Ph.D. candidate earns travel award, presents cardiovascular research
Posted on November 11, 2026
Tyler Beling
Tyler Beling, a third-year Ph.D. candidate at the Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine, received the Hypertension 2026 Scientific Sessions Travel Award to present her research at the American Heart Association Council on Hypertension’s annual meeting, held Oct. 7-11 in Arlington, Virginia.
The award recognizes trainees and early-career investigators selected to present their research at the annual meeting.
She is a student in the Cardiovascular Lung Biology track of the Basic Medical Sciences Graduate Program. She conducts her research in the laboratory of Thiago Bruder, Ph.D., assistant professor of physiology and cell biology, who also attended the conference.
Beling presented a poster examining the role of endothelial-derived progranulin, a protein involved in cellular waste processing, in protecting blood vessels during obesity.
Her research found that progranulin levels increase during obesity. The findings suggest this increase may be a protective response, as the absence of progranulin in endothelial cells — the cells lining blood vessels — is associated with impaired vascular function.
“We believe this to be a protective mechanism, as we have found that the lack of endothelial progranulin increases vascular dysfunction,” Beling said. “This finding has the potential to be used as a screening mechanism for people at risk of cardiovascular disease, or as a possible therapeutic target.”
