Programming – BCVS Scientific Sessions 2024

Early Career Pre-Conference Session 1: Next Best Thing

9:15-9:27
Phospho-Mimic Mutation in Beta Tubulin Suppresses Arrhythmias and Improves Cardiac Connexin 43 Localization in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Mice
Delong Zhou, MS, BS, Rutgers School of Graduate Studies

9:27-9:39
Macrophage Piezo1 exacerbates cardiac dysfunction through inhibiting clearance of apoptotic cardiomyocytes after myocardial infarction
Lu Peng, MD, Xijing Hospital

9:39-9:51
Troponin I Serine 150 Phosphorylation as a Novel Cardiac Inotrope Without Detrimental Effects
Lorien Salyer, BS, The Ohio State University

9:51-10:03
Targeting Tropomyosin Overlap Flexibility via Small Molecule Intervention in a Murine Dilated Cardiomyopathy Model
Catherine Vasquez, BS, University of Arizona

10:03-10:15
Constitutive Deletion of the Obscurin Ig58/59 Domains Induces Structural and Electrophysiological Remodeling in Atria
Annie Brong, BA, University of Maryland

Early Career Pre-Conference Session 2: Next Best Thing

10:45-10:57
DNA Double-stranded Breaks, a Hallmark of Aging, Defined at the Nucleotide Resolution, Are Increased and Associated with Transcription in the Cardiac Myocyte Genome in LMNA-Cardiomyopathy
Benjamin Cathcart, MSc, PhD, University of Texas Health Sciences Center 

10:57-11:09
MyBP-HL nonsense mutations fail in sarcomere incorporation leads to modifications in myocyte contraction trough calcium modifications
Alejandro A. Alvarez-Arce, PhD, BS, Loyola University Chicago

11:09-11:21
The role of SARM1 in regulation of immune response in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction
Azadeh Nasuhidehnavi, DVM, PhD, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation

11:21-11:33
Regulation of UFM1 modification from ER dynamics to cardiac homeostasis
Varsha Tandra, BSC, MSc, PhD, Augusta University

11:33-11:45
Inflammation-induced endothelial cell activation and angiogenic sprouting are downmodulated by ubiquitin-specific peptidase 20
Bipradas Roy, PhD, Duke University Medical Center

Session 1: Cardiac Sarcomeres and Myofilaments

Moderators:
Shanna Hamilton, PhD, University of Arizona
Mike Previs, PhD, University of Vermont

Speakers:

1:30-1:50
An Unexpected Role for the Sarcomere in Afib 
Jonathan Kirk, PhD, Loyola University Chicago

1:50-2:10
Fast Skeletal Myosin Binding Protein-C Expression Exacerbates Dysfunction in Heart Failure 
Sakthivel Sadayappan, PhD, MBA, University of Cincinnati

2:10-2:30
Mechano-energetic Uncoupling in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Genotype Matters
Jolanda van der Velden, PhD, Amsterdam UMC 

2:30-2:45
Titin cleavage disrupts sarcomere-adhesion tensional homeostasis triggering cardiomyocyte arrhythmia in vitro
Maria Rosaria Pricolo, PhD, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares (CNIC)

Session 2: Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathy

Moderators:
Shirin Doroudgar, PhD, University of Arizona
Thomas E Sharp, PhD, University of South Florida

Speakers:

3:15-3:35
Hydrogen Sulfide and HFpEF
David Lefer, PhD, Cedars Sinai 

3:35-3:55
RNA Methylation and Cardiomyopathy
Federica Accornero, PhD, Brown University 

3:55-4:15
GRK2 and Diabetic Cardiomyopathy – Female Mice
Sarah Schumacher-Bass, PhD, Cleveland Clinic Foundation

4:15-4:30
Cardiac Macrophages are Key Immune Drivers of Cardiometabolic HFpEF
Ravi Sonkar, PhD, Washington University at St. Louis

Women in Science Breakfast
Ticket Required

Navigating Your Career Labyrinth

• Setting clear boundaries (when and how to say yes and no)
• Finding mentors and community
• Negotiating, leadership positions
• Mental health, self-care

Session 3: Cardiac Hypertrophy and Remodeling

Moderators: 
Danish Sayed, MD, PhD, Rutgers
Yang Zhou, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Speakers:

