Alec Stepanian

Research/Areas of Interest

I did my PhD research in Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology with Iris Jaffe, MD, PhD, focusing on Cardiovascular disease (CVD). Followed by cancer, CVD is the leading cause of death in the United States. The advent of new, effective therapeutics for cancer has led to a dramatic increase in the number of cancer survivors over time. Many survivors are placed on maintenance therapy for the rest of their lives to sustain remission. Interestingly, the incidence of CVD in cancer survivors is significantly higher compared to the general population. I examined the cardiotoxicity of several chemotherapeutics in order to better understand their effects on the vasculature, especially in the setting of chronic use, as is seen clinically.

I am now completing medical school.