Sarver Cardiovascular Research Symposium shines at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort

[Illustration to promote the inaugural Cardiovascular Research Symposium hosted by the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson on Feb. 3-4, 2025.]The inaugural Cardiovascular Research Symposium hosted by the the Sarver Heart Center and Division of Cardiology in the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson’s Department of Medicine, Feb. 3-4, resulted in excellent turnout, great presentations and dynamic dialogue, according to organizers. Over 120 researchers, clinicians, and trainees participated. See a mini-photo gallery from the event below.

The keynote speaker Eric Olsen, PhD, gave an inspiring talk at the HSIB Forum on the U of A Health Sciences campus on “Muscle Making and Muscle Breaking: From Developmental Mechanisms to Therapies for Heart and Muscle Disease.”

Dr. Olsen is the founding chair of the Department of Molecular Biology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, where he holds the Annie and Willie Nelson Professorship in Stem Cell Research, Pogue Distinguished Chair in Research on Cardiac Birth Defects and Robert A. Welch Distinguished Chair in Science. [Collage of images from the inaugural Cardiovascular Research Symposium hosted by the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson on Feb. 3-4, 2025.]

After a short travel break, everyone reconvened at Lowes Ventana Canyon Resort for the afternoon program, where they were greeted with opening comments by U of A Cardiology division chief and Sarver director Hesham Sadek, MD, PhD.

Eight of 18 presenters there were from UTSW, where Dr. Sadek served before joining the College of Medicine – Tucson faculty in early May 2024. Eight were from the U of A and one each came from the University of Wisconsin’s Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Center (Ahmed Mahmoud, PhD) and the Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares’ Cardiovascular Regeneration Program (Miguel Torres, PhD) in Madrid – and where Dr. Sadek is a visiting scientist.

Among presentations from the University of Arizona were:

  • Department of Medicine chair James K. Liao, MD, cardiovascular disease specialist, Sarver member and the Robert S. and Irene Flinn Endowed Chair in Medicine – “Rho-associated Kinase (ROCK) as a Therapeutic Target for Fibrotic Diseases”
  • Jil Tardiff, MD, PhD, the Steven M. Gootter Endowed Chair for Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death, professor of cardiology and cellular and molecular medicine, and Sarver and BIO5 Institute member – “Targeting the Cardiac Sarcomere to Modulate Pathogenic Remodeling in HCM & DCM: Structural and Kinetic Approaches”
  • Dr. Sadek – “Heart Regeneration: Edging Toward the Clinic”
  • Sarver associate director, chair, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, and the Humberto and Czarina Lopez Endowed Chair for Excellence in Cardiovascular Research Sakthivel Sadayappan, PhD – “Myosin S2 and cMyBP-C interactions in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy”
  • U of A Cardiology professor Luke Szweda, PhD – “Daily Rhythms in Cardiac Metabolism: Tuning in for a Healthy Heart”
  • U of A Cardiology professor and program director, Interventional Cardiology Fellowship, Deepak Acharya, MD, MSPH – “Novel Therapies for Heart Failure.”

All of the talks are available via Sarver Heart Center Ground Rounds archived on the U of A Health Sciences BioCommunications streaming website, although a password is required to view them. Contact Sarver outreach and education manager Cara Deery for that: caradeery@arizona.edu.

Sadayappan said the symposium, held in close collaboration with UTSW, provided a platform for exchange of groundbreaking ideas, cutting-edge presentations and dynamic discussions that showcased the remarkable progress in both cardiovascular research and clinical practice.

“I particularly enjoyed engaging with colleagues from UT Southwestern and learning from their insightful presentations. The ample time allocated for Q&A and interactions fostered meaningful dialogue, and the poster sessions were a true highlight. Overall, this first symposium was a tremendous success, setting the stage for continued collaboration and innovation in the field,” Sadayappan added.

The finalists for abstracts and posters presented at the symposium were:

  • Graduate Student | Rebecca Slepian, MBA – a second-year medical student at the College of Medicine – Tucson
  • Postdoctoral Student | Marjan Aghajani, PhD – a 2024 BIO5 Postdoctoral Fellowship fellow working with Shirin Doroudgar, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine – Phoenix
  • Junior Faculty (basic) | Nikola Sladjevic, MD, PhD – assistant research professor, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine – Tucson, and Sarver Heart Center
  • Junior Faculty (clinical) | Kamaldeep Singh, MD – assistant clinical professor, Division of Inpatient Medicine, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine – Tucson

Dr. Singh also won the prize for Best Overall Abstract, presenting on another topic, “Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Reduces Mortality Compared to Conservative Therapy in Elderly Patients Presenting with NSTEMI.” NSTEMI is a type of heart attack where partial blockage of a coronary artery reduces blood flow to the heart muscle, damaging it. Dr. Singh’s research was co-authored by Division of Cardiology fellows Alvaro Altamirano Ufion, MD, Khurram Butt, MD, and Jacob Klewer, MD, in collaboration with faculty members Mathew D. Hutchinson, MD, and Julia H. Indik, MD, PhD.

“This was a wonderful scientific symposium that highlighted cardiovascular care and cutting-edge discovery, while increasing the exposure of the Sarver Heart Center to other academic centers. My appreciation to Dr. Sadek and Dr. Sadayappan for organizing this annual event, and setting the tradition,” said Dr. Liao.

MINI-PHOTO GALLERY *
* Click on images to enlarge. Rollover image with mouse for captions.

[Initial image from Instagram video or reel posted as summary of the 2025 Cardiovascular Research Symposium hosted by the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson on Feb. 3-4.] [Day One program for speakers and activities at the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center’s Cardiovascular Research Symposium on Feb. 3, 2025.] [The University of Texas Southwestern’s Eric Olsen, PhD, gives the keynote address on “Muscle Making and Muscle Breaking” for the Sarver Heart Center’s inaugural Cardiovascular Research Symposium in the HSIB Forum at the U of A Health Sciences Innovation Building, Feb. 3, 2025.] [Later that afternoon at the Lowes Ventana Canyon Resort, opening session speakers Amit Khera, MD, director, Preventive Cardiology, and chief, Cardiology Clinical Operations at UT Southwestern; James Liao, MD, chair of the Department of Medicine at the College of Medicine – Tucson; and Floyd “Ski” Chilton, PhD, professor, Nutritional Sciences, director, U of A Center for Precision Nutrition & Wellness, and associate director, BIO5 Institute.]

[Session II speakers: Miguel Torres, PhD, senior scientist & coordinator, Cardiovascular Regeneration Program, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Cardiovasculares, Madrid; Benjamin Levine, MD, UTSW Distinguished Professor in Exercise Sciences and S. Finley Ewing Jr. Chair for Wellness and Harry S. Moss Heart Chair for Cardiovascular Research at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital; and Jil Tardiff, MD, PhD, Sarver Heart Center member and the Steven Gootter Endowed Chair for Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death] [Session II speakers: Henk Granzier, PhD, a U of A professor in multiple departments and Sarver Heart Center member; Wanpen Vongatanasin, MD, Hypertension Section and Hypertension Fellowship director at the UTSW Division of Cardiology and clinician at Dallas’ Parkland Memorial Hospital and Clinical Heart & Vascular Center; and Joseph Hill, MD, the Frank M. Ryburn Jr. Chair in Heart Research and the James T. Willerson, M.D., Distinguished Chair in Cardiovascular Diseases at UTSW.] [A set of images of audience members including Sakthivel Sadayappan, PhD (center), chair of the U of A Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine and Sarver Heart Center associate director, and Elizabeth Juneman, MD, cardiologist, heart failure specialist and interim Sarver director prior to Dr. Sadek’s arrival from UTSW in late April 2024.] [Participants in Poster Session I at the Sarver Heart Center’s Cardiovascular Research Symposium.]

[Participants in Poster Session I at the Sarver Heart Center’s Cardiovascular Research Symposium.] [Participants in Poster Session I at the Sarver Heart Center’s Cardiovascular Research Symposium.] [Day Two program for speakers and activities at the University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center’s Cardiovascular Research Symposium on Feb. 4, 2025.] [Sarver Heart Center director Hesham Sadek, MD, PhD, hiking with center member Henk Granzier, PhD, on the morning of Feb. 4, 2025.]

[Other hikers and Cardiovascular Research Symposium participants at the Sabino Canyon Recreation Area in Tucson.] [Session IV speakers: Hesham Sadek, MD, PhD, chief, Division of Cardiology, College of Medicine – Tucson, and director, Sarver Heart Center; Thomas Wang, MD, cardiologist, the Donald W. Seldin Distinguished Chair in Internal Medicine at UTSW, and physician-in-chief, Clements University Hospital; Ambarish Pandey, MD, UTSW associate professor and a specialist in preventive cardiology and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction.] [Session V speakers: Sakthivel Sadayappan, PhD, chair, Department of Cellular & Molecular Medicine, and associate director, Sarver Heart Center; Luke Szweda, PhD, professor, Division of Cardiology, and member, Sarver Heart Center; and Ahmed Mahmoud, PhD, associate professor, Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Center, University of Wisconsin – Madison.] [Session VI speakers: Nikhil Munshi, MD, PhD, UTSW associate professor, Division of Cardiology, assistant director, Physician-Scientist Training Program, and associate director of the Harry S. Moss Heart Center; James de Lemos, MD, UTSW professor and chief, Division of Cardiology, and the Sweetheart Ball - Kern Wildenthal, MD, PhD, Distinguished Chair in Cardiology; and Deepak Acharya, MD, MSPH, U of A associate professor, Division of Cardiology, and director, Interventional Cardiology Fellowship, and memb]

[Audience members during various sessions, including (top) cardiovascular disease specialist James K. Liao, MD, chair, Department of Medicine, and the Robert S. and Irene Flinn Endowed Chair in Medicine, and cardiologist Joe Alpert, MD, past chair, Department of Medicine, and Sarver Heart Center member.] [Participants in Poster Session I at the Sarver Heart Center’s Cardiovascular Research Symposium. Pictured here is Jil Tardiff, MD, PhD (right), U of A cardiologist, the Steven M. Gootter Endowed Chair for the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death, and a Sarver Heart Center and BIO5 Institute member.] [Participants in Poster Session II at the Sarver Heart Center’s Cardiovascular Research Symposium. ] [Participants in Poster Session II at the Sarver Heart Center’s Cardiovascular Research Symposium.]

[ABSTRACT FINALISTS – Graduate Student: Rebecca Slepian, MBA – a second-year medical student at the College of Medicine – Tucson; Postdoctoral Student: Marjan Aghajani, PhD – a 2024 BIO5 Postdoctoral Fellowship fellow working with Shirin Doroudgar, PhD, Department of Internal Medicine, College of Medicine – Phoenix; Junior Faculty (basic): Nikola Sladjevic, MD, PhD – assistant research professor, Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine – Tucson, and Sarver Heart Center; Junior F] [Pictured – ABSTRACT FINALISTS: Rebecca Slepian, MBA; Marjan Aghajani, PhD; Nikola Sladjevic, MD, PhD; Kamaldeep Singh, MD.] [The winner! ABSTRACT FINALIST: Junior Faculty (clinical): Kamaldeep Singh, MD – assistant clinical professor, Division of Inpatient Medicine, Department of Medicine, College of Medicine – Tucson. His co-authors included: Alvaro Altamirano Ufion, MD; Khurram Butt, MD; Jacob Klewer, MD; Mathew Hutchinson, MD; and Julia Indik, MD, PhD.] [An end-of-show group shot of attendees of the Sarver Heart Center’s inaugural Cardiovascular Research Symposium. Thanks for attending. See you next year!]

(Photos courtesy of Sarver Heart Center and BioCommunications, U of A Health Sciences)

Original event listing.

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“At the Heart of Innovation: The Inaugural Cardiovascular Research Symposium sparks discovery and collaboration” | Posted Feb. 13, 2025
“Connecting with Sarver Heart Center’s Dr. Hesham Sadek: A Q&A” | Posted Jan. 21, 2025
“Sarver Heart Center gets $2M in gifts to found cardiovascular research institute” | Posted Dec. 20, 2024
“Can the heart heal itself? New study says it can.” | Posted Dec. 20, 2024

Original story: “First Sarver Cardiovascular Research Symposium shines at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort”