Zijuan Liu, Ph.D., a WSU research associate in the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, was awarded a two-year Postdoctoral Fellowship Pathways from the American Heart Association for her project, "Arsenic Uptake into Heart and Brain: Glucose Permeases Glut1 and Glut4 Transport Trivalent Arsenic." Her project received a priority score of 1.0, the top rank in her competition.

The overall goal of Dr. Liu's study is to elucidate the health consequences of transport of arsenic catalyzed by mammalian glucose permeases. Arsenic exposure is associated with a number of human diseases, including hypertension, diabetes and cancer. Dr. Liu recently discovered that human glucose permeases take up arsenic, probably as a six-membered cyclic oxo-bridged form. The aims of her project are to characterize the arsenic transport properties in heart cells, where uptake of arsenic may be especially harmful, and through the blood-brain barrier, where arsenic exerts its neurotoxicity. Her long-term goal is to explore the relationship of arsenic uptake and arsenic-related cardiovascular diseases.

"Dr. Liu is one of the most innovative young scientists in the WSU School of Medicine," said Dr. Liu's advisor, Barry P. Rosen, Ph.D., professor and chair of biochemistry and molecular biology. "This fellowship is an excellent way to encourage outstanding beginning scientists like Dr. Liu to pursue careers in science and medical research."