Saha Cardiovascular Researchers Participate at the 88th Annual AHA Scientific Sessions

Every year the American Heart Association hosts a myriad of researchers in the field of cardiovascular health and disease prevention in its annual Scientific Sessions. For four days (November 7-11) Orlando, Florida was home to the gathering of brilliant ideas, which were shared in poster and oral presentations, and among friends and colleagues throughout the Sessions. Several faculty members from the Saha Cardiovascular Research Center were in attendance, as presenters of their research, and moderators for the Scientific Sessions related to their field. Those present were Lisa Cassis, Alan Daugherty, Brian Delisle, Ahmed Abdel-Latif, Sangderk Lee, Hong Lu, Paul Mueller, Jon Satin, Mary Sheppard, Ryan Temel, and Nancy Webb.

Highlights from the Sessions:

• Lisa Cassis presented her research entitled, “Targeting the adipose renin-angiotensin system to treat obesity-associated hypertension” at the “Adipose Depots, Squeezing the Vascular” Scientific Session.
• Brian Delisle spoke in the “Circadian Rhythms and Cardiovascular Disease” session, with the title of his talk “Cardiomyocyte Clock and Electrophysiology.” It was also publicly acknowledged that Dr. Delisle was awarded a $160,000 grant from the Cardiovascular Genome Phenome Study Discovery (CVGPS) entitled “Genotype Phenotype Correlations in KCNH2 variants from 31,000 Whole Exome Sequences Identified in a Biobank Cohort.” This is a collaborative project which will help identify patients who might be at risk for sudden death based from genetic screening.
• Ahmed Abdel-Latif participated in the poster sessions by showcasing his research with fellow Gill Heart Institute and Saha Cardiovascular Research Center colleagues on the treatment of bone marrow mononuclear cells with cathelicidin related antimicrobial peptides and how it enhances cell retention and attenuates cardiac dysfunction in a mouse model of myocardial infarction.
• Hong Lu presented her research in their poster sessions on the novel biological functions of the Core Serpin in Angiotensinogen.
• Paul Mueller, doctoral candidate who works in Dr. Susan Smyth’s lab, presented in the poster session with his research on how PPAP2B expression regulates the development of atherosclerosis. His abstract was among the top ten percent of accepted abstracts.
• Jon Satin presented at the “Ion Channel Organization: Scaffolds, Interacting Partners and Electrophysical Consequences” Session, with his research entitled “Cardiac calcium channel interacting proteins and heart remodeling.” He was also a moderator for the Session “Back to Nature: When Will Biologicals Replace Drugs, Catheters and Devices in Antiarrhythmic Therapy?”
• In late summer of 2015, Nancy received the AHA 2015 Special Recognition Award in Arteriosclerosis, of which she was publicly honored during this year’s Sessions. This is presented to those who have made major contributions in the area of Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. Dr. Webb also moderated an Abstract Oral Session entitled “Late-Breaking Basic Science.”

The purpose of these Scientific Sessions is to bring together a host of different ideas, perspectives, and research. The Saha Cardiovascular Research Center is proud to be an active participant of the American Heart Association, and to see its members flourish in the field of cardiovascular research.

You can learn more about this year’s AHA Scientific Sessions, and about how to register for November 2016’s Sessions, here.