Vik Meadows

Background

About Vik Meadows

As a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Organ Pathobiology and Therapeutics Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, I study the impact of chronic cholestatic damage on hepatocyte reprogramming and intestinal health under Dr. Satdarshan 'Paul' Monga. My previous postdoctoral training at Rutgers University in Dr. Nan Gao's lab yielded several training and research awards, including the Rutgers IRACDA-INSPIRE Postdoctoral Fellowship (NIGMS), the Rutgers Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship, and the American Society for Investigative Pathology Experimental Pathologist in Training Award. Additionally, I was funded through the Pharmacology & Toxicology T32 training grant (NIEH) and recognized as a Mistletoe Research Fellow and Postdoctoral Scala Scholar in Dr. Grace Guo's lab. I advocate for DEI and enjoy science communication and mentoring through the Behind Our Science Podcast and SACNAS student chapters. I co-founded the Biochem Chat Diversity Seminar with Dr. Daenique Jengelley to connect postdocs with graduate students, promoting networking, professional development, and advocacy. Representation in STEM is invaluable, and I strive to support scientists from minoritized backgrounds as I advance my career. I received my PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from the Francis lab at Indiana University School of Medicine and Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center in March 2022. My doctoral projects focused on mast cell and cholangiocyte interactions in cholestatic liver disease (Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis). Topics included mast cell regulation of bile acid and FXR/FGF signaling, microbiome changes following sodium bile acid transporter inhibition in cholestatic mice, and chronic histamine's effects on cholestasis and ductular reaction. As a graduate student at IUSM, I earned several awards, including the 2022 Sherry Queener Graduate Student Excellence Award, the 2022 William M. Plater Civic Engagement Medallion, and travel grants from 2019-2022. I earned my MS in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology under Dr. Peter Zuber at Oregon Health & Science University in October 2017. My master's projects included protein-protein interactions of Spx and the beta-flap region of RNA polymerase in Bacillus subtilis and Streptococcus mutans of the oral microbiome, which sparked my interest in microbiomes in health and disease.