Wednesday, July 29, 2015

The American Heart Association (AHA) has selected Justin Grobe, PhD, assistant professor of pharmacology, as the recipient of the 2015 Harry Goldblatt New Investigator Award. Grobe will be recognized during the AHA’s Hypertension Scientific Sessions. The award recognizes a new independent investigator working in hypertension or cardiovascular research who has significantly contributed to the understanding of the causes of hypertension and related cardiovascular disease.

Grobe, recently elected a Fellow of the American Heart Association, initially arrived at the University of Iowa as a postdoctoral fellow in 2006, prior to joining the pharmacology faculty in 2010.

His research focuses on metabolic and cardiovascular control by the brain and how disruptions in the renin-angiotensin system can result in hypertension and obesity. The development of novel therapeutics for obesity, obesity-hypertension, and preeclampsia are among the many potential outcomes of the Grobe laboratory’s efforts. Grobe himself has an impact beyond this esteemed explorative work as he was also among an exclusive group of UI researchers who recently met with legislators on Capitol Hill to advocate for increased funding for medical research and research on women’s health.

Dr. Harry Goldblatt, the pathologist for whom the New Investigator Award is named, established the first animal model of hypertension in 1934. Goldblatt’s model was integral in mapping the renin-angiotensin system of blood pressure control and eventually led to the design of enzyme inhibitors for the treatment of chronic hypertension.