The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute has awarded USD 1,008,719 to LSU Health Sciences Center under the R35 Outstanding Investigator Award mechanism to support preclinical research into microRNA targets for neurogenic hypertension, with principal investigator Eric D. Lazartigues leading the seven-year program through March 2033.
The award, classified under NIH's non-SBIR/STTR research program mechanism, covers USD 699,830 in direct costs and USD 308,889 in indirect costs for the initial budget period. The R35 mechanism is designed to provide sustained, flexible support for established investigators, allowing broader scientific latitude than standard project-specific grants.
The research centers on neurogenic hypertension, a treatment-resistant subtype of high blood pressure driven by elevated sympathetic outflow from the central nervous system. The Lazartigues laboratory at LSU Health Sciences Center will use spatial transcriptomics to map microRNAs to specific neuronal populations within the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus, a region involved in blood pressure regulation, then conduct gain- and loss-of-function studies and evaluate miRNA mimics and antagomirs as candidate therapeutic tools in preclinical models. The work is conducted entirely in animal models and cell systems; no human clinical trial is described in the grant record.
The R35 structure is notable for its duration and investigator-centered design. Rather than funding a discrete set of aims within a standard four- to five-year window, the mechanism backs a research program through 2033, signaling NHLBI's interest in sustaining upstream cardiovascular-neuroscience discovery over a multi-year horizon. The award reflects broader federal attention to resistant hypertension, a condition that remains undertreated despite the availability of multiple antihypertensive drug classes.