Programming – Vascular Discovery 2025
Marriott Baltimore Waterfront | Baltimore, Maryland
Vascular Discovery 2025 Schedule-at-a-Glance
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. | Vascular Research Initiatives Conference (VRIC) Location: Waterview Ballroom, Ground Level This event is not part of the official Vascular Discovery Scientific Sessions as planned by the Program Committee. Separate registration is required to attend. |
| 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. | Vascular Discovery Scientific Sessions Registration Location: Grand Ballroom Reg Desk, 3rd Level |
| 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. | Poster Session 1 & Reception Location: Harborside Ballroom, 4th Level |
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 7:00 a.m. |
Registration Exhibits |
| 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. | Continental Breakfast Location: Grand Foyer West, 3rd Level |
| 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. | Early Career Training Session 1 - The Dos and Don'ts of Using AI in Grantmanship and Manuscript Writing Location: Grand Ballroom 6, 3rd Level |
| 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. |
Conference Opening Welcome 8:00 Welcome Remarks from AHA President 8:15 Welcome Remarks from the Program Chair |
| 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. |
Plenary Session 1: Hot Topics in Cardiovascular Disease 8:30 Triglyceride-Rich Lipoproteins and Diabetes: Bridging the Gap Between Basic and Translational Research
Karin Bornfeldt, PhD, University of Washington |
| 10:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. | BREAK/Exhibits Location: Grand Foyer West, 3rd Level |
| 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. |
Concurrent Session 1a: Mechanisms and Therapeutic Targets in Cardiovascular Disease 10:30 A New Genetic Model of Accelerated Coronary Atherosclerosis 11:00 Inflammatory Cross-Talk in Atherosclerosis: Think Outside the Vessel Wall 11:30 Targeting Endothelial CD45 Ameliorates Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition in Atherosclerosis 11:37 Effects of pathogenic variation in ADAMTSL4 on vascular smooth muscle cell function relevant to spontaneous coronary artery dissection 11:44 Cilia protein IFT88 is required for smooth muscle cell growth factor signaling and phenotype switching 11:51 Smooth Muscle Cells-Expressed Bmal1 Regulates Vascular Calcification Independent of the Canonical Circadian Pathway |
| 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. |
Concurrent Session 1b: Thrombosis: Signaling, Mechanisms & Function 10:30 Mitochondrial Dynamics Shape Platelet Function, Hemostasis, and Thrombosis
11:00 Identification of an Immune Subset of Megakaryocytes that Present Major Histocompatibility Complex Class II Antigen and Directs T Cell Responses in the Bone Marrow 11:30 The Evaluation of Anti-Fibrotic and Anti-Thrombotic Effects of an Oral Galectin-3 Inhibitor in a Mouse Model of Venous Thrombosis 11:37 Mitigating Sex-Specific Thrombotic Risk by Personalizing Thromboprophylaxis 11:44 Uncovering the Role of the Hsp40 Family Member, Cysteine String Protein-α, in Mouse Platelets 11:51 The functional roles of TGFβ signaling in regulating cardiac lymphangiogenesis and cardiac repair after myocardial ischemia |
| 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. | The Mentor of Women Award Luncheon – Reset, Recharge, Rise: Resilience in the Face of Burnout and Setbacks Presented by the ATVB Women's Leadership Committee (ticket required) Location: Grand Ballroom 7-9, 3rd Level or or |
| 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. |
Plenary Session 2: Highlights from the ATVB Journal 1:30 Daniel Steinberg Early Career Investigator Award in Atherosclerosis/Lipoproteins 1:45 Karl Link Early Career Investigator Award in Thrombosis 2:00 Werner Risau Early Career Investigator Award in Vascular Biology 2:15 ATVB Journal Report 2:23 Dr. David A. Dichek Remembrance 2:40 David A Dichek Mid-Career Investigator Award Lecture |
| 3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. | Break/Exhibits Location: Grand Foyer West, 3rd Level |
| 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
