Katy Trampel Successfully Defended her PhD Thesis!

Katy Trampel successfully defended her dissertation on May 1st, 2026, titled “The Role of Stress Signaling and Inflammation in Human and Rodent Hearts during Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity (DIC) and Aging,” which tackles the pressing issues of cardiac aging and doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity (DIC). Her dissertation investigated the p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family and its effects on cardiac remodeling. Specifically, her work focused on the two least-studied p38 isoforms: p38beta in cardiac aging and p38delta in DIC. This approach is unique because prior studies largely failed because they targeted all isoforms of p38, even though some are protective. Using isoform-specific RNA interference technology, she found that silencing p38delta reduced cardiac dysfunction and increased survival in DIC models. She also found that p38beta deletion exacerbated age-related cardiac remodeling. Her work suggests that isoform-specific targeting of p38 signaling is a promising approach for future cardio-protective therapies.

Congratulations to Katy!