Q&A: Jennifer Streeter

The one word I would use to describe my experience is “empowered.” At every step of my training and faculty development, I was surrounded by leadership, mentors, colleagues, and administrative assistants who did everything they could to help me succeed. That’s what makes Iowa special. Everyone wants to see you succeed because a win for one person at Iowa is a win for everyone at Iowa. I have always been able to reach out to other Iowa investigators and get a warm, helpful response to any request to learn more about their research, learn a new protocol, borrow a reagent, use their equipment, or start a new collaboration. I feel incredibly lucky being surrounded by a network of kind, brilliant, and inspiring people.

At Iowa, you don’t just feel like you belong, you feel empowered to achieve anything you set your mind to. As a member of the Abboud Cardiovascular Research Center [ACRC], I’m inspired every day by the passion and dedication of our researchers, clinicians, and staff. The work we do doesn’t just advance science; it changes lives. Every study, every patient, every discovery is part of a larger mission to make a real impact. I consider it an immense privilege to work alongside some of the brightest minds who are pushing the boundaries of what we know about cardiovascular disease.

Looking to the future of ACRC, I feel an incredible sense of excitement. The strides we’ve made in understanding and addressing cardiovascular disease are just the beginning. With the continued support of the University of Iowa and our amazing community, I know that the next 50 years of ACRC will be even more groundbreaking. It’s an honor to be part of this journey, and I can’t wait to see what’s next.

In my lab, three core themes guide our work. First, we are passionate about developing and leveraging cutting-edge technologies to revolutionize the diagnosis and treatment of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. For instance, we are utilizing aptamer technology to create a next-generation contrast agent for coronary angiography—one that promises to be safer, longer-lasting, and more effective. Additionally, we’re delving into the world of spatial transcriptomics to uncover the gene expression signatures of regressing atherosclerotic plaques. By identifying modifiable targets, we hope to pave the way for therapies that promote plaque resolution and improve patient outcomes.

Our second theme explores how sex and gender influence disease outcomes. This is a critical, yet often overlooked, dimension of cardiovascular research. To do this, we fully integrate male and female cohorts in mouse studies, examine sex-dependent differences in clinical outcomes using the TriNetX database, and aim to identify sex-specific markers of cardiovascular disease in human heart tissue. By addressing these nuanced differences, we hope to provide insights that lead to more personalized and equitable care for all patients.

Finally, a unique and innovative aspect of our lab’s work is the use of living human heart tissue to drive discovery. I started the Iowa Living Human Heart Research Program, an initiative that provides living human cardiac tissue to elevate cardiovascular research for UI investigators. ILHHRP collects hearts from the Iowa Donor Network (healthy donated hearts that do not have eligible recipients) and from the UI Organ Transplant Center (failing hearts from heart transplant recipients) through a collaboration with Barry London, and the Molecular Pathways Program IRB [Institutional Review Board]. Explanted hearts are immediately perfused with transplant buffer, which maintains prolonged tissue viability. This has enabled our researchers to perform experiments that cannot be conducted on frozen or fixed tissue, including assessing response of human myocardium to drugs, viral-mediated gene transfer to human myocardium, and testing cross-species compatibility of cardiac aptamers. There are very few research institutes in the world that use patient-derived living human cardiac tissue. By incorporating living tissue into our research, we improve the translatability of findings, gain disease-specific insights, and can advance precision medicine. ILHHRP can not only help us improve the impact of our manuscripts and grant applications but also positions the UI and the Abboud Cardiovascular Research Center as leaders in cardiovascular science.

As a Boulware MSTP community leader, my primary focus has been fostering a low-stress, supportive environment where MSTP students at all levels can connect, share advice, and navigate the unique challenges of the program together. Through hosting casual events like dinners and bonfires, I’ve created opportunities for students to relax, step away from the demands of med school and grad school, and enjoy each other’s company in a welcoming, pressure-free setting. These gatherings have had a meaningful impact on fostering community within the program—particularly for students in the graduate school phase who may feel more isolated. One student shared, “Thanks for always putting on events for the learning community. It can be really hard to stay in touch with everyone during the grad school part, so this is really nice.” Feedback like this reinforces the importance of maintaining connections across all stages of the MSTP journey and motivates me to continue creating spaces where everyone feels included and supported.

In addition to my responsibilities as a Boulware MSTP community leader, I serve on the MSTP Grand Rounds Committee, where I guide and mentor students as they develop and deliver presentations that bridge clinical and scientific expertise. MSTP Grand Rounds occur three to four times per year and involve pairs of students—typically one in graduate training and one in early clinical training—presenting an interesting clinical case and a relevant scientific paper. The goal is to highlight the connection between clinical practice and biomedical research. As a faculty advisor, I work closely with these student pairs through a series of meetings to ensure their presentations are engaging, focused, and accessible to the entire MSTP group. This includes helping students select cases and papers that fit the format, providing constructive feedback to refine their content, and supporting them in developing strong presentation skills. Over the course of several sessions, we collaborate to hone their message, troubleshoot challenges, and prepare for a polished delivery during “MSTP Mondays.” Through this role, I am happy to foster the students’ growth as confident, effective communicators—a vital skill for physician-scientists.

Improving scientific communication and relationships has been a passion of mine since I was in graduate school. During that time, I authored two papers to provide guidance on how to navigate the Q&A after a scientific talk and how to effectively network in academia.

Physician-scientists are uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between research and clinical care, and I feel honored to play a role in training the next generation. It is incredibly rewarding that every interaction, whether it’s mentoring a student on a presentation, guiding a research project, or simply listening to their concerns, is a chance to shape a future leader who may one day make breakthroughs that redefine what’s possible in healthcare.

One of my favorite and most influential mentors during my clinical training was Jim Rossen. He is an amazing teacher. He doesn’t teach from PowerPoint presentation; he uses only a whiteboard and a marker. He has a way of breaking down complex concepts and making them easy to understand. He is extremely kind and patient. While teaching me how to perform cardiac catheterization, he gave me positive reinforcement that helped me overcome self-doubt and build confidence. He modeled staying calm in stressful situations. He is also very funny, which always made me smile and brightened my day. These are the qualities I try to emulate when I am working with fellows.

In a typical week, I spend four days in my research lab and one day in the cath lab. While in my research lab, my time is spent between writing manuscripts and grants; discussing plans and results for research projects with my lab manager, seven undergraduate students, and numerous collaborators; reviewing and providing feedback for grants written by colleagues; attending various webinars to increase my knowledge in topics such as multiomics and bioinformatics; interviewing candidates for medical school, MSTP, PSTP, and cardiology faculty; and attending talks and meeting with visiting professors.

While in the cath lab, I perform diagnostic catheterizations including coronary angiogram, right heart cath, and aortic stenosis assessments. Clinically, I also spend a couple weeks per year on the cardiology consult service, where I work with a team of cardiology fellows, residents, medical students, PAs, and NPs [nurse practitioners] to provide guidance to any non-cardiology service in the hospital on evaluating and managing cardiac conditions for their patients.

I also spend about two months per year teaching EKG interpretation to medical students, residents, fellows, PAs, and NPs. My work with trainees pushes me to be the best clinician, mentor, and teacher I can be. My work with patients inspires me to investigate disease mechanisms and drives me to work on creating better diagnostics and therapeutics for detecting and treating cardiovascular disease.