Concurrent Session 2a: Shobha Ghosh Investigator in Training Award Competition & Hot Off the Bench Oral Abstracts 3:30 Deficiency of the smooth muscle-specific long non-coding RNA CARMN exacerbates thoracic aortic aneurysms induced by FBN1 gene mutations in Marfan syndrome 3:42 Transcriptional Condensates Regulate Smooth Muscle Cell Phenotypic Switching 3:54 Post-Transcriptional Regulation of Metabolic Hepatokines in Obesity and Metabolism 4:06 Endothelial-Argonaute 1 (AGO1) Inhibition Confers Islet Protection in Diabetes 4:18 Indoxyl Sulfate Suppresses GAS6 and Impairs Anti-Atherogenic Macrophage Function: A Novel Mechanism Driving Accelerated Atherosclerosis in Chronic Kidney Disease Hot Off the Bench Oral Abstracts 4:37 Microplastic exposure elicits sex-specific atherosclerosis development in low-density lipoprotein receptor-deficient mice 4:44 Liver-specific Deletion of Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase 1a Lowers Apolipoprotein B Containing Lipoproteins in Mice 4:51 Genetic loss of a non-lipid handling CAD risk allele causes CAD in mice |
| 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. |
Concurrent Session 2b: Metabolism in Cardiovascular Disease Moderators:
3:30 Altered cross talk between exocrine and endocrine pancreas as a novel risk for metabolic syndrome and atherosclerosis |
| 5:00 p.m to 7:00 p.m. |
Poster Session 2 & Reception |
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 7:00 a.m. | Registration Location: Grand Ballroom Reg Desk, 3rd Level Exhibits Location: Grand Foyer West, 3rd Level |
| 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. | Continental Breakfast Location: Grand Foyer West, 3rd Level |
| 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. | Early Career Training Session 2 – Roundtable Events Location: Grand Ballroom 7-9, 3rd Level |
| 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. |
Plenary Session 3: Inflammation in Cardiovascular Diseases Moderators: 8:00 Brain-Body Communication Regtulating Inflammation in Cardiovascular Disease 8:30 Targeting Immune Checkpoints in Atherosclerosis: A Rebalancing Act 9:00 Clonal behaviors of neutrophils inside vessels |
| 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. | BREAK/Exhibits Location: Grand Foyer West, 3rd Level |
| 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. |
Concurrent Session 3a: Apolipoproteins, Lipoproteins, and Lipid Mechanism 10:00 Delivering Ciruclating Lipids into the Heart and Arterial Wall 10:30 Receptor-Based Approaches to Reducing Cardiovascular Risk 11:00 Functional dissection of ANGPTL3 11:07 SURF4-containing Classical Vesicles Mediate Apolipoprotein(a)-ApolipoproteinB Secretory Trafficking 11:14 Proteomic and Lipidomic Analysis of Mesenteric Lymph from Mice Before and After Duodenal Lipid Administration 11:21 Hypertriglyceridemia as a Key Contributor to Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Development and Rupture: Insights from Genetic and Experimental Models |
| 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. |
Concurrent Session 3b: Translational Studies in Vascular Disease Moderators 10:00 Mapping the genetics of FMD and SCAD: Matricellular effects in arterial dysplasia and dissections 10:30 Creating lymphatic endothelial cells from induced pluripotent stem cells 11:00 Genomic Editing of a Pathogenic Mutation in the Alpha Actin Isotype 2 Gene Rescues a Severe Vascular Disease 11:07 PCSK9 Inhibition Attenuates Experimental Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Formation 11:14 Intestinal degradation of trimethylamine by a novel gut bacterium reduces blood level of trimethylamine N-oxide, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease 11:21 Exosomes carrying VEGF-A mRNA rescues ischemic tissue with low immunogenicity |
| 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. |
ATVB Diversity Committee Luncheon – Current State of Diversity Initiatives, What Now? - ticketed event |
| 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. |
Lunch on Your Own |
| 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. |
