Strategic Network Annual Meeting 2024


Key Deadlines

Meeting Registration:
Thursday, August 15

Poster & Fellow Presentation Titles:
Thursday, August 15

Hotel Reservations:
Saturday, August 31

Final Presentations Due to AHA:
Friday, September 20

Network Meeting Dates

  • September 23-24, 2024:
    • HERN Prevention of Hypertension
    • HERN Maternal & Infant Health
    • HERN Rural Health
    • HERN Community-Driven Research Approaches
    • Clinical Trials SFRN
  • September 24-26, 2024:
    • Cardiometabolic Health SFRN
    • Cardio-Oncology SFRN
    • Chronic Stress SFRN
    • Health Technologies & Innovation SFRN
    • Inflammation in Cardiac & Neurovascular Disease SFRN

Q & A Session

AHA is hosting an open Q&A session for all attendees who have questions in preparation for the upcoming annual meeting.
All awardees and fellows/trainees are welcome to attend.

Thursday, July 18, 2024, at 11 am CT / 12 pm ET
Click to Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 896 7390 6746 
Passcode: 851039

Annual Meeting Overview

Strategic Network Annual Meetings are closed meetings for funded awardees and designated oversight advisory committees who are invited to attend by the AHA.  The purpose of these face-to-face meetings is to share results across the networks and identify and act on potential collaborative opportunities. A major component of the Centers will be their ability to implement a successful program for the interdisciplinary training of a new generation of scientists and to collaborate. All key Center personnel (Center Director / Coordinating Center PI, Training Director, Project PIs and Fellows/Trainees) and Oversight Advisory Members are expected to attend.

Meeting Location

The meeting will be held at the Omni Las Colinas Hotel
221 East Las Colinas Boulevard
Dallas (Irving), Texas 75039
September 23-26, 2024

Meeting Registration

ALL ATTENDEES (awardees, fellows/trainees and OAC) MUST REGISTER for the Strategic Network Annual meeting BY AUGUST 15, 2024.

All key Center personnel (Center Director/Coordinating Center PI, Training Director, Project PIs and Fellows/Trainees) and Oversight Advisory Committee members are expected to attend.

Refer to Programming for specific details. (Coming soon.)

REGISTER HERE FOR SEPTEMBER 23-24:

  • HERN Prevention of Hypertension
  • HERN Maternal & Infant Health
  • HERN Rural Health
  • HERN Community-Driven Research Approaches
  • Clinical Trials SFRN

REGISTER HERE FOR SEPTEMBER 24-26:

  • Cardiometabolic Health SFRN
  • Cardio-Oncology SFRN
  • Chronic Stress SFRN
  • Health Technologies & Innovation SFRN
  • Inflammation in Cardiac & Neurovascular Disease SFRN

IMPORTANT NOTE:  Meeting registration is separate from booking your hotel reservation. Refer to Travel/Hotel Reservations for further instructions on how to make hotel reservations.  Name tags will be created based on the name and credentials entered on the registration form, please ensure this is entered correctly.

Travel / Hotel Reservations

All meeting attendees are responsible for booking their own travel and hotel and are expected to attend the duration of the meeting.

For strategic networks meeting September 23-24, it is recommended to travel on Sunday, September 22 and plan your departing flight after Networking Poster and Demo Session.

  • HERN Prevention of Hypertension, HERN Maternal & Infant Health, HERN Rural Health, HERN Community-Driven Research Approaches & Clinical Trials SFRN

For strategic networks meeting September 24-26, it is recommended to plan your arrival to DFW or Dallas Love Field by 1 pm on September 24 to allow enough time to attend the Special General Sessions and Networking & Poster Session planned for all Networks. Plan your departing flight after the end of your network meeting is scheduled to end on September 26.

  • Cardiometabolic Health SFRN, Cardio-Oncology SFRN, Chronic Stress SFRN, Health Technologies & Innovation SFRN, Inflammation in Cardiac & Neurovascular Disease SFRN

Airports
Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) ~ 11 miles 
Dallas Love Field Airport (DAL) ~ 9 miles 


Hotel Reservation
Use this link to make hotel reservations by 8/31/2024
Omni Las Colinas Hotel | AHA Strategic Networks Annual Meeting (omnihotels.com)

Deposit:  One-night deposit is due at the time of booking.
Cancellation Policy:  Cancel 72 hours prior to arrival to avoid forfeiting one-night deposit.

Hotel Information
Omni Las Colinas Hotel 
221 East Las Colinas Boulevard
Irving, Texas 75039
(972) 556-0800

Dress Code

The attire for the Strategic Network Annual Meeting is business casual. Jeans, slacks, khakis, polo shirts, other casual blouses and shirts are appropriate.  Hotel meetings rooms are often cool, so bring a jacket or sweater.

