When heart muscle is dying, a protein called troponin breaks apart and leaks into the bloodstream. Kristin Newby, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke Medical Center, is studying how troponin and other markers in the blood can help physicians determine a patient's risk for heart attacks and stroke before a medical crisis occurs. With a particular interest in women's cardiovascular health, Newby also hopes to use these markers to tailor therapies to individual heart patients. An NIH "K grant" supported her research through 2003, and she is currently revising her second R01 grant submission based on reviewers' feedback. She remains optimistic about receiving funding. In the meantime, she is supporting her research through grants from the pharmaceutical industry.
"The process of getting NIH funding can be a career in and of itself. It takes time, and you have to be persistent."
-- Kristin Newby