# BLRD Research Career Scientist Award Application

> **NIH VA IK6** · CENTRAL ARKANSAS VETERANS HLTHCARE SYS · 2024 · —

## Abstract

I have been associated with VA since 2005 and have been a VA Merit award funded investigator since 2012. I
study lipid metabolism and signaling in cardiovascular and metabolic disease with a focus on functional
validation of the PLPP3 lipid phosphatase gene which we cloned in the late 1990s as a determinant of
heritable cardiovascular disease risk. Our research has identified a lipid signaling pathway that promotes
vascular inflammation and associated pathologies including atherosclerosis and calcific aortic valve disease,
both of which have a higher incidence in Veterans than the general population. Our findings suggest new
approaches for diagnosis and therapeutic management of these conditions. I have authored 287 peer
reviewed research reports with a total of ~25,000 citations (~70 papers are cited more than 100 times, 6 have
more than 500 citations) and this includes (in most cases as a VA affiliated investigator) publications in highly
selective journals. I have a strong record of professional service, local and national service to VA and of
collaboration with other VA investigators (61 publications with 6 different researchers). My laboratory has been
a productive training environment for pre- and post-doctoral fellows who have been recognized by highly
competitive awards including NIH F and K series grants and some of these individuals are now successful
independent established academic investigators. To support our lipid research, and with VA support for two
Shared Equipment Evaluation Program grants, I developed expertise in biomedical mass spectrometry which
is now a major focus of my program. Through my role as core facility director and my association with the
NIEHS supported Superfund and Environmental Diseases Core Centers at the University of Kentucky I
became actively involved in development and application of analytical methods to study human health effects
of exposure to environmental chemicals. This is the area of my VA research that I highlight in this application.
Exposures to chemicals in the environment are an acknowledged determinant of health risk and a particular
concern for veterans and active-duty military personnel as recently acknowledged by the Honoring our Promise
to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 (PACT-Act). Our analytical laboratory at CAVHS supports VA
and DOD funded efforts to understand health effects of exposure to per and polyfluorinated alkyl substances
(PFAS) which are manmade surfactant chemicals with widespread use for military firefighting. Exposure to
high levels of PFAS is associated with increased risks of several cancers, dyslipidemia, endocrine and immune
dysfunction in exposed individuals. Our primary project examines PFAS exposure in military firefighters and
construction workers enrolled in the Million Veteran Program (MVP) and its progenitor the Millennium Cohort.
Building on this work we are developing a facile, inexpensive, minimally invasive approach to monitor Service
Member expos...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10806343
- **Project number:** 1IK6BX006469-01
- **Recipient organization:** CENTRAL ARKANSAS VETERANS HLTHCARE SYS
- **Principal Investigator:** ANDREW J MORRIS
- **Activity code:** IK6 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-10-01 → 2028-09-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10806343

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10806343, BLRD Research Career Scientist Award Application (1IK6BX006469-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-28 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10806343. Licensed CC0.

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