studying the impact of bacteria-driven changes in gut bile acids on blood pressure, funded by a $3.85 million National Institutes of Health grant.

With the Excellence in Hypertension Research Award, Joe joins an elite group in her field. “I am dedicated to continuing this work and would be extremely gratified to one day see a new therapy to correct hypertension that came about from our early work in the connection to microbiota,” she said.

Joe holds a master's degree in biochemistry from the University of Mysore in India, as well as a PhD. 
 

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