8:00-8:20
Cardiomyocyte Generated TGFbeta is Required for Neonatal Heart Maturation 
Jeffery Molkentin, PhD, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

8:20-8:40
Heart Failure Secretome in Pathologic Remodeling and Mitochondrial Dysfunction
Carmen Sucharov, PhD, University of Colorado
            
8:40-9:00
Transcriptional Enhancer Regulation of Heart Development and Disease 
William Pu, MD, Boston Children's Hospital

9:00-9:15
Identification of Newly Synthesized Protein in Cardiomyocytes after Myocardial Infarction
Feng Zhang, MD, Cincinnati Children Hospital 

Session 4: What's New in Cardiovascular Fibrosis

Moderators:
Stefano Toldo, PhD, University of Virginia
Katherine Yutzey, PhD, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Speakers:

9:45-10:05
Cellular and Molecular Networks in Cardiac Wound Healing and Repair
Jennifer Davis, PhD, University of Washington 

10:05-10:25
Myeloid YAP, Inflammation and Fibrosis in the Heart
Dominic Del Re, PhD, Rutgers University

10:25-10:45
Endothelial-Mesenchymal Transition and Fibrosis in Heart Failure
John Elrod, PhD, Temple University

10:45-11:00
Inhibiting IL-1 Signaling to Cardiac Fibroblasts Protects Against Acute Viral Myocarditis
David Elias, BS, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine

Session 6: Cardiac Metabolism in Health and Disease

Moderators: 
Linda R. Peterson, MD, Washington University in St. Louis 
Steven P. Jones, PhD, University of Louisville 

Speakers:

1:30-1:50
Targeting Cardiac Fatty Acid Oxidation to Treat HFpEF
Gary Lopaschuk, PhD, University of Alberta 

1:50-2:10
Metabolomic Profiling of SLGT2 Inhibitors in Heart Failure
Svati Shah, MD, MHS, Duke University 

2:10-2:30
Locking and Unlocking Cardiac Maturation
Daniel P. Kelly, MD, University of Pennsylvania

2:30-2:45
One Carbon Metabolism Defect In Failing Hearts
Jae Woo Jung, PhD, University of Pennsylvania

Session 7: Pathophysiologic Axes Beyond the Heart

Moderators:
Katarzyna Cieslik, PhD, Houston Methodist Research Institute
Gregory Payne, MD, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Speakers:

3:15-3:35
Neural Modulation of Cardiac Rhythm
Stavros Stavrakis, MD, PhD, University of Oklahoma 

3:35-3:55 
Heart-Brain Axis: Relationships between Heart Failure and Alzheimer’s Disease 
Federica Del Monte, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina 

3:55-4:15 
Neural Control of Cardiac Inflammation and Remodeling
Yasutomi Higashikuni, MD, PhD, University of Tokyo

4:15-4:30
JNK2-mediated gut-heart crosstalk in aging-associated AF pathogenesis
Saugat Khanal, PhD, The Ohio State University

Session 8: Emerging Cardiovascular Technologies and Therapeutics

Moderators:
Xi Fang, PhD, UC San Diego
Maria Kontaridis, PhD, Masonic Medical Research Institute

Speakers:

8:00-8:20
Single Cell and Spatial Atlas of the Human Heart Valve and Valvular Diseases 
Rong Fan, PhD, Yale University

8:20-8:40
Artificial Intelligence in Cardiology: A New Era of Heart Health
Guru G. Kowlgi, MBBS, MS, Mayo Clinic

8:40-9:00
Top-down Proteomics for Cardiac Precision Medicine
Ying Ge, PhD, University of Wisconsin

9:00-9:15
Transcription Factor Gene Therapy for Treatment of Junctional Bradycardia in a Porcine Model of Complete Atrioventricular Block Following His Bundle Ablation
Rafael J. Ramirez, PhD, MSc, Johns Hopkins University 

Session 9: Cardiac Repair and Tissue Engineering

Moderators: 
Yajing Wang, MD, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Edward Thorp, PhD, Northwestern University 

Speakers:

9:45-10:05
Neonatal Heart Regeneration and Graft Associated Arrythmia in Large Mammals
Jianyi Jay Zhang, MD, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham 

10:05-10:25
Why Can’t Our Heart Regenerate? Insights from Mammals of Extreme Longevity
Guo Huang, PhD, University of California San Francisco

