Doctoral candidate Xiangyu “Jacob” Zheng receives research award from American Physiological Society

Exercise physiology doctoral candidate Xiangyu “Jacob” Zheng received a research recognition award at the recent American Physiology Summit, which took place April 20-23 in Long Beach, California.

The Cardiovascular Section Research Recognition Award was presented on behalf of the American Physiological Society for Zheng’s abstract titled, “High-Salt Diet Augments Systolic Blood Pressure and Induces Arterial Dysfunction in Outbred, Genetically Diverse Mice.”

APS Research Recognition Awards recognize outstanding research by graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who present a first-author abstract at the American Physiology Summit.

“In the US, about 90% of adults consume too much salt, and the average salt intake is about 2.3 times higher than recommended by the American Heart Association,” said Zheng, who conducts research in the lab of Assistant Professor Dan Machin. “Our study shows that a high salt diet in UM-HET3 mice, an outbred, genetically diverse strain of mice, induces progressive elevations in systolic blood pressure and aortic stiffness, which are accompanied by impaired endothelial function.”

Zheng’s research and data may provide unique translational insight into high-salt-diet-induced elevations in systolic blood pressure and arterial dysfunction in humans living in industrialized societies.

Learn more about Zheng’s research, which was also presented at the 2023 CHHS Research Showcase.