2024 Sol Sherry Distinguished Lecture - Sidney W. Whiteheart, PhD, FAHA

 

Dr. Whiteheart is a full professor with tenure and director of the MD/PhD training program at the University of Kentucky. In 2010, he was awarded a University Research Professorship, in 2013 the Kirwan Prize and in 2019 an endowed professorship.

He earned his PhD at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine under the mentorship of Dr. Gerald W. Hart, in the field of glycosylation and glycosyltransferases. As a post-doctoral fellow with Dr. James E. Rothman, he was involved in the discovery of SNARE proteins that mediate membrane fusion events. This led to the formulation of the “SNARE Hypothesis” to explain intracellular trafficking.

In more than the 30 past years, his group has been a key contributor to dissecting the molecular mechanisms of platelet secretion. They have been a leader in assigning SNAREs and SNARE regulators to specific platelet secretion events and in probing the roles of platelet exo-and endocytosis in hemostasis, innate immune responses and vascular integrity maintenance. This work has resulted in more than 150 publications.

Dr. Whiteheart has a strong commitment to training and mentoring graduate students, post-doctoral fellows and undergraduates; more than 60% have been women or people in under-resourced communities. Many received support from the American Heart Association.

He was selected by trainees for the UK Alumni Association Great Teacher Award (2006), a Women in Medical Sciences Mentor Award nominee (2019) and the UK Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences Mentor Awardee (2023).