During his overseas visiting program, Shen Zekun, a young physician from the Department of Vascular Surgery of the First Affiliated Hospital (FAH) of Xi’an Jiaotong University (XJTU), was awarded a postdoctoral fellowship from the American Heart Association (AHA) in recognition of his solid research foundation and innovative capabilities, with total funding exceeding USD 150,000. This achievement represents a stage-specific outcome of the FAH’s efforts in talent development, scientific innovation, and international exchange and cooperation.
Shen Zekun, who earned his Ph.D. in 2024 under the mentorship of Professor Lu Shaoying, is a key young talent in the Department of Vascular Surgery. In the same year, he was selected to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship in the United States and is currently conducting two years of postdoctoral research at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Before going abroad, he focused on translational research addressing clinical needs in vascular surgery, establishing a research framework for mesenchymal stem cell therapy for lower limb ischemia, developing mature animal models, and creating molecular detection platforms, while contributing to the publication of several high-quality papers, which laid a solid foundation for his overseas research.
Upon arriving in the U.S., Shen Zekun quickly bridged the academic and technical gaps, familiarized himself with the experimental platform, and efficiently advanced his research work. He took on key responsibilities, such as experimental protocol design, animal model development, data analysis, paper writing, and project applications. In his research, he proposed an innovative approach utilizing extracellular vesicle membranes as mechanical anchors for Notch ligands, combined with vascular shear forces to activate the Notch signaling pathway. Leveraging clinical issues and integrating his prior research experience with the technical advantages of the overseas team, he has driven the project forward.
With the newly awarded funding, Shen Zekun will focus on “vascular protection and repair in chemotherapy-induced cardiac damage”, a research direction that may offer new insights and potential solutions for the prevention and treatment of cardiovascular complications related to cancer therapies.
