Driven to close the gender gap in heart research, VCU student takes next step toward a Ph.D.

By Sophie Tran

When Simone Chapman first became interested in cardiovascular research, they expected to learn how the heart works. What they didn't expect was how often women's hearts were missing from the conversation.

Chapman, a senior at Virginia Commonwealth University, first became interested in women's health during their freshman year, when they wrote a research paper about disparities in pregnancy and childbirth complications between Black and white women. An applied physiology course later sparked their interest in the cardiovascular system.

"As I learned more about the cardiovascular field, I realized even though the area is vast and has a lot of research, there is little research being done that specifically pertains to women," said Chapman, who is majoring in biomedical engineering in the College of Engineering.

That interest has shaped Chapman's plans for the future. They hope to pursue a Ph.D. focused on cardiovascular research, with an emphasis on women's health.

This summer, Chapman took a step toward that goal through the Cardio4U program at Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts, where they conducted cardiovascular research in partnership with the American Heart Association.

The program gave Chapman a clearer picture of the questions they want to pursue in graduate school. One of those questions is how cardiovascular research can better account for differences in how heart disease affects women.

"This specific program is doing research in the cardiovascular area, which is the same topic that I want to pursue for my Ph.D. research," Chapman said. "It has been a very informative experience learning more about the different types of research being done in the cardiovascular area and has allowed me to narrow down my interest to cardiovascular research with an emphasis on women's health."

In the lab, Chapman helped researchers explore ways to keep blood vessels healthy and reduce the risk of heart attacks and strokes. Their work focused on designing and 3D-printing a specialized system that mimics blood flow, allowing researchers to study how different materials interact with the cells lining blood vessels.

Although the lab initially expected her to leave behind only the foundation of a prototype during the 10-week program, Chapman and her team completed a fully functional, leak-proof system, allowing future implementations for research.

"They were fully expecting me not to have a ready-to-use system by the time I left," Chapman said. "They're very surprised and very happy that we were able to get a full system running."

Chapman will bring their research to the Biomedical Engineering Society's annual conference in Orlando, where they will present a research poster at a national conference for the first time.

They also hope to connect with faculty and potential Ph.D. advisors as they prepare to apply to doctoral programs during their senior year.

The opportunity almost didn't happen.

Unlike many summer research programs, Cardio4U covers most participant expenses but requires students to pay for their own housing. Chapman had already been accepted when they applied for VCU's Internship Funding Program.

"My parents told me we'd find a way to make it work," Chapman said. "But there would have been a lot of sacrifices. The Internship Funding Program made it possible for me to accept this opportunity without putting that kind of strain on my family."

For Chapman, the internship represents more than one summer of research. It's a chance to gain experience in the field they hope to dedicate their career to while building connections that will help shape the next chapter of her education.

These programs are highly competitive, Chapman said, but persistence often pays off. They have applied to more than a dozen research programs over the past two years and have earned opportunities both summers. Some programs even remembered their previous application and encouraged them to apply again.

Chapman's advice to other students is simple: "Don't count yourself out before you've even applied."

"Even if you get rejected, you've shown that you're interested," they said. "Sometimes that's enough to open the door the next time."

VCU's Internship Funding Program is funded by a combination of VCU funds from the Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success and the School of Business, donor funds from the Student Life and Learning Fund, and grant funds from the State Council for Higher Education of Virginia.