I am a CTCRE postdoctoral fellow in the Kane Laboratory at the CVRI and a recent NHLBI K99/R00 Pathway to Independence Award recipient. My current research investigates how apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) G1 and G2 risk variants, which are highly prevalent in African American populations and extremely rare in other racial and ethnic groups, modify vascular responses to tobacco product exposures. My findings from human cohort studies suggest that APOL1 risk variant carriers may be particularly susceptible to tobacco-related cardiovascular disease, potentially contributing to its disproportionate burden in African American populations. Building on these findings, I now use induced pluripotent stem cell-derived endothelial models to characterize vascular effects and identify biological pathways underlying these gene–environment interactions. My long-term goal is to understand how genetic and environmental factors, independently and through their interactions, influence vascular and lipid biology and contribute to cardiovascular disease and health disparities, ultimately informing improved CVD risk stratification and the development of targeted interventions, particularly in understudied populations.