Meet the 2023 Winner: Sue Gu, MD, MScPH
Sue Gu is a Clinical Instructor in Pulmonary Sciences and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus. Dr. Gu received her undergraduate degree from Yale University, her medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians of Surgeons and a Master of Science in Public Health from the Charité Universitätsmedizin-Berlin. She joined the ATS in 2015 and has presented at nearly every ATS international conference since that time. She is an active member of the ATS Pulmonary Circulation Assembly and joined the Early Career Working Group in 2022.
Dr. Gu began her research training under the mentorship of Drs. Brian Graham and Rubin Tuder. During her fellowship training, she became interested in the role of right ventricular (RV) macrophages in homeostasis and disease. She also trained for a time in the laboratories of Drs. Peter Henson and William Janssen at National Jewish Health where she furthered her study of macrophage biology. Towards the end of her fellowship, she joined the Cardiovascular Pulmonary Research Lab under the mentorship of Dr. Kurt Stenmark. 2022 to 2023 was a very productive year for Dr. Gu, as she published a first author manuscript from her work during her time in Dr. Graham’s lab showing that RV macrophages contribute to extracellular matrix changes and demonstrating an improvement in right ventricular function after macrophage depletion in a severe experimental PH model. She applied for and was the winner of four grants, including the ATS Early Career Investigator Award in Pulmonary Vascular Disease. She was the lead author of an important review of the comparing the pathobiology of group 1 and group 3 PH recently published in Comprehensive Physiology, and was instrumental to a review of the pathophysiology of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and RV in published in BMJ Medicine. She continues to explore a very unexplored area of RV biology by characterizing the role of inflammation and immune cells in RV adaptation and failure.
Description:
The purpose of this award is to recognize scientific achievements from ATS PC members that are early in their careers to encourage ongoing commitment to science. The individual must have outstanding scientific achievements in the field of pulmonary vascular disease by a mentored early career stage investigator (e.g., paper(s), grants, program building, educational efforts, society contribution), and sustained contributions to ATS PC Assembly. Should have submitted an abstract for at least two ATS meetings. Awardees will be presented with a framed certificate at the annual PC Membership Meeting during the ATS International Conference.
Criteria:
- ATS PC member
- Fellow, senior postdoc, instructor or early faculty member (within first two years of faculty appointment)
- Submission of a complete nomination package including 1) letters of support from 2 different members of the assembly describing the candidate’s contributions, potential, and why the award is appropriate; 2) the candidate’s curriculum vitae and 3) a copy of an abstract that will be presented at the ATS meeting on which the candidate is first or senior author.
- Has not yet received a career development award (e.g., NHLBI K08/23/99 award, VA career development award, AHA career development award) at the time of nomination.
View Previous Award Recipients
2022 – Justin K. Lui, MD
