Gaurav Choudhary, MD

Gaurav Choudhary

Gaurav Choudhary, MD, is Co-Director of the CardioPulmonary Vascular Biology COBRE. He is the Associate Chief of Staff (Research) and Staff Cardiologist at the Providence VA Medical Center, Professor of Medicine Brown University, and Medical Director of Lifespan Cardiovascular Institute’s Clinical Trials Office. Dr. Choudhary co-directs the pulmonary hypertension clinic and directs the echocardiography laboratory at the Providence VA. After completing medical school at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, he went to Michael Reese Hospital/University of Chicago Illinois for residency in Internal Medicine. He did his cardiovascular diseases fellowship from Emory University.

Dr. Choudhary has been on Brown faculty since 2004 and has an active research program in pulmonary vascular biology that includes preclinical, clinical and epidemiological research and is based at the Vascular Research Laboratory located at Providence VA Medical Center. Dr. Choudhary’s research is supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs. He has over 90 peer-reviewed publications and served on study sections for the NIH, VA, and American Heart Association. He is a trainer of a number of training grants and has mentored individuals at various stages of career development, including junior faculty, post-doctoral fellows, doctoral, and undergraduate students.

He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association and recently recognized by the RI Disabled Veterans of America with the Physician of the Year Award for year 2020. Gaurav Choudhary has experience with both research and training and will use this background to fulfill the CardioPulmonary COBRE goal to enhance pulmonary and cardiovascular research in the State of Rhode Island.

Valeria Zarate

valeria

Valeria Zarate is the Program Coordinator of the CardioPulmonary Vascular Biology COBRE. Valeria obtained her bachelor’s degree in biology and psychology from Providence College. She has worked with Professors James Padbury and Surendra Sharma as a Clinical Research Assistant for 5 years. During this time Valeria was involved in their studies investigating the role of genetics in preterm birth, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes working closely with patients enrolling them into the respective studies. In addition, during her time at Women and Infants Hospital, Valeria was involved in the COBRE programs for Perinatal Biology (Padbury, PI) and for Reproductive Health (Sharma, PI).

Peng Zhang, MD, MS

peng-zhang

Peng Zhang, MD, MS, is the Director of the Respiratory Core of the CardioPulmonary Vascular Biology COBRE and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University. After completing medical school at Shanxi Medical University and serving as a physician for about 3 years in China, Dr. Zhang went to Brown University for his postdoctoral training in biomedical science and has been a faculty at Brown University since 2010.

Over these years, Dr. Zhang’s research concentrated on cardiovascular remodeling and signaling pathway cascades in response to hemodynamic stress, with a particular focus on cellular functions and the underlying regulatory mechanisms. The long-term goal of his studies is to advance understanding of the signaling mechanisms that determine cardiopulmonary function and may provide new opportunities for treatment and prevention of various cardiopulmonary diseases. Dr. Zhang’s work has been supported by the NIH, the American Heart Association (AHA), the pharmaceutics company, and the local funding agency. Dr. Zhang has been actively participating as a research mentor for trainees, including undergraduate, graduate (Master and PhD), technicians, and post-doctoral researchers. In addition to serve as a reviewer for many high impact journals, Dr. Zhang also served as a peer reviewer in AHA study sections.

Dr. Zhang will use his strong background, extensive experience, and excellent hands-on skills in cardiopulmonary research and mitochondrial biology to fulfill the mission of the Respiratory Core.