Programming – BCVS Scientific Sessions 2025

Pioneering Cardiovascular Science: Bridging Discovery and Practice
July 23–26, 2025
Marriott Baltimore Waterfront | Baltimore, Maryland

Programming for 2025

This is where you will find the program for #BCVS25 in mid-2025.

The information below is from 2024.

#BCVS24 Final Program

Explore the activities by date below

2024 Online Program Planner

All times Central Daylight Time (CDT) (UTC -5) Sunday, July 21

Sunday, July 21 Activities
Time	Activity
1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.	Asian Cardiovascular Symposium Separate registration required – visit the ACRE website(link opens in new window).

Monday, July 22

Monday, July 22 Activities
Time	Activity
7:00 a.m.	Registration and Exhibits International Ballroom South, Second Floor
7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.	Continental Breakfast International Ballroom South, Second Floor
8:00 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.	Inside the AHA's Research Enterprise: Grant Funding and Other Opportunities Glenn Dillon, PhD, American Heart Association International Ballroom North, Second* Floor*
8:45 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.	Break/Exhibits
9:00 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.	Early Career Pre-Conference: Opening Welcome Sarah Schumacher Bass, PhD, Cleveland Clinic International Ballroom North, Second* Floor*
9:15a.m. to 10:15 a.m.	Early Career Pre-Conference Session 1: Next Best Thing International Ballroom North, Second Floor Moderators: Mingtao Zhao, DVM, PhD, Nationwide Children’s Yassine Sassi, PhD, Virginia Tech 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-Mediated Interleukin-6 Signaling Drives Ryanodine Receptor-2 Calcium Leak in Postoperative Atrial Fibrillation Joshua Keefe, BS, Baylor College of Medicine 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
10:15 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.	Break and Exhibits
10:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.	Early Career Pre-Conference Session 2: Next Best Thing International Ballroom South, Second Floor Moderators: Jessica Pfleger, PhD, Virginia Tech Ankit Garg, MD, PhD, Johns Hopkins 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
11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.	Early Career Keynote: Getting to the Heart of the Matter: Creating and Seizing Opportunities in Your Career Path Farah Sheikh, PhD, University of California, San Diego International Ballroom North, Second Floor
12:30 p.m. to 1:00 p.m.	Break/Exhibits
1:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.	Opening Session International Ballroom North, Second Floor Introduction/Welcome Sumanth Prabhu, MD, Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis AHA Presidential Remarks Keith Churchwell, MD, Yale School of Medicine BCVS Council Chair Remarks Maria Kontaridis, PhD, Masonic Medical Research Institute
1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.	Session 1: Cardiac Sarcomeres and Myofilaments International Ballroom North, Second Floor 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)
2:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.	Break/Exhibits
3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.	Session 2: Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathy International Ballroom North, Second Floor 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
4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.	Poster Session and Reception Salon A, Lower Level

Tuesday, July 23

Tuesday, July 23 Activities
Time	Activity
7:00 a.m.	Registration and Exhibits International Ballroom South, Second Floor
6:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.	Continental Breakfast International Ballroom South, Second Floor
7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.	Women in Science Breakfast Salon A5, Lower Level 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 Moderators: Inna Rabinovitch-Nikitin, PhD, University of Manitoba Li Qian, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Panelists: Jolanda Van Der Velden, PhD, Amsterdam UMC Svati Shah, MD, MHS, Duke University Stefanie Dimmeler, PhD, Goethe University Frankfurt Jennifer Davis, PhD, University of Washington Li Qian, PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
8:00a.m. to 9:15 a.m.	Session 3: Cardiac Hypertrophy and Remodeling International Ballroom North, Second Floor 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
9:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.	Break/Exhibits
9:45 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.	Session 4: What's New in Cardiovascular Fibrosis International Ballroom North, Second Floor 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 Metabolic Control of Fibroblast Fate and Fibrosis 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
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.	Session 5: BCVS 2024 Keynote Lecture International Ballroom North, Second Floor Moderators: Sumanth Prabhu, MD, Washington University in St. Louis Farah Sheikh, PhD, University of California, San Diego Metabolic Mechanisms in Heart Failure – Expected and Unexpected E. Dale Abel, MD, PhD, UCLA Health
12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.	Early Career Luncheon/Lunch on Your Own Salon A5, Lower Level Lunch with Legends (ticketed event) Table Leaders: Sakthivel Sadayappan, PhD, MBA, University of Cincinnati Na Li, PhD, Baylor College of Medicine Jil Tardiff, MD, PhD, University of Arizona Maria Kontaridis, PhD, Masonic Medical Research Institute Sumanth Prabhu, MD, Washington University in St. Louis Steven P. Jones, PhD, University of Louisville Jeffery Molkentin, PhD, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center William Pu, MD, Boston Children's Hospital Jonathan Kirk, PhD, Loyola University Chicago Farah Sheikh, PhD, University of California, San Diego Pilar Alcaide, PhD, MS, Tufts University Carmen Sucharov, PhD, University of Colorado Sean Wu, MD, PhD, Stanford University John Elrod, PhD, Temple University Elizabeth McNally, MD, Northwestern University Abhinav Diwan, MD, Washington University in St. Louis Jianyi Jay Zhang, MD, PhD, University of Alabama at Birmingham
1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.	Session 6: Cardiac Metabolism in Health and Disease International Ballroom North, Second Floor 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
2:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.	Break/Exhibits
3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.	Session 7: Pathophysiologic Axes Beyond the Heart International Ballroom North, Second Floor 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 A Novel Mutation in CCNQ, A Ciliopathy Gene Causal to STAR Syndrome, Links Autism and Congenital Heart Disease Maria Kontaridis, PhD, Masonic Medical Research Institute 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
4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.	Poster Session and Reception - Hosted by Circulation Research Salon A, Lower Level
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.	Early Career Investigator Social Waldorf Room, Third Floor