10:25-10:45
The Power and Promise of EV-AAVs in Cardiac Gene Therapy: Cardiotropism and Biodistribution
Susmita Sahoo, PhD, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai 

10:45-11:00
Novel Therapeutic Option for LMNA-related Cardiomyopathy
Hananeh Fonoudi, PhD, Northwestern University

Session 10: Outstanding Early Career Investigator Awards

11:00-11:15
CD40 is an immune checkpoint regulator that potentiates myocardial inflammation through activation and expansion of CCR2+ macrophages and CD8 T-cells
Jesus Jimenez, MD, PhD, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis

11:15-11:30
Druggable Genome CRISPRi/a Screens in iPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes Identify Therapeutic Targets for Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiotoxicity
Chun Liu, PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin

11:30-11:45
Noncoding regulation of epicardial gene expression and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition during heart development
Joaquim M. Nunes Vieira, BSC, PhD, King's College London

11:45  -12:00
Increasing ketone supply to the heart has beneficial effects on the source of cardiac ATP production in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)
Qiuyu Sun, BS, University of Alberta

Session 11: Cardio-Immunology: Inflammation, Immunity and the Heart

Moderators:
Meena Madhur, MD, PhD, Indiana University 
Benjamin Kopecky, MD, PhD, University of Colorado

Speakers:

1:30-1:50 
Resident Cardiac Macrophages and Cardiac Remodeling
Kory Lavine, MD, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis

1:50-2:10 
Myocarditis in 3D
Daniela Cihakova, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins Medicine 

2:10-2:30 
T cell Responses in Heart Failure 
Marinos Kallikourdis, PhD, Humanitas University

2:30-2:45
Spatial transcriptomics reveals a pathological interferon induced cell niche at the borderzone of infarcted hearts
Van K. Ninh, PhD, University of California, San Diego

Session 12: Cardiac Development, Epigenetics and Gene Regulation

Moderators:
Michaela Patterson, PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin 
Guang Li, PhD, University of Pittsburgh 

Speakers:

3:15-3:35
Transcriptional and Epigenetic Control of Postnatal Heart Development 
Rajan Jain, PhD, University of Pennsylvania 

3:35-3:55
RBFOX2-RNA Regulatory Networks in Heart Development and Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome
Muge Kuyumcu-Martinez, PhD, University of Virginia 

3:55-4:15
Defining Mechanical Tolerances for Conduction System Versus Working Myocardial Developmental Maturation        
Michael Bressan, PhD, University of North Carolina

4:15-4:30
Numb Family Proteins regulate left ventricular compaction by modulating autophagic process
Luqi Zhao, MD, University of Houston

Session 13: Excitation-Contraction Coupling and Ion Channels

Moderators: 
Cat A Makarewich, PhD, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center
Ioannis Karakikes, PhD, Stanford University

Speakers:

8:00-8:20
The Current State of Calmodulinopathies 
Alfred L George Jr, MD, Northwestern University 

8:20-8:40
Thin Filament Take on Calcium Regulation in Cardiac Disease
Jil Tardiff, MD, PhD, University of Arizona 

8:40-9:00
Functional Roles of Small Conductance Ca²⁺-activated K⁺ Channels in Health and Disease
Nipavan Chiamvimonvat, MD, UC Davis 

9:00-9:15
Targeting ER stress can attenuate arrhythmia in catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia
Shanna Hamilton, PhD, University of Arizona

Session 14: Novel Insights into Cardiac Arrhythmia

Moderators: 
Stacey Rentschler, MD, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis 
James Smyth, PhD, Virginia Tech

Speakers:

9:45-10:05
Genetics and mechanisms underlying Atrial Fibrillation
Na Li, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine

10:05-10:25
Mechanisms Driving Cardiac Aging-Induced Arrhythmias
Stefanie Dimmeler, PhD, University of Frankfurt 

10:25-10:45
Applying Morphological Profiling/Cell Painting to Cardiomyocytes to Try to Prioritize the GWAS Loci for HF/DCM
Patrick T Ellinor, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital 

10:45-11:05
Fibroblast Regulation of Cardiac Excitability and Arrhythmogenesis 
Arjun Deb, MD, PhD, University of California Los Angeles