Accelerating research to advance heart and cancer care

Dr. Wold (center front) and his team of post-docs, trainees, lab technicians, undergraduate students, and former trainees who are now colleagues, are advancing research and treatments in cardiovascular care.

Nearly 25 years after the 9/11 attacks, Loren Wold, PhD, FAHA, FAPS, still has families of survivors reaching out to him.

“I get an email at least once a week from loved ones of first responders who say they found my study online, or saw an article or news report, and are curious about the results,” says Wold, a professor in The Ohio State University’s Department of Surgery, Cardiac Division, and the John G. and Jeanne Bonnet McCoy Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine.

Wold and his team, along with researchers at New York University, are investigating the long-term health effects of dust from the World Trade Center collapse, using actual dust collected from the site immediately following the disaster.

“Our study exposes mice to this dust for one year, which is equivalent to more than 25 years in humans. This allows us to model what first responders may experience decades after 9/11,” says Wold, who is also a senior associate vice president for research at Ohio State’s Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge.

Findings from this study show similar heart and brain changes to those seen in first responders today, including links to neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. The results could help clarify health risks and support efforts to include these conditions in coverage for affected families. Final analyses are underway, with publications expected in 2026.

Investing in endowed chairs drives meaningful change

This momentum is made possible in part by philanthropic investments that ensure pioneering researchers at Ohio State can pursue long-term, high-impact work. The McCoy family established Wold’s endowed chair position in 2002 in honor of John McCoy’s parents. For decades, the McCoy family’s philanthropy has played a vital role in advancing research and treatments across multiple areas of medicine.

“Support like this empowers us to think creatively and tackle critical questions that traditional funding often overlooks,” Wold says.

In addition to the cardiovascular medicine chair, the McCoys created the John B. and Jane T. McCoy Chair in Cancer Research, which is held by William E. Carson III, MD, FACS, professor of surgery and associate director for clinical research at the OSUCCC – James.

“We chose to support endowed chair positions because we believe in advancing care that saves lives. Heart disease and cancer touch so many families, and we want to ensure that Ohio State remains at the forefront of research and treatment,” John McCoy says. “By investing in exceptional leaders and innovative science, we’re helping create hope for patients today and breakthroughs for generations to come.”

The McCoys’ generosity is driving meaningful impact across Ohio State and beyond, which is reflected in the significant work led by Wold and Carson.

Making strides in cardiovascular care

Over the past year, Wold and his team have contributed to scientific publications, forged innovative collaborations and generated new grant applications on a variety of research projects. In a study that exposed mice to air pollution and chronic stress, the team uncovered something surprising: their blood pressure didn’t rise — it dropped.

Wold’s team shared their findings at a national meeting and asked for input. A Yale University researcher reached out, noting her studies of humans in solitary confinement showed the same pattern. This led to a partnership and grant proposal to explore whether Ohio State’s mouse model can help explain the health effects of solitary confinement.

“We suspect the body’s stress system becomes overactivated, causing a drop in blood pressure,” Wold says. “Understanding this could reveal long-term health risks for people in prolonged isolation — an issue gaining attention as global health organizations call for limits on solitary confinement.”

Additional Wold-led studies include collaborating with the American Heart Association to understand how people’s responses to everyday stressors — like sleep, diet, exercise and air quality — affect heart health. In a Department of Defense-funded project, researchers are studying how burn pit exposure affects long-term health, which Wold says may inform better ways to protect military service members.

Wold’s ongoing research on the effects of e-cigarette vapor exposure during critical stages of development is providing essential data to demonstrate the long-term harm of using these products. These findings could reshape public health guidance, especially for expectant mothers and adolescents.

And in a study that exposed mice to polluted air before having babies, Wold’s team is exploring whether air pollution affects health across generations. Early findings from the mice’s offspring suggest that pollution can leave lasting biological changes in the offspring of exposed parents, he says, adding that he is grateful for the McCoys’ support. “These investments don’t just advance research, they open doors to discoveries that can transform health for generations.”

Improving treatments for aggressive cancers

In the Carson Lab, researchers are working to harness the power of the immune system to improve treatments for hard-to-treat cancers, including aggressive breast cancer and cancers that do not respond to current immunotherapies.

Emma Grzelak, MD, a surgical resident and research scientist, is studying triple-negative breast cancer, a fast-growing form of the disease that is often hard to treat. Her work focuses on how trabectedin, a chemotherapy drug discovered in sea sponges, works with the immune system to fight cancer. Specifically, she studies natural killer cells, which are immune cells that quickly find and destroy cancer cells.

Grzelak’s research shows that these cells work better at fighting cancer when trabectedin is paired with a white blood cell hormone called interleukin 15, which has immune-boosting signals. Together, they seem to have a more focused and longer-lasting effect. The team hopes to move these discoveries toward an early-stage clinical trial, bringing new hope for patients with this type of breast cancer.

Another Carson Lab researcher, Alvin Liu, a graduate student in Ohio State’s MD-PhD program, is working to improve cancer immunotherapy for patients who currently do not benefit from these treatments.

Liu’s work focuses on BRD4, a protein that plays an important role in controlling how cells grow and function. In cancer, BRD4 can contribute to a tumor environment that suppresses the immune system, allowing tumors to avoid being attacked. Liu has shown that using a drug to block BRD4 can reduce immune suppression.

When this approach is combined with new immunotherapy drugs, tumors are eliminated in mouse studies. This promising work was recognized with a first-place award at The James’ Annual Scientific Meeting and published in a leading medical journal. The research team is building on these findings and working toward an early-stage clinical trial in patients.

When considering these breakthroughs in cancer treatments, Dr. Carson credits the McCoys’ ongoing support through the endowed chair he holds.

“Without the McCoy family, we’d have a much smaller lab with much less impact,” he says. “Their support has made a big difference — all the difference for us — from seed funding for starting projects to helping us obtain larger grants from national and international scientific and health organizations.”