By Cass Atzrodt (G1)
Dr. Adrian Cadar earned his PhD (‘17) and MD (‘21) at Vanderbilt University and is currently a PGY-5 fellow in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. Dr. Cadar’s fascination with the heart began during childhood fishing trips with his father. While cleaning their catch, he was captivated by the still-beating hearts of the fish. As a first-generation college student whose mother worked as a cafeteria cook at the University of North Texas, Dr. Cadar’s path into academic medicine was non-traditional. He discovered research as a sophomore through the McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program where he worked in Dr. Ed Dzialowski’s lab on embryologic mechanisms mediating the closure of the ductus arteriosus chick embryos. He subsequently completed two NIH summer internships.
Dr. Cadar earned his PhD in 2017 from the Department of Molecular Physiology and Biophysics at Vanderbilt University, where he studied the molecular mechanisms sarcomere turnover in human cardiomyocytes. His thesis work began in the lab of Dr. Chee Lim, where he used CRISPR-based strategies to visualize titin dynamics in the cardiac sarcomere. Following Dr. Lim’s departure from the institution, Dr. Cadar transitioned into the lab of physician-scientist Dr. Charles Hong, who encouraged him to revisit his early aspirations in medicine. This mentorship was instrumental in his eventual decision to pursue an MD.
While in graduate school, Dr. Cadar also completed the HHMI Certificate in Molecular Medicine. This program paired trainees with clinical mentors, providing firsthand exposure to patient care and fostering translational thinking within basic science research. This experience reinforced the importance of bringing a clinical perspective to the laboratory bench. After completing his PhD, Dr. Cadar briefly considered a postdoctoral path but felt drawn to the patient side of the science he studied. Encouraged by his mentors and supported by a full-tuition merit scholarship, he enrolled in Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, earning his MD in 2021.
During medical school, he continued his research, working with Dr. Björn Knollmann and even spending time in Germany learning how to generate 3D heart tissue using induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). He was particularly driven by the unmet clinical needs of patients with genetic mutations in the titin protein which cause dilated cardiomyopathy, whose disease progression is often unaffected by current guideline-directed medical therapies (GDMT). These experiences cemented his desire to develop gene-editing-based therapeutics to target underlying causes of inherited heart disease.
Now a PGY-5, Dr. Cadar plans to complete fellowship training in general cardiology with additional specialization in clinical genetics. His decision to specialize in cardiology was seeded by his research experience and reinforced during his continuity clinic with Dr. John McPherson, cardiologist and Director of the Vanderbilt Internal Medicine residency, in his first year of medical school. His long-term goal is to establish an independent research lab focused on sarcomere biology and inherited cardiomyopathy, combining clinical insights with molecular innovation to develop novel therapeutic approaches.
When he’s not in the hospital or lab, Dr. Cadar enjoys hiking and fly-fishing, often spending weekends exploring the outdoors with his wife.