Samar Antar
Supported by Fralin Biomedical Research Institute's Postdoctoral Excellence Program
Faculty Mentor
Yassine Sassi
Assistant Professor
Research Areas/Interests
Cardiovascular and pulmonary disease biology
How long have you been in your postdoctoral position at Virginia Tech?
Began in December 2022
Briefly describe the research project you are working on as a postdoctoral associate at Virginia Tech. What is the problem you are addressing? What is the expected impact of your work?
One of my long-term goals is to initiate new directions in cardiovascular therapy research; therefore, my current aim is to continue a career path within cardiovascular research, in this innovative, exciting, and nurturing institutional setting. I will investigate the role of Id proteins in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis pathology using in vitro human lung fibroblasts and in vivo animal models.
Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a devastating fibrotic lung disease of unknown etiology and limited therapeutic options. IPF is characterized by aberrant extracellular matrix deposition, which leads to decreased lung compliance and ultimately respiratory failure and death. However, there is currently no cure available for IPF, and new therapies are desperately needed. Inhibitor of DNA binding (Id1) and (Id3) proteins are transcription regulators that belong to the superfamily of basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) proteins. Id proteins lack a basic domain (essential for DNA binding) and therefore negatively regulate E-box transcription factors by forming a heterodimeric complex and suppressing transactivation. Id1 and Id3 proteins are expressed during development and their expression is largely silenced in adult tissues but can be reactivated in several disease processes. Id1 and Id3 are considered to have overlapping and synergistic functions in cancer biology and have been related with cell differentiation, cell growth promotion and tumor metastasis. However, the regulation and the effects of Id1 and Id3 in IPF remain to be investigated.I hypothesize that Id1 and Id3 play an important role in IPF by activating lung fibroblast proliferation and differentiation, and inducing pulmonary fibrosis.
The overall goal of my work is to determine the regulation and the effects of Id1 and Id3 in pulmonary fibroblasts, and to investigate whether Id1/Id3 inhibition may reverse pathological lung remodeling in IPF.
Why did you choose to pursue postdoctoral training at Virginia Tech?
The Fralin Biomedical Research Institute (FBRI) and its Center for Vascular and Heart Research offer an exceptional environment for researchers to interact and collaborate on a variety of topics.
What are your career goals?
I seek to become an expert in my field of cardiovascular research.
How do you see the resources available to postdoctoral associates at Virginia Tech generally and via this program specifically being helpful to your career and professional development?
I look forward to the networking opportunities and professional development this program offers. Combining the program events with other resoruces at Virginia Tech, I seek to improve my grant writing, teaching, and mentoring skills.