Wednesday, July 24

Wednesday, July 24 Activities
Time	Activity
7:00 a.m.	Registration and Exhibits International Ballroom South, Second Floor
7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.	Continental Breakfast International Ballroom South, Second Floor
7:00 a.m.to 8:00 a.m.	Unopposed Time
8:00 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.	Session 8: Emerging Cardiovascular Technologies and Therapeutics International Ballroom North, Second Floor 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
9:15 to 9:45 a.m.	Break/Exhibits
9:45 to 11:00 a.m.	Session 9: Cardiac Repair and Tissue Engineering International Ballroom North, Second Floor 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
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.	Session 10: Outstanding Early Career Investigator Awards International Ballroom North, Second Floor Moderators: Nikolaos G. Frangogiannis, MD, Albert Einstein College of Medicine Stacey Rentschler, MD, PhD, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis 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
12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.	Lunch on Your Own/Unopposed Time
1:30 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.	Session 11: Cardio-Immunology: Inflammation, Immunity and the Heart International Ballroom North, Second Floor 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
2:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m.	Break/Exhibits
3:15 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.	Session 12: Cardiac Development, Epigenetics and Gene Regulation International Ballroom North, Second Floor Moderators: Michaela Patterson, PhD, Medical College of Wisconsin Guang Li, PhD, University of Pittsburgh Speakers: 3:15-3:35 3D Genome Organization in Cardiac Development and Disease 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
4:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.	Poster Session and Reception Salon A, Lower Level
7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.	BCVS Council Dinner International Ballroom North, Second Floor

Thursday, July 25

Thursday, July 25 Activities
Time	Activity
7:00 a.m.	Registration/Continental Breakfast International Ballroom South, Second Floor
7:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.	Unopposed Time
8:00 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.	Session 13: Excitation-Contraction Coupling and Ion Channels International Ballroom North, Second Floor 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, University of Arizona-Phoenix 9:00-9:15 Targeting ER stress can attenuate arrhythmia in catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia Shanna Hamilton, PhD, University of Arizona
9:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.	Break
9:45 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.	Session 14: Novel Insights into Cardiac Arrhythmia International Ballroom North, Second Floor Moderators: Stacey Rentschler, MD, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis James Smyth, PhD, Virginia Tech Speakers: 9:45-10:05 Inflammatory Signaling and Atrial Arrhythmogenesis 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
11:00 a.m. to 11:05 a.m.	BCVS 2024 Closing Remarks
11:05 a.m.	Adjourn

Other Meetings of Interest

Asian Cardiovascular Symposium - The Academy of Cardiovascular Research Excellence (my-acre.org)
July 21, 2024, Hilton Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

The Asian Cardiovascular Symposium offers a pre-meeting symposium, held one day prior to the official BCVS Scientific Sessions, jointly hosted by the Academy of Cardiovascular Research Excellence (ACRE), Japanese Cardiovascular Research Association (JCRA), Korean Cardiovascular Society (KCS) and the Society for South Asian Heart Research (SAHR). The symposium will provide opportunities for both oral and poster presentations, especially for early career trainees, followed by keynote presentation, dinner, and an award ceremony, for the reunion of BCVS members, colleagues and friends around the world in the field of cardiovascular sciences. Separate registration required.

ACS 2024 Registration

Target Audience

Basic cardiovascular scientists
Molecular/cellular biologists
Physiologists
Translational investigators
Clinical trialists
Practicing cardiologists
Cardiovascular nurses and pharmacists

Learning Objectives

Understand new developments in cardiovascular pathophysiology and their implications for future therapeutics.
Discuss emerging translational research in preventing and treating cardiovascular disease and its precursors.
Recognize scope and implication of cardio-immunology for advancing future therapeutics.
Describe areas for therapeutic development which attenuate the intracellular transmission of cellular disease and dysfunction.