FSU students awarded American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship

Two Florida State University doctoral students have been awarded highly competitive 2025 American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowships.

Leila Khalili, a doctoral student in the Nutrition and Food Science program at the Anne Spencer Daves College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, and Emily Shiel, a doctoral student in the College of Medicine, have both received the two-year fellowship.

“Receiving the AHA Predoctoral Fellowship is a significant honor,” Khalili said. “The funding allows me to conduct more in-depth research, analyze larger datasets, and refine my methodologies. This recognition also supports my career goals by opening opportunities for further research collaborations and positioning me as a cardiovascular health and microbiota research scholar.”

Khalili’s work investigates how the beneficial gut bacterium, Akkermansia muciniphila, may influence plaque buildup in the arteries — a key factor in the development of atherosclerosis. This condition, characterized by the narrowing and hardening of arteries due to plaque buildup, is a major contributor to cardiovascular disease.

The gut microbiota, a complex community of bacteria in the digestive system, plays a key role in many aspects of our health, including cardiovascular health, Khalili says.

“This fellowship validates the importance of exploring alternative approaches to cardiovascular disease prevention, such as dietary interventions and gut microbiota modulation,” Khalili said. “It motivates me to continue pushing forward with my work and contribute to the growing body of research reshaping how we approach heart health. It also strengthens my commitment to improving public health by advancing more personalized, effective, and accessible treatments for cardiovascular diseases.”

Shiel’s doctoral studies have been focused on arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, an inherited heart disease caused by genetic defects in parts of the cardiac muscle, that causes ventricular arrhythmias.

“Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy (ACM) is a genetic heart disease and a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in the young,” Shiel said. “Hearts from these patients become inflamed, causing cell death, and scar tissue. This weakens the heart from pumping properly and may cause abnormal heartbeats.”

Specifically, Shiel is investigating a type of white blood cell, called neutrophils, which are the first immune cell to activate when there is injury to the body and help repair tissue. In most people, they disappear. But in patients with ACM, they linger and potentially cause health issues.

Using animal models, Shiel plans to delete a gene and block one protein that leads to heart inflammation.

“This directly supports the mission of the AHA by uncovering potential targets to prevent heart inflammation in ACM and other heart diseases,” Shiel said.

The American Heart Association Predoctoral Fellowship supports emerging researchers whose projects demonstrate high potential to advance cardiovascular and cerebrovascular science and brain health. The award provides nearly $70,000 in funding to support their individual research initiatives.

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