MGM alum Sweta Patel, MD, recently received a K23 Clinician-Scientist Career Development Award from the National Institutes of Health/National Heart Lung and Blood Institute for the project "The impact of the oral microbiome on pulmonary function among people with HIV in Botswana".
People with HIV are at increased risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which is the third leading cause of death worldwide, but we do not fully understand why. To address this knowledge gap, Dr. Patel and colleagues will study associations between the oral microbiome, systemic inflammation, and COPD among people with HIV in Botswana. This information will improve our understanding of how COPD develops in people with HIV and may lead to the development of new ways to treat COPD using the microbiome.
Dr. Patel worked in the Heitman lab from 2004-2007 while an undergraduate student at Duke University. She credits Dr. Heitman with setting her on the path towards a career in research.