Charging Stations

Each meeting room will have a charging station. Space will be limited; it is recommended that laptops be charged nightly.

Presentations Deadline

Submit ALL presentations to AHA at [email protected]
by Friday, September 20.


If any of the presentations include embedded videos or include a link that would require internet access, please notify AHA as soon as possible. The designated AV tech will need this in advance to ensure there are no issues the day of the meeting.

Guidelines for All Network Presentations

It will be expected that ALL Strategic Network awardees present a clear and concise presentation that focuses on the overall progress of their center and project including any roadblocks/challenges and strategies to improve the overall center’s progress. It is recommended to spend time presenting on the PROGRESS on each of the aims/goals based on the project’s research plan, NOT re-presenting proposed aims. 

To prepare for the upcoming annual meeting, ALL awardees and fellows/trainees are expected to prepare their presentations in advance and receive feedback to ensure their presentations meet the AHA and OAC’s expectations. The OAC would like to hear from the Center Directors/Coordinating Center PIs, Training Directors, Project PIs and Fellows/Trainees.

SFRN Update Presentations
Each update should be limited to 5-7 minutes, focusing specifically on overall progress. Combined center updates including the center/training component and research projects should be presented within 28-30 minutes.  Each SFRN center’s presentation should be combined to one master slide deck.

HERN Update Presentations
The coordinating center and each project will be limited to 10-12 minutes, focusing specifically on overall progress.

Helpful Hints - Updates to the OACs should include:

  • overall progress on the center/training program as well as specific progress on each project including roadblocks/challenges and strategies that have been implemented to improve progress.
  • update on the progress of the collection/analysis of retrospective data AND/OR recruitment efforts including any strategies to improve recruitment efforts for projects that are actively
  • enrolling participants, if applicable.
  • update on the training and research efforts of fellows/trainees, if applicable.
  • update on partnership requirement and how the partnering institution has been involved in a substantive manner (i.e., non-research-intensive institution, institution focused on educating/training or serving under-represented individuals in science, OR non-profit institution that primarily provide services to historically under-served populations), if applicable.

Tools & Resources for Preparing Presentations

The webinar hosted by “The Ragin Group” and project status templates are great resources for preparing a clear and concise project update presentation for the upcoming annual meeting. As a reminder, project updates will be condensed to allow more time for collaborative breakouts and networking opportunities. Refer to these resources below:

AHA will offer an open Q&A session to all network awardees and fellows/trainees to give another opportunity for questions in preparation for the upcoming annual meeting this fall.

Thursday, July 18, 2024, at 11am CT/12 pm ET
Click to Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 896 7390 6746 
Passcode: 851039

Poster and Fellow/Trainee Presentation Guidelines

Key Deadlines:

Poster & Presentation Titles: Thursday, August 15
Final Presentations Due to AHA: Friday, September 20

  • Strategic Network Fellow/Trainee Presentation Session:  Moderated and opportunity to hear the innovation and outcomes from the postdoctoral fellows and trainees.
  • Oral Presentations:  Each presenter should prepare a presentation NOT to exceed 7-8 minutes on their research project/topic.  It will be important that each presenter does not go over their allocated time to ensure the session remains on time. Please send AHA the final slide deck by the deadline and bring a copy on a jump drive and provide to AHA at check-in.
  • Networking and Poster Session:  Opportunity to network with other Strategic Networks and visit with poster and demo station presenters.

    • Poster Presentations: Please see the guidelines for preparing your poster presentation (PDF). On-site printing for meetings is not available. Poster presenters will be able to set up posters during the breaks prior to the reception or check-in with AHA staff on-site on September 24.
    • HTI SFRN Tech Demonstrations: Table, monitor(s), cables will be provided. Bring any additional cables, adapters, etc., if necessary. If specific equipment is needed, please notify AHA as soon as possible. Check-in with AHA staff for the number assignment.
    • AHA will have a designated poster number for each poster presenter and will support set-up to ensure posters are posted to the correctly assigned board.

AHA Funded Research Logos

Click the following link to download the logo as pdf:  AHA Funded Research Logo.pdf

If you prefer a jpg, copy the image below:

Red heart and torch logo with the words American Heart Association Funded Research

2024 Holidays

AHA offices will be closed:     Altum/Proposal Central offices will be closed:
Jan. 1 Sept. 2 Jan. 1 July 4
Jan. 15 Nov. 28 & 29 Jan. 15 Sept. 2
May 27 Dec. 23-27 Feb. 19 Oct. 14
July 4 May 27 Nov. 28 & 29

June 19 Dec. 23-27