On Friday, November 1, members of the Abboud Cardiovascular Research Center (ACRC), along with current cardiovascular disease division members and those who collaborate with them, gathered for a celebratory day-long symposium for the center’s 50th anniversary at the Courtyard by Marriott in Iowa City, overlooking Kinnick Stadium and the UI Health Care medical campus.

The program for the day was filled with distinguished guests and keynote presenters who helped build the center’s legacy: Director for the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Barry London, MD, led introductions for former chair and DEO for the department, Mark Anderson, MD, PhD, who currently holds multiple leadership positions at the University of Chicago, including Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs. Anderson reflected on how Iowa impacted him, and how the center’s namesake, François Abboud, MD, created the environment for science to advance in this medical specialty. He, along with most speakers returning to Iowa City for the celebration, also discussed Abboud’s fierce and loyal love for the University of Iowa and the state itself.

Additionally, current Assistant Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Steven Mickelsen, MD, discussed the pulsed field ablation system he invented that would become FARAPULSE, Inc. and later be acquired by Boston Scientific; and University of Iowa alumnus Michael Mahoney, current chairman and chief executive officer of Boston Scientific, reiterated the need for entrepreneurship in medicine. Many additional notable physician scientists gave inspiring talks focused on the intersection of cardiovascular health to their own research, including rising trainees from the Boudreau, Grueter, London, Song, and Wei Labs.

Midday, the program paused for lunch and a poster session, allowing learners and junior faculty to discuss their research interests with preeminent influencers in their fields. Judges included UI Health Care faculty and distinguished guests; they awarded six honors: two student poster winners, two postdoc poser winners, and two junior faculty poster winners.

Student winners

Grace C.
Examining the Function of a Novel Protein in the Cardiac Junctional Membrane Complex

Jasmyn H.
Translational Control of Cardiac Gene Expression through Alternative Open Reading Frames

 

Postdoc winners

Anna Leinheiser
A dynamical systems model for the total fission rate in Drp 1-dependent mitochondrial fission

Gokul Patil
Persistent Prothrombotic State in Post-Acute Sequelae of Mild SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Role of Extracellular Traps and Immune Complexes

 

Junior faculty winners

Mary Good
Perceptions of Blood Pressure, Self-Monitoring, and Self-Management among Veteran Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease: A Qualitative Study

Qian Shi
IRS2 Signaling Protects Against Stress-Induced Arrhythmia by Maintaining Ca2+ Homeostasis

United first by Abboud, who served as mentor for myriad scientists, and then by the ever-expanding field of cardiovascular medicine, attendees revisited memories of being recruited by Abboud, and working with one another, and of the discoveries they made through their membership with the ACRC. The tenor of the day was educational, of course, collaborative, and convivial; this was a reunion fifty years in the making.