Annie Smelter

M.D./Ph.D. Student

About Me

My name is Annie Smelter, and I moved to San Antonio from Madison, Wisconsin where I spent the second half of my life after immigrating from Scotland as a child. I went to Edgewood College, a small private school in Madison, for my undergraduate education in biology/chemistry and then spent four years working at a biotechnology company focused on stem cell research. I’m obsessed with my husband, our three cats, and anything fun to do outdoors!

Hobbies/Interests

Hiking, rock climbing, skydiving, reading, playing classical piano, cat cuddles

Research Topic

Cardiovascular disease/Diabetes

Why I chose MD/PhD

Many of my early research mentors were MD-trained scientists who provided an example of a new-to-me career. As a physician-scientist, I can directly treat patients, as well as make discoveries in the lab that are influenced by my patients and can be used to improve care for patients in the future. An MD-PhD program was my ideal training pathway to best prepare me for both aspects of the career.

Why I chose MD/PhD at UT Health San Antonio

The South Texas MSTP stood out as a program due to the great people involved and the genuine excitement for and focus on translational research. Also, I really wanted to move to Texas!

Post-bac work or other affiliations

FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics Inc.

Education

B.S., Biology, Edgewood College, 2019

Publications

Farrell, E. T., Grimes, A. C., de Lange, W. J., Armstrong, A. E., & Ralphe, J.C. (2017). Increased Postnatal Cardiac Hyperplasia Precedes Cardiomyocytes Hypertrophy in a Model of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Frontiers in Physiology, 8:414. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2017.00414

Farrell, E. T., Armstrong, A. E., Grimes, A. C., Naya, F. J., de Lange, W. J.,& Ralphe, J.C. (2017). Transcriptome Analysis of Cardiac Hypertrophic Growth in MYBPC3-null Mice Suggests Early Responders in Hypertrophic Remodeling. Frontiers in Physiology, 9:1442. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2018.01442