Plenary Session 4: Early Career Investigator Award Competition: Irvine H. Page Junior Faculty Research Award & Kenneth M. Brinkhous Early Career Investigator Award in Thrombosis Moderators: Irvine H. Page Junior Faculty Research Award Competition 1:15 Inhibition of MMAB Protects Against Diet-Induced Obesity and Atherosclerosis 1:30 Novel epigenetic therapy for Smooth Muscle Dysfunction Syndrome 1:45 The N-terminus of Apolipoprotein B mediates the interaction of atherogenic lipoproteins with endothelial cells Kenneth M. Brinkhous Early Career Investigator Award in Thrombosis Competition 2:15 Intraplatelet Protein Aggregates modulate Platelet Activation in Alzheimer’s Disease 2:30 Neutrophil extracellular traps do not drive immunothrombosis or immune dysregulation but do prevent sepsis-associated sequelae including kidney dissemination of Staphylococcus aureus in neutrophilic mice 2:45 Sex-Based Evaluation Of Aspirin Therapy In Murine DVT And Secondary DVT Prevention |
| 3:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. | Break/Exhibits Location: Grand Foyer West, 3rd Level |
| 3:30 p.m to 5:00 p.m. |
Concurrent Session 4a: Mechanisms of Atherosclerosis, Inflammation & Immunity in the Vessel Wall 3:30 Smooth Muscle Cell Regulation in Vascular Disease 4:00 Finding and Pushing the Limits of Macrophage Efferocytosis in Atherosclerosis 4:30 Macrophage-Expressed Olfr519 Regulates Inflammation and Drives Atherosclerosis Progression 4:37 Long noncoding RNA regulation of NLRP3 inflammasome activation in atherosclerosis 4:44 Single cell variant to enhancer to gene map for coronary artery disease 4:51 BAF60c-mediated metabolo-epigenetic regulation of vascular smooth muscle cell dysfunction in atherosclerosis |
| 3:30 p.m to 5:00 p.m. |
Concurrent Session 4b: Blood Coagulation in Health & Disease 3:30 Plasmin Generation Assays and the Role of Fibrinolysis in Venous Thrombosis 4:00 Balancing Pro- and Anticoagulant Functions of Factor V: Clinical Insights and Therapeutic Strategies 4:30 Plasminogen small RNA cargo promotes immunogenicity and inhibits enzymatic activity 4:37 Biodegradable PLGA Nanoparticles Modulate Monocyte/Macrophage Actions Reduce Vein Wall Fibrosis 4:44 The Transition of Platelets from Sealants to Signalers in Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Protection via TGFβ1 4:51 Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor-1 Deficiency Induces Cardiac Hemorrhage and Augments Cardiac Fibrosis, but not Aortic Aneurysm, in Angiotensin II-infused Mice |
| 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. |
Poster Session 3 and Reception |
| 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. |
Vascular Discovery Council Celebration -- OFFSITE & Ticket is required to attend |
| Time | Activity |
|---|---|
| 7:30 a.m. | Registration
Location: Grand Ballroom Reg Desk, 3rd Level |
| 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. | Continental Breakfast Location: Grand Foyer West, 3rd Level |
| 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. | Inside the AHA's Research Enterprise: Grant Funding and Other Opportunities Location: Grand Ballroom 6, 3rd Level Glenn Dillon, PhD, American Heart Association |
| 8:30 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. |
Plenary Session 5: Council Awards & Recognition |
| 9:15 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. | BREAK Location: Grand Foyer West, 3rd Level |
| 9:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. |
Plenary Session 6: Invited Lecture Series Moderators: 9:30 Vascular Discovery Distinguished Lecture: The Assembly and Secretion of apoB Lipoproteins: Many Unanswered Questions After 60 Years of Research 10:00 Jeffrey M. Hoeg Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology Award for Basic Science and Clinical Research 10:30 PVD Mid-Career Award and Lecture |
| 11:00 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. | Closing Remarks / Adjourn 11:00 Kathleen Martin, PhD, Yale University School of Medicine |
2025 Speakers
Stanley L. Hazen, MD, PhD, FAHA
Presentation Title: The Not-So-Sweet Side of Artificial Sweeteners and Cardiovascular Disease
9:30 a.m., Wednesday, April 23, 2025
Dr. Stanley Hazen received clinical training in Internal Medicine and subspecialty training in Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism from Barnes/Jewish Hospital, and a PhD in Biophysical Chemistry and Molecular Biology from Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO. He holds multiple leadership positions at the Cleveland Clinic including chair, Department of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Sciences, co-section head, Preventive Cardiology & Rehabilitation, and Director, Center for Microbiome & Human Health.
Dr. Hazen (H-index 159; citations >175,000) has published >500 articles in basic and clinical journals alike in the fields of cardiovascular disease (CVD), lipid metabolism and inflammation. He has made pioneering discoveries in mechanisms contributing to cardiovascular and inflammatory diseases, including fundamental studies linking defined oxidation pathways to CVD risk, diagnostics, and therapeutics; and the seminal discovery linking gut microbial pathways to CVD pathogenesis. His research in multiple areas has impacted clinical practice, and lays the foundation for both FDA- and EU-cleared diagnostic tests for CVD risk assessment in use worldwide. His research has also helped to spawn pharmaceutical development of CVD drugs in clinical trials.
Dr. Hazen is an elected fellow to the National Academy of Medicine, USA. He also is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and an elected member of the American Association of Physicians.
Henry N. Ginsberg, MD, FAHA
Vascular Discovery Distinguished Lecturer
Presentation: The Assembly and Secretion of apoB Lipoproteins: Many Unanswered Questions After 60 Years of Research
9:30 a.m., Friday, April 25, 2025
Dr. Henry Ginsberg is the Irving Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and Past Director of the Irving Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York. He earned his medical degree at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn (1970), and completed training in internal medicine on the Boston University Service of the Boston City Hospital in Massachusetts (1970-1972). Dr. Ginsberg trained in Endocrinology and Metabolism at Stanford University (1972-74) under the tutelage of Gerald Reaven, one of the pioneers in studies of triglyceride metabolism, insulin resistance, and diabetes. He next completed a second postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Virgil Brown and Daniel Steinberg (1976-78) where he was introduced to apolipoprotein B. In 1978, Dr. Ginsberg was appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. From 1985 until the present, he has been at Columbia.
During his time at Columbia, he has been PI of a T32 in Arteriosclerosis (1992-present), Director of an NCRR GCRC (1994-2006), and PI of an NCATS CTSA (2006-2017). His research, which was funded by NIH continually from 1980 to 2025, focused on the regulation of plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels, particularly the levels and metabolism of the apoB-containing lipoproteins, VLDL, IDL, and LDL, as well as HDL, in humans. He and his colleagues used radiolabeled lipoproteins and later, stably labeled amino acids and lipids to trace apoB, TG, and other apolipoproteins through the plasma, analyzing the data with compartmental models. He also has conducted studies in human and rodent hepatoma cells and in mouse models, focusing on the assembly of apoB with lipids to form VLDL and the role of insulin resistance and altered hepatic lipid metabolism on the assembly and secretion of VLDL. Dr. Ginsberg participated as a leader in many clinical trials and was the principal investigator on the Lipid Arm of the ACCORD trial (1998-2010). He has published over 300 peer-reviewed articles and more than 100 chapters and invited reviews. He has been an active member of ATVB committees, including as Chair of the Program Committee (1993-1996) and member, vice chair and chair of the Executive Committee (1999-2004). It was during the latter period that the leadership of the Arteriosclerosis and Thrombosis Councils merged with the Vascular Biology Working Group to created the ATVB Council. He has been recognized several times by AHA/ATVB, including being chosen to present the ATVB’s Lyman Duff Lecture in 2004 and the Council on Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health’s Robert Levy Lecture in 2014. Finally, Dr. Ginsberg, throughout his career, has had a small clinical practice caring for individuals with severe lipid disorders.
Mark W. Feinberg, MD
Presentation: Turning Trash to Treasure: Targeting Non-Coding RNAs in Diabetic Vascular Disease
10:00 a.m., Friday, April 25, 2025
Mark W. Feinberg, MD is a cardiologist and vascular biologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH) and a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston. Dr. Feinberg is Director, Program in Cardiovascular RNA Biology Research at BWH and investigates signaling events that control vascular inflammation and angiogenesis as it relates to a range of ischemic cardiovascular disease states including atherosclerosis and its complications involving ischemic injury in the heart (myocardial infarction) and limb (peripheral artery disease).
His group has discovered non-coding RNAs (microRNAs and lncRNAs) and their interactors with the aim of translating these findings into novel therapeutic approaches for ischemic cardiovascular and cardiometabolic disease. Dr. Feinberg has held various leadership roles in cardiovascular research including his service on international and national peer review grant study sections, editorial service, and as a Co-Chair of the Brigham Research Institute’s CVDM (Cardiovascular, Diabetes, and Metabolic Disorders) Center.
He serves as Director of an AHA SFRN Center on cardiometabolic disease and is Associate Program Director of the BWH Cardiology Fellowship training program. He has mentored >50 trainees – many of whom have independent academic careers and have been recognized as recipients of national young investigator awards from the AHA, ACC, or ADA. Dr. Feinberg is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), Association of University Cardiologists (AUC), and American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
Andrea Obi, MD
Presentation: Infection, Thrombosis and Coagulopathy
10:30 a.m., Friday, April 25, 2025
Dr. Andrea Obi is an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at the University of Michigan. She holds degrees in Microbiology and Immunology as well as English Literature from the University of Michigan, and an M.D. from Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine. She completed general surgery residency in the Department of Surgery at The University of Michigan, during which time she completed a post-doctoral fellowship in Vascular Biology in the Conrad Jobst Vascular Laboratories. She then completed an additional clinical fellowship in vascular surgery at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Obi’s laboratory focuses on dissecting molecular mechanisms involved in immunothrombosis and venous thrombus (VT) resolution. In the wake of the SARs-Co-V2 epidemic, Dr. Obi’s laboratory focused on the intersection of epigenetic-based immune and endothelial cell changes that control gene expression and cell phenotype. In addition, her laboratory studies the effect of innate immune receptor signaling in fibrinolysis. The primary goal of the laboratory is to identify new, targeted therapies that can reduce vascular inflammation leading to fibrosis, and reduce thrombotic risk related to cellular dysregulation. Dr. Obi is co-director of the Venous Health Program, a multidisciplinary clinic that treats patients with rare congenital anomalies, venous thromboembolism, advanced chronic venous insufficiency, and pelvic congestion syndrome.
On a national level she serves as the Research Council Chair of the American Venous Forum Research Committee. Among other distinctions she received the 2019 Vascular Cures Wylie Scholar Award and the 2021 SVS Foundation Mentored Research Career Development Award.
About this Meeting
This 2 ½-day meeting is sponsored by the Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology, the Peripheral Vascular Disease Council, and the Council on Genomic and Precision Medicine, in cooperation with and the Society for Vascular Surgery's Vascular Research Initiatives Conference.
Vascular Discovery 2025 will provide unique opportunities to meet with colleagues from around the world with wide-ranging research interests and expertise for the timely exchange of information about new and emerging scientific research in the areas of arteriosclerosis, thrombosis and vascular biology, peripheral vascular disease, vascular surgery research, genomics and precision medicine. We expect a broad representation from many disciplines and encourage young scientists to attend.
See the American Heart Association Policies and Guiding Values (PDF).
Target Audience
The conference will especially appeal to scientists and clinicians interested in:
- Allergy and Immunology
- Arteriosclerosis
- Biochemistry
- Biological Sciences
- Diabetes and Metabolism
- Functional Genomics
- Genetics
- Hematology
- Internal Medicine
- Molecular/Cellular Biology
- Nutrition
- Pathology
- Peripheral Artery Disease
- Pharmacology
- Physiology
- Vascular Surgery
- Thrombosis
- Vascular Biology
- Vascular Medicine
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this conference, participants will be able to:
- Discuss recent advances and emerging experimental models in ATVB and peripheral vascular diseases that target primary acquired diseases and/or secondary factors contributing to vascular-related disorders.
- Summarize findings from recent translational research or clinical trials and the impact for future treatment and/or management of vascular-related disorders.
- Describe best practices associated with ATVB scientific research and/or the management of patients with vascular-related diseases.