Steven Lentz, Program Director and MPI
Dr. Lentz is Professor of Internal Medicine and Henry Hamilton Chair in Hematology. He formerly served as Chief of the Section of Hematology for 15 years (2006 to 2021). Since joining the faculty of the University of Iowa in 1992, Dr. Lentz has become recognized by medical students, residents, fellows, and faculty as an outstanding mentor who is highly dedicated to the career development of physician-scientists. He has served on the Executive Committee of the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Molecular & Cellular Biology. He developed and was the first Director of the CCOM PSTP, an innovative program to support the recruitment, training, and retention of physician-scientists to residency and fellowship programs within the College of Medicine. Dr. Lentz has also served as Director of the Iowa MSTP since 2010. He has been the principal investigator of research grants from the NIH, the American Heart Association (AHA), and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Lentz was elected to the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 2003 and the Association of American Physicians in 2007. He served as Associate Editor of the AHA journal, Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (ATVB), from 1999-2007 and on the editorial boards of ATVB, Blood Advances and Circulation. He served as Chair of the ATVB Council of the AHA from 2016 to 2018 and as the Chair program committee for Vascular Discovery, which has become a premier conference for investigators working at the intersections of thrombosis and vascular biology. Dr. Lentz has received the Jeffrey M. Hoeg Award for Basic Science and Clinical Research and the Sol Sherry Memorial Lecture Award in Thrombosis from the AHA. He served as the Scientific Co-chair for the ASH Annual meeting scientific program in 2014. He served as a regular member of the NHLBI Institutional Training Mechanism (NITM) study section from 2015 to 2021. Dr. Lentz has directed this hematology training program since 2006.
Research Interests
Dr. Lentz’s laboratory utilizes molecular and cellular techniques, along with transgenic and gene-targeted animals, to investigate the mechanisms of regulation of hemostasis by vascular endothelium and platelets. Dr. Lentz is internationally recognized for his research on the mechanisms of thrombosis and vascular dysfunction in hyperhomocysteinemia and atherosclerosis. In recent years he has shifted his focus to include a role as PI on several clinical trials in von Willebrand disease, hemophilia, and thrombophilia.
Anil K Chauhan, Co-Program Director and MPI
Dr. Chauhan is a highly talented investigator who has a track record of accomplishment at all levels. He received a PhD in molecular genetics from the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Trieste, Italy in 2002. He spent 3.5 years as a postdoctoral fellow working with Denisa Wagner at Harvard Medical School, and then 1.5 years as an Instructor at Harvard Medical School before joining the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Iowa CCOM as an Assistant Professor (tenure track) in January 2009. He was promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure in July 2014 and Professor in 2018. He has received all of the major national junior faculty awards in the fields of thrombosis and hemostasis, including the Mary Rhodes Gibson Memorial Award from the American Society of Hematology, the Joanne Levy, MD, Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement from The American Society of Hematology, and the Kenneth M. Brinkhous Young Investigator Prize in Thrombosis from the AHA. He served as a regular member of the HT study section for the NHLBI and received an Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association. Dr. Chauhan currently serves as Co-PI of the University of Iowa Stroke Preclinical Assessment Network to Support Translational Studies for Acute Cerebroprotection (U01NS130587). Dr. Chauhan exhibits a rare combination of scientific creativity coupled with an ambitious work ethic and practical scientific know-how. He is a productive force for science and mentoring in the Division. He was appointed Director of Thrombosis and Vascular Research in 2022.
Research Interests
Dr. Chauhan's research is focused on understanding the metabolic reprogramming in thromboinflammation. He uses state-of-the-art molecular and cellular techniques, including intravital imaging, along with genetically modified mice to investigate the role of platelets, innate immune cells, and their metabolic plasticity in the pathophysiology of deep vein thrombosis and cardiovascular disorders, including ischemic stroke and atherothrombosis.