# The protective role of fibroblast growth factor signaling in hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension

> **NIH NIH K08** · WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $165,141

## Abstract

Project Summary
 This K08 proposal will expedite the principal investigator’s progress towards his goal of becoming an
independent physician-scientist focused on increasing our understanding of pathogenic mechanisms of
pulmonary hypertension (PH) and developing innovative therapies to improve outcomes.
 Candidate: Dr. Kel Vin Woo is a physician-scientist at Washington University School of Medicine (WUSM).
He completed a fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology and is developing expertise at the intersection of Fibroblast
Growth Factors (FGF) signaling and vascular biology under the mentorship of Dr. David Ornitz, a world authority
on FGF biology. Under Dr. Ornitz’s mentorship, the PI investigated how endothelial FGF signaling modulates
hypoxia-induced PH by mitigating endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition. He will leverage the skills gained
during his fellowship to further analyze FGF signaling in vascular smooth muscle cells and use adenovirus-
delivered endothelial FGF as a potential method of regulating vascular remodeling.
 Career Development Plan: Dr. Woo will pursue this line of research with primary mentorship from Dr. Ornitz
and co-mentorship from Dr. Curiel (an expert in adenovirus vectorology). Additionally, a team of intramural and
extramural advisors include experts in PH, and vascular and pulmonary biology, and all have considerable
experience in nurturing independent investigators. WUSM provides a highly interactive environment with
excellent facilities, resources and opportunities. This 5-year plan builds on the PI’s prior experience and further
enriches his training, providing him with the tools needed for independence. It includes the following objectives:
(1) Master techniques in advanced mouse hemodynamic phenotyping; (2) Become proficient with adenovirus
engineering to improve PH outcomes using preclinical models of hypoxia-induced vascular remodeling; (3)
Disseminate research findings in diverse venues and actively establish productive collaborations.
 Research Plan: The overall hypothesis of the proposal is that FGF signaling in lung endothelial and vascular
smooth muscle cells protects against hypoxia-induced PH. Specific Aim 1 will investigate how smooth muscle
cell FGF prevents pulmonary vascular remodeling. Aim 2 will interrogate how endothelial targeted adenovirus-
delivered FGF reduces hypoxia-induced vascular remodeling and PH severity. Upon completion of the proposed
research, Dr. Woo will be proficient in: (1) modulating intracellular pathways important for endothelial and smooth
muscle cell remodeling; (2) analyzing newly developed conditional knockout mice to ascertain the hemodynamic
effects on the lungs; and (3) developing approaches for gene delivery to lung endothelium as a potential therapy
for pulmonary vascular disease. These acquired skills will be readily applicable to other forms pulmonary
vascular disease and endothelial-smooth muscle interactions in vascular remodeling. Upon completion of the
proposed traini...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10914667
- **Project number:** 5K08HL165108-03
- **Recipient organization:** WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Kelvin Woo
- **Activity code:** K08 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $165,141
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2022-09-20 → 2027-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10914667

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10914667, The protective role of fibroblast growth factor signaling in hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension (5K08HL165108-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10914667. Licensed CC0.

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