Karen Hirschi, PhD, Speaker

Dr. Karen Hirschi is the Alumni Professor of Cell Biology at the University of Virginia, where she directs the Developmental Genomics Center and serves as Associate Director of the UVA Medical Scientist Training Program. Her laboratory, part of the Robert M. Berne Cardiovascular Research Center, recently received a $3 million NIH grant to study arterial-venous specification during development and disease. Dr. Hirschi’s research focuses on understanding how blood vessels form and differentiate, aiming to develop therapies for vascular diseases and tissue engineering. Her significant findings include the role of endothelial cell cycle state in vascular development, with potential applications in treating conditions like Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia through FDA-approved treatments.