The Myocarditis Foundation is pleased to announce a 2026 Research Fellowship Grant being awarded to Dr. Chelsea Phillips. Dr. Phillips completed her PhD in Neuroscience at the University of Michigan in in 2023, where she investigated junctional protein organization in cerebrovascular disease. Her interest in gap junction biology and her desire to expand her research perspective into the field of cardiovascular biology led her to identify Dr. Jamie Smyth’s laboratory at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at Virginia Tech Carilion as an ideal environment for conducting her postdoctoral training. While training in the Smyth laboratory, which studies intercellular coupling in cardiovascular diseases such as acute viral myocarditis, Dr. Phillips became increasingly interested in understanding how an active viral infection can trigger irregular heart rhythms, leading to sudden cardiac death.
Dr. Phillips’s long-term goal includes becoming an academic research investigator, where she plans to continue her research within the field in myocarditis. The funding provided by the Myocarditis Foundation will support her as she prepares to transition toward independence.
Dr. Chelsea Phillips Layman explanation of her Myocarditis Research Project
“Viral infections can lead to myocarditis, which is a major cause of sudden cardiac death in children and young adults. Across all age groups, adenoviruses are a leading cause of viral myocarditis. A remaining question is how an active adenoviral infection triggers irregular heart rhythms early in infection, even before the activated immune system damages the heart. Specifically, my project will investigate how adenovirus interferes with connexin43 gap junctions, which are cell-to-cell connections that spread the electrical signals required for the heart to beat in sync, and how this impacts the electrical activity of the heart. Because pre-existing heart disease increases the risk of sudden cardiac death upon viral infection, I will also test whether heart disease renders the heart muscle cells more vulnerable to this adenoviral disruption of gap junction proteins. My project will reveal early, actionable targets for future therapies that reduce arrhythmias and prevent sudden cardiac death.”
