# CYP1 Inhibition as a New Therapeutic Strategy for Doxorubicin Cardiomyopathy

> **NIH NIH K08** · BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER · 2021 · $167,400

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
This proposal reflects a five-year career development plan for Dr. Aarti Asnani, a staff cardiologist at Beth
Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and an Instructor at Harvard Medical School (HMS). Dr. Asnani’s
research focuses on anthracycline-induced cardiomyopathy, a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in
the growing population of cancer survivors. Based on her chemistry background and clinical expertise in
cardio-oncology, Dr. Asnani is uniquely well-positioned to characterize the biochemical pathways that
contribute to chemotherapy-induced cardiotoxicity in order to identify new cardioprotective therapies.
In 2017, Dr. Asnani was recruited to BIDMC where she serves as Associate Director of the Cardio-Oncology
Program. Dr. Robert Gerszten, Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine at BIDMC, has been very involved in Dr.
Asnani’s career development since 2006 and will serve as the primary on-site mentor for this project. Dr.
Gerszten has expertise in the use of metabolite profiling and proteomics to identify new pathways that
contribute to cardiometabolic disease. Dr. Asnani will also continue to receive mentorship from her
postdoctoral advisor, Dr. Peterson, whose laboratory moved to the University of Utah in January 2017. Dr.
Peterson is an expert in chemical biology and has pioneered the use of zebrafish for drug discovery and
mutagenesis. Both preceptors are well-funded and have a longstanding history of mentoring successful junior
faculty. In addition to this combined training approach, Dr. Asnani’s Scientific Advisory Committee consists of
world-class scientists (Drs. MacRae, Liao, Pandolfi, and Nebert) who will contribute expertise in animal models
of cardiomyopathy, cancer cell biology, and pharmacology. Dr. Asnani benefits from strong institutional support
and a rich research environment. She has access to a broad range of core facilities and equipment, scientific
expertise, and opportunities for collaboration that extend across BIDMC, Longwood Medical Area, and HMS.
In this application, Dr. Asnani has outlined a series of experiments to elucidate the role of Cytochrome P450
family 1 (CYP1) enzymes as new therapeutic targets for doxorubicin cardiotoxicity. Prior work in Dr. Peterson’s
lab identified the small molecule visnagin, a CYP1 inhibitor, as protecting against doxorubicin-induced
cardiomyopathy in zebrafish and mice. In this proposal, Dr. Asnani will use transgenic zebrafish models to
identify the specific CYP1 isoform responsible for cardiotoxicity. She will use Cyp1a1/1a2/1b1(−/−) knockout
mice to establish whether genetic inhibition of CYP1 enzymes protects against doxorubicin cardiotoxicity in a
mammalian model. Finally, she will use a mouse xenograft model to determine the effect of CYP1 inhibition on
doxorubicin’s anti-tumor activity. By completing the proposed project, Dr. Asnani will complement her prior
training in metabolite profiling, chemical biology, and zebrafish models with additional training ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10078869
- **Project number:** 5K08HL145019-03
- **Recipient organization:** BETH ISRAEL DEACONESS MEDICAL CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Aarti Asnani
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $167,400
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-01-15 → 2023-12-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10078869

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10078869, CYP1 Inhibition as a New Therapeutic Strategy for Doxorubicin Cardiomyopathy (5K08HL145019-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10078869. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*