Cell and Molecular Biology PhD student Anna Nilsson has demonstrated great dedication and achievement in the field of cardiovascular research, recently earning three grants/fellowships in recognition of her work.
Nilsson is a 4th year PhD student in the lab of Dr. Kathryn Schunke where she studies the therapeutic mechanism of a cardioprotective brain-heart network in animal models of diabetes. Her successes demonstrate the many opportunities available to graduate students studying basic and health-related cardiovascular science at the University of Hawaiʻi, as well as the triumph of repeated attempts and consistent improvement in the process of applying to these competitive programs.
In the summer of 2024, Nilsson applied for appointment to the University of Hawaiʻi Center for Cardiovascular Research (CCR) T32 Training Grant that was recently renewed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for its third cycle. The T32 is an institutional grant that supports five years of both graduate student and post-doctoral training in basic cardiovascular science at the University of Hawaiʻi. The T32 program was brought to life in 2012 by dedicated faculty including CMB Chair Prof. Michelle Tallquist and CCR Director Prof. Ralph Shohet, who recognized the need for supportive and productive cardiovascular research mentorship at UH. The T32 is an excellent opportunity for students and post-docs invested in cardiovascular research, providing them financial support (stipend, tuition), mentorship, and professional development. In the fall, Nilsson was one of two PhD students selected to join the T32 Training Grant in 2024.
Following this achievement, Nilsson was notified in December 2024 that her application to the American Heart Association (AHA) Pre-doctoral Fellowship was awarded. The AHA is a privately funded research institution devoted to supporting scientific research in the better treatment, prevention, and cure of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. Once a year, the AHA offers PhD students across the country the opportunity to submit an application to their rigorous fellowship program, which has a success rate of 26-28%, and promises competitive stipends for its recipients. After an unsuccessful application in the 2023 cycle, Nilsson and her mentor worked together over the course of the year to improve her application for re-submission in 2024, when it was successful.
One week later, she was notified that her application to the NIH F31 Pre-doctoral Fellowship was also awarded by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI). The F31 is another independent funding opportunity available to graduate or clinical doctoral students nationwide, falling under the NIH National Research Service Award (NRSA) mechanism. This prestigious fellowship enables individualized, mentored research training to students conducting dissertation research in health-related fields relevant to the missions of any one of 21 participating NIH Institutes and Centers. Like the AHA Fellowship, the F31 provides financial support (stipend, tuition) and offers long-lasting impact in the form of career/professional advancement, credibility, and intellectual development. Unlike the AHA, the F31 follows NIH award cycles that happen three times per year. Nilsson submitted her initial F31 application in the Fall of 2023, ultimately re-submitting the application in Spring 2024 and was notified of the award in December 2024.
Among these successes, Nilsson also presented her work at the in-state 2024 Hawaii Pacific Neuroscience Symposium held in Kaneohe. This annual event offers undergraduate, graduate, and medical students the opportunity to share their neuroscience-related research to a community of largely Hawai‘i-based neuroscientists. Nilsson was awarded First Place Best Poster in the poster competition with over 40 entries and a panel of 13 judges, recognizing the impact of her multi-disciplinary work.
Most recently, Nilsson was awarded the 2025 Guy Moulton Yates Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation Award in Medicine in recognition of her many accomplishments. The ARCS Foundation is an entirely women-run national non-profit organization with goals to advance science and technology in the United States. The Foundation has 15 chapters which annually provide financial awards to academically outstanding students in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, medicine) fields of research, supporting 675 programs at 50 US universities. The Honolulu Chapter of the ARCS Foundation has been supporting graduate students at the University of Hawaii since 1974.
In her future, Nilsson hopes to pursue a post-doctoral research position to continue her training in the fields of cardiovascular and neuroscience.
