Joined the lab in September 2021!
About me:
I am a postdoctoral fellow in the Lee lab at OMRF. I work on NAD metabolism and mitochondrial function in diabetic cardiomyopathy. We are exploring a novel mechanism for NAD consumption in diabetic hearts, and I plan to dissect its interplay with mitochondrial defects. Eventually, we hope to test the translational potential of this mechanism as a therapeutic target for diabetic cardiomyopathy.
Education and Previous Experience:
My education has all been in my home country India, where I got a Bachelors in Pharmacy and specialized in Pharmacology & Toxicology in my Master’s program. For my PhD, I explored the role of vitamin D in metabolic syndrome and its cardiac complications. I had a post-PhD stint as a Communications and Public Engagement Consultant at DBT/Welcome Trust India Alliance, a biomedical research-funding organization in India.
Research Interests:
Cardiometabolic disease biology and drug discovery, Mitochondrial metabolism and pathology in heart disease
Awards:
- OMRF Annual Retreat Poster Award for Postdocs (2023)
- OMRF Postdoctoral Travel Award (2022 & 2023)
- Award for ‘Five Year All-Round Performance by a PhD Student’ at THSTI, Faridabad, India (2020)
- EMBO Travel Grant, CSIR (India) International Travel Grant, and Flash talk at EMBO Workshop: Organ Crossstalk in Energy Balance and Metabolic Disease (2019) at Cadiz, Spain
- S. Dhalla Best Poster Award at IACS-India 2019 Annual Conference (2019)
- Awarded for Best Oral Research Presentation at Cardiovascular Research Convergence (CRC 2018) at ICGEB, New Delhi (2018)
- CSIR-NET Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) by Council for Scientific & Industrial Research), India (2014-2019)
Hobbies: Reading, riding my bike to OKC cafes and breakfast spots, cooking and amateur food photography (Instagram: @ginger.vinger).
Favorite Color: Blue
Favorite Movie(s): Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Love Aaj Kal (Hindi), A Man Called Otto
Contact Info:
Email: Hina-Nizami@omrf.org
Phone: (405) 271-1704