T32 Scholars

Current Scholars

Saran Lotfollahzadeh, MD
Postdoctoral Associate NRSA
Research Mentor: Vipul C. Chitalia, MD, Ph.D.
Dr. Saran Lotfollahzadeh completed her integrated five-year general and vascular surgery residency program, followed by a clinical fellowship in Pediatric Surgery at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. She started her translational research work in vascular biology in the lab of Dr. Vipul Chitalia with the main focus of cardiovascular complications in patients with uremia. She was granted an American Heart Association Cardio-Oncology Fellowship to continue her work on cardiovascular complications in minoritized patient populations with cancer. She is currently pursuing a master’s in clinical research. Her current research focus includes cardiovascular complications at the intersection of cardio-metabolic risk factors in diverse patient populations. Other interests include cardiovascular access optimization in patients with uremia and cancer.

Melinda Solomon, MD
Postdoctoral Associate NRSA
Research Mentor: Sushrut S. Waikar, MD, MPH
Career Mentor: Ashish Upadhyay, MD
Dr. Melinda Solomon completed her Internal Medicine residency at the University of Mississippi Medical Center and is currently pursuing a Nephrology Fellowship at Boston Medical Center. Her current research focus includes aldosterone association with chronic kidney disease progression. Other interests include aldosterone effect on the cardio-renal-metabolic systems.

Juan-Pablo Zertuche, MD
Postdoctoral Associate NRSA
Research Mentor: David Felson, MD
Career Mentor: Andreea Monica Bujor, MD
Dr. Zertuche pursued Internal Medicine and Pediatrics residency at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School and then completed Rheumatology Fellowship at Boston University. He is currently a postdoctoral fellow interested in clinical epidemiology of cardiovascular disease. His current research focus includes scleroderma and chronic pain related cardiovascular disease, as well as the interaction of macrophages and fibroblasts in scleroderma.

Jaylen Wright, PhD
Postdoctoral Associate NRSA
Research Mentor: Liza Fuentes, DrPH MPH
Career Mentor: Lois McCloskey, DrPH
Dr. Jaylen Wright obtained his MS and PhD from the University of Texas at Austin in Health Behavior and Health Education with concentrations in counseling and qualitative research methods. He currently serves as the perinatal research associate for the Equity in Pregnancy team of the Health Equity Accelerator in the OBGYN Department at Boston Medical Center. Jaylen’s work utilizes qualitative methodologies and community-centered study designs to explore the complex and unique health outcome and care experiences of marginalized birthing communities and their families. His current research projects focus on evaluating patient experiences of pregnancy-related cardiovascular health interventions, preeclampsia and diabetes education programs, remote blood pressure monitoring, and perinatal distress.