Giuliana Repetti, a University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson medical student (Class of 2020), is the first UA Wildcat to receive the prestigious Sarnoff Fellowship from the Sarnoff Cardiovascular Research Foundation.
Congratulations to Giuliana Repetti, a UA College of Medicine – Tucson medical student (Class of 2020), who was awarded a 2018-2019 Sarnoff Fellowship from the Sarnoff Cardiovascular Research Foundation – a first for the University of Arizona.
Giuliana always remembered being a “little scientist;” her curiosity encouraged by her professor parents and accelerated by her high school science teachers. She went on to Harvard University as an undergraduate and was among the first few groups of students to graduate with a degree in Human Developmental and Regenerative Biology from the Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Department. Her passion for science continued in medical school where she joined the Goldman/Juneman lab in the UA Sarver Heart Center. “We are working on ways to improve heart muscle function in heart failure,” said Giuliana. “I want to be a cardiologist and study heart development as a means to discover new therapeutics for heart disease.”
“Besides being thrilled that she was interested in basic cardiovascular research, I could tell that she was exceptionally motivated to succeed, added Dr. Tardiff. “As a member of the Sarnoff Scientific Board for many years, I knew that she had to potential to become the first Sarnoff fellow from the University of Arizona. Her subsequent hard work and success in medical school helped her achieve this transformative goal!”
The Sarnoff Fellowship Program offers medical students the opportunity to spend a year conducting intensive work in a biomedical research facility other than the medical school in which they are enrolled. Giuliana will return to Harvard for the 2018-2019 academic year and work in the Seidman Lab. She then will return to the UA College of Medicine – Tucson to complete her fourth year of medical school.
Through its highly competitive process, Sarnoff nationally seeks individuals with demonstrated intellectual and academic achievement, as well as leadership ability. The goal is to cultivate a life-long appreciation and enthusiasm for cardiovascular research. Awardees of the Sarnoff Fellowships commonly go on to high profile academic careers in cardiovascular medicine.