Stepp chairs NIH study section on vascular cell and molecular biology

AUGUSTA, Ga. – Dr. David Stepp, vascular biologist in the Vascular Biology Center at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, has been appointed chair of the Vascular Cell and Molecular Biology Study Section of the National Institutes of Health.

Stepp is a charter member of the study section that reviews researchers’ applications for grants to study cardiovascular disease with an emphasis on the biology of endothelial and vascular smooth muscle cells. He will chair the group for one year and has served as interim chair for the past year.

Stepp has regularly served on NIH study sections since 2003. He also has chaired the American Heart Association Region II Vascular Biology and Blood Pressure Regulation study section. Stepp has secured more than $8 million in external funding, primarily from the NIH, in his 15 years on the MCG faculty and published approximately 75 articles in high-impact journals. His current studies focus on understanding the cardiovascular impact of fat and disconnecting the relationship.

He is chief of the Program in Metabolic Vascular Disease at the Vascular Biology Center and a professor in the Department of Physiology. Stepp is an editorial board member of the American Journal of Physiology (Heart and Circulatory and Regulatory), Journal of Vascular Research, Circulation Research, Basic Research in Cardiology and Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States and Georgia.