We congratulate Saurabh S. Thosar, PhD on the awarding of a career development grant from the Sleep Research Society Foundation. Saurabh’s project is titled Circadian rhythms of vascular function in cardiovascular disease. Saurabh is a postdoctoral fellow at the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences. Saurabh will closely work with his mentors Steven A. Shea, PhD from the Oregon Institute of Occupational Health Sciences and Jonathan R. Lindner, MD from the Knight Cardiovascular Institute.

Adverse cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction, and sudden cardiac death occur more frequently in the morning than at other times of day. There are many behavioral changes (including arousal from sleep, change in posture and increased physical activity) around this time that could be considered triggers of such adverse events. However, it has been shown that endogenous circadian rhythms in certain CV risk markers also peak during these vulnerable morning hours, independent of behaviors, thereby implicating the endogenous circadian system in morning CV vulnerability. In this project, Dr. Thosar will use myocardial perfusion imaging in a multi-day laboratory protocol to assess if the functioning of the blood vessels of the heart displays is impaired in the morning hours. This study will be conducted in healthy individuals and will set the stage for research on individuals with increased risk for heart disease (including people with high blood pressure).

Saurabh is currently funded via a F32 fellowship from the National Institutes of Health.