2027 Cardiovascular Symposium
A joint meeting with the University of Alabama at Birmingham
The third annual Cardiovascular Symposium brings investigators, clinicians and trainees from the University of Arizona and the University of Alabama at Birmingham to Tucson for two days of science. The program includes a keynote address, themed scientific sessions, early-career presentations, a judged trainee poster competition and time set aside to start collaborations across institutions and career stages. Continuing medical education credit is being sought for all symposium talks.
Where discovery meets cardiovascular care
Progress in cardiovascular medicine runs in two directions. Discoveries in the lab move toward patients, and questions from the clinic send researchers back to the bench. The symposium puts basic, translational and clinical investigators in the same room to test each other’s assumptions, compare methods and find their next collaboration.
2027 keynote speaker
Jianyi “Jay” Zhang, MD, PhD
Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering
Chair, Department of Biomedical Engineering
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Dr. Zhang studies how the heart’s energy metabolism, the way heart muscle makes and uses fuel, breaks down after a heart attack and in heart failure, and how therapies based on stem cells and RNA might regenerate working heart muscle. His laboratory tests these approaches in large-animal models, a step toward clinical trials.
Early-career investigator competition
Selected predoctoral and postdoctoral investigators will present their research in dedicated sessions judged by faculty. Awards will recognize outstanding presentations in basic research and in clinical research.
Trainee poster competition
Trainees will present their work in two judged poster sessions built for scientific exchange and networking. Poster awards will be presented at the conference dinner.
Conference dinner and awards
A ticketed conference dinner on Saturday evening will close with awards for outstanding early-career presentations and trainee posters. Registration details will be announced.
Invited speakers
Plenary sessions will connect basic discovery with translational and clinical research. Session themes, talk titles and moderators are being set jointly with UAB and will be posted here as they are confirmed.
University of Arizona
John Chorba, MD
Associate Professor, Medicine, Sarver Heart Center
Brett A. Colson, PhD
Associate Professor and Associate Chair of Basic Research, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Shanna Hamilton, PhD
Assistant Professor, Cellular and Molecular Medicine
Samantha Harris, PhD
Professor, Physiology
Elizabeth B. Juneman, MD
Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology
Peipei Ping, PhD
Professor and Chair, Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine – Phoenix
Paulo W. Pires, PhD
Associate Professor, Physiology
Carl W. Tong, MD-PhD
Professor, Medicine
Liya Yin, MD, PhD, MS
Professor, Internal Medicine and Biomedical Science, College of Medicine – Phoenix
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Vera A. Bittner, MD, MSPH
Professor of Medicine; Endowed Scholar in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention, Division of Cardiovascular Disease
Ho-Wook Jun, PhD
Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Thanh Nguyen, PhD
Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering
Priscila Sato, PhD
Associate Professor, Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Disease
Palaniappan Sethu, PhD
Professor and Section Chief for Basic and Translational Research, Division of Cardiovascular Disease
Min Xie, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Disease
Lei Ye, MD, PhD
Associate Professor, Biomedical Engineering
More speakers will be announced.
Program
The symposium opens Friday morning, March 19, with an early-career investigator session, followed by the keynote address. Themed plenary sessions run through Friday and Saturday, alongside the trainee poster sessions and time set aside for networking.
The full schedule, with session themes, speakers and times, will be posted as details are confirmed.
Sponsorship
Sponsors reach investigators, physicians and trainees across basic, translational and clinical cardiovascular research from the University of Arizona and UAB.
Silver: $3,000
- Company name in the printed program, on this website and on the rotating slides between sessions
- One exhibit table
- Two complimentary full-symposium registrations
- Poster sessions with evening reception
Gold: $5,000
- Company logo in the printed program, on this website, on the rotating slides and on event signage
- One exhibit table in a premium location
- Three complimentary full-symposium registrations
- Poster sessions with evening reception
- One seat at the Saturday conference dinner
Platinum: $10,000
- Top placement of company logo in the printed program, on this website, on the rotating slides and on all event signage
- Double exhibit space in the most prominent location
- Four complimentary full-symposium registrations
- Poster sessions with evening reception
- Two seats at the Saturday conference dinner
How sponsorship works
Sponsors are acknowledged in the program and on signage. They have no role in the scientific content, speakers or sessions, and are not linked to any specific session, meal or break. Each sponsorship is confirmed with a signed letter of agreement before the event.
To reserve a level, email SHC-CVRS@arizona.edu with your company name and the level you’d like.
Past symposia
2026 symposium with Stanford Cardiovascular Institute
Feb. 8–9, 2026 · Tucson
Keynote: Joseph C. Wu, MD, PhD
Director, Stanford Cardiovascular Institute
Past President, American Heart Association
Sessions on stem cell biology, genomics, artificial intelligence, imaging, electrophysiology, metabolism and outcomes research.
2025 symposium with UT Southwestern Medical Center
Feb. 3–4, 2025 · Tucson
Keynote: Eric Olson, PhD
Professor and Chair, Department of Molecular Biology
Director, Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine, UT Southwestern
The first symposium in the series, with sessions on cardiac regeneration, heart-failure therapeutics, the sarcomere, RNA-based approaches and data science.