Summer Undergraduate Research Experience in Cardiovascular Sciences (SureCV)

• Receive a stipend and support to attend a scientific conference
• Develop research skills with a CVRC sponsor in a broad range of topics, including:
  • Regenerative medicine
  • Cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmia
  • Bioengineering and cardiac mechanics
  • Vascular biology
  • Cardiac development and heart failure
  • Molecular signaling in heart disease
  • Cerebrovascular hemodynamics

• Participate in discussions about responsible research conduct and career development
• Network with faculty, staff and students
• Present research in a mini-symposium at the end of the program
• Attend our annual Cardiovascular Research Summit
• Enjoy Madison during the summertime!

Funding to participate in SureCV is available through fellowships from the American Heart Association (AHA) and the CVRC. 

Each fellowship is offered to five participants annually (for a total of ten per year). 

Applications for 2026 are closed.

CVRC Cohort

Image	Ava Barsness Ava is an incoming senior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, studying Kinesiology. She has been involved in the Schrage Lab for the past three years and is excited to continue researching cerebrovascular abnormalities under environmental stressors and in individuals with metabolic syndrome.
Image	Yu Chen (adjacent trainee) Yu is a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, double majoring in Molecular Biology and Computer Science. Her current research in the Glukhov Lab focuses on how chronic mechanical stress affects sphingolipid signaling and caveolae remodeling in cardiomyocytes, with the goal of better understanding mechanisms contributing to heart failure.
Image	Andrea Gregor Andrea is an undergraduate student at the Universidad Autónoma de Puebla (BUAP) in Mexico, pursuing a Bachelor ‘s degree in Biology. She joined the Valdivia Lab at the University of Wisconsin–Madison through the SureCV program in 2026, where she is involved in the isolation and purification of ryanodine receptors (RyR) from skeletal and cardiac muscle cells. Her research interests include cardiovascular and neurophysiology, particularly how neural signaling influences cardiac function and cardiovascular regulation.
Image	Haejin Lee (adjacent trainee) Haejin is an incoming senior at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, double majoring in Molecular and Cellular Biology and Neurobiology. Haejin joined the Guo lab in fall 2025 and plans to research maturation of RNA binding motif 20 inducible ihPSC-CMs as a viable method to develop adult phenotypic cardiomyocytes.
Image	Landon Ludeman (adjacent trainee) Landon is an incoming junior at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, studying Molecular and Cellular Biology. He started in the Alvarado Lab in January 2026, where he does research in the field of cardiovascular electrophysiology, specifically concerned with Ca2+ ion channels. This summer, he will investigate indicators of Calcium Release Deficiency Syndrome (CRDS) via intracardiac ECG protocols.
Image	Noah Marquard Noah is an incoming junior at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, majoring in Mechanical Engineering with an interest in hemodynamics. He joined the Cardiovascular Fluid Dynamics Lab in the fall of 2025 and plans to focus this summer on using 4D-flow MRI to analyze aortic dissection and regional wall shear stress.
Image	Katelyn Morris Katelyn is an incoming junior at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where she is double-majoring in Genetics and Genomics and Biology.  She started in the Lo Sardo Lab her freshman year in January of 2025, and has started and will continue her own project focusing on the MMP16 gene with the goal of better understanding how this gene contributes to cardiovascular disease.
Image	Sid Shah (adjacent trainee) Sid is an incoming junior at UW-Madison, majoring in Biology and Global Health with a certificate in Health Policy and Genetics in a Modern World. His current research focuses on the gene RBM20 and its impact on cardiac muscle function, more specifically looking at its impact on myosin splicing through gel electrophoresis. This summer he plans on continuing this research as well as looking at various organ tissues to find the presence of unknown small proteins.

AHA Cohort

Image	Baljinder Singh Baljinder is a recent graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he majored in Biomedical Engineering. He has been involved in the Eckhardt Lab for the past year, studying nuclear morphology in LMNA-diseased cardiomyocytes cultured on micropatterned substrates with varying stiffnesses. This summer, he will study the effects of mechanical strain on these micropatterns using optical mapping techniques as he prepares to begin his master’s degree in Biomedical Engineering.
Image	Enson Zheng  Enson is a junior at the University of Wisconsin-Madison majoring in Biomedical Engineering and Molecular & Cell Biology with a Biology in Engineering certificate. Since joining Kamp Lab in June 2024, he has been working under Dr. Jianhua Zhang on development of the chamber-specific cardiomyocyte differentiation from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). His research interests are in cardiac development, disease modeling, and regenerative medicine using hPSC model.
Image	Marta Zholnerchyk Marta is an incoming senior at Beloit College, majoring in Biochemistry with minors in Kinesiology and Movement, and Performing and Applied Arts. This summer, she will begin research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison under the mentorship of Dr. Bo Liu. She is excited to gain hands-on experience studying vascular biology and cardiovascular disease