Dr. Vitor Lira, Assistant Professor in Health and Human Physiology and member of the Obesity Research and Education Initiative and Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center at the University of Iowa, has received an American Heart Association (AHA) Scientist Development Grant. 

His three-year project is entitled “Molecular insights into the exercise-mediated protection against diabetic cardiomyopathy”. Diabetic cardiomyopathy, which is an important mechanism for heart failure in diabetes, affects more than 40% of patients with type 2 diabetes and lacks effective therapy. Exercise protects the diabetic heart, at least in part, by stimulating the pathway of autophagy, which degrades malfunctioning proteins and cellular structures. The goal of this project is to determine the molecular regulation of cardiac autophagy by exercise in obesity and type 2 diabetes, potentially revealing alternative targets for therapy.