Milwaukee, November 17, 2022 – The Medical College of Wisconsin’s (MCW) Cardiovascular Center has appointed Daniel Sprague, MD, PhD, as a postdoctoral trainee on the Cardiovascular Center’s National Institutes of Health T32 postdoctoral training program.

Dr. Daniel Sprague earned his Bachelor of Science from The University of Miami in biochemistry, molecular biology, and chemistry in 2011, followed by a PhD in organic chemistry from Vanderbilt University in 2016. In 2021, he earned his MD from the Medical College of Wisconsin while working as a research assistant in the lab of Dr. Brian Smith. In March 2021, Dr. Sprague joined the laboratory of Jonathan Marchant, PhD, professor and chair of the department of cell biology, neurobiology and anatomy and member of the Cardiovascular Center’s Signature Program in Atherosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology. Dr. Sprague’s T32 project aims to decrease cardiovascular deaths and lifelong cardiovascular disease through the development of new treatments for parasitic flatworms. These parasitic flatworms cause schistosomiasis, a disease that causes pulmonary hypertension, as well as numerous other irreversible cardiovascular complications such as the thickening of the blood vessels and decreased functioning of the heart muscle.

Building on excellence in cardiovascular research, the Cardiovascular Center’s T32 postdoctoral training program, “Training in Signature Transdisciplinary Cardiovascular Sciences,” is funded by a $2.7 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute that provides support for six postdoctoral training slots each year. The grant provides up to three years of training for appointed postdoctoral fellows in the Cardiovascular Center with an MD, PhD, PharmD, or DO degree. Complementary support for trainees is provided by a grant given to the Cardiovascular Center by the A. O. Smith Foundation for the A. O. Smith Fellowship Scholars Program, a program designed to support talented cardiovascular researchers and physicians to overcome the barriers that exist in launching and sustaining a successful research career.

The ultimate goal of this training program is to train the next generation of cardiovascular scientists and physicians, including underrepresented minorities, by incorporating broad-based, personalized, supportive, and rigorous training opportunities.

This impressive new appointee joins four other A.O. Smith Scholars in the Cardiovascular Center’s T32 postdoctoral training program, Michelle Roberts. PhD, MS, Tyler Buddell, PhD, Joshua Nord, PhD, and Ryan Adam, PhD. Since its inception in 2017, alumni of this training program have been highly successful in publishing in high-impact journals, obtaining K and F awards, and securing faculty positions, building towards independence as cardiovascular investigators.

Ivor Benjamin, MD, professor of medicine and director of the Cardiovascular Center at MCW and Mary Sorci-Thomas, PhD, professor of medicine and associate director of the Cardiovascular Center at MCW, are co-directors.