Abstract
The SVM 29th Scientific Sessions were held in Chicago, Illinois, June 13–16. Once again, the meeting was a great success. Approximately 315 attendees from around the globe met in Chicago for 3 full days of academic sessions and vascular lab programming.
On Wednesday afternoon, various SVM committees gathered to discuss plans for the coming months. Wednesday evening featured a lively reception organized by the Women in Vascular Medicine and SVM Next Generation Committee followed by the Board of Trustees meeting.
The meeting was officially kicked off on Thursday morning with
Friday morning started early with the SVM annual business meeting, led by SVM President, Dr Heather Gornik. Reports were given by SVM officers and committee chairs, followed by the election of new trustees for 2018 (Drs Esther Kim and Mitchell Silver). Academic sessions included the American Venous Forum & SVM joint session on
The ever-popular
I thank the entire Scientific Sessions Program Committee for its hard work this year in planning an outstanding meeting. Special thanks to the abstracts review committee chairs, Drs Anne Hamik and Scott Kinlay, the Cases Over Cocktails selection committee chair, Dr Teresa Carman, and our entire Program Committee as the moderators of the sessions, and all of our faculty presenters. Finally, the Next Generation Committee participation, headed by Drs Yogen Kanthi and Christina Fanola, brought an overwhelming spirit of optimism and freshness to SVM 2018. The future of SVM is indeed safe in the hands of our young leaders.
Please save the date for SVM’s 30th Annual Scientific Sessions Anniversary to be held at the Ritz Carlton Tysons Corner (McLean, Virginia), May 29 – June 1, 2019.
Footnotes
2018 SVM Award Winners
Social Media Buzz Award
Stanislav Henkin, MD, MPH
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Hanover, NH, USA
Alan T Hirsch Travel Award Recipients
Ana Florencia Becerra, MD
Hospital Privado Universitario de Cordoba, Argentina
Joel L Ramirez, MD Candidate
University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
Louis Wang, MBBS, MM
St Vincent’s Hospital, Australia
Emily Mae L Yap, MD
Philippine Heart Center, Quezon City, Philippines
Meeting Highlights from the 2018 Travel Award Recipients
Philippine Heart Center, Quezon City, Philippines
I consider it an auspicious opportunity to be able to participate and share my two clinical case studies at SVM’s 29th Annual Scientific Sessions in Chicago. I am humbled and thrilled to receive the Alan T Hirsch Travel Award, which curbed the expenses incurred for this very long trip to the other side of the world.
As a fellow-in-training coming from a third-world country, the SVM Scientific Sessions served as an eye-opener for me that will pave the way for further improvement not only in research, but also in the academic and clinical settings in my areas of training and future practice.
The ‘IMPROVe Your Presentation and Presence’ lecture on the first day taught us how to give a captivating introduction, which intends to make a lasting first impression, and to make a connection to the audience throughout one’s talk. The Scientific Sessions that followed on the succeeding days were all very well organized, informative, and fast-paced to keep the momentum going. The Vascular Jeopardy, Rapid Fire Sessions, and Cases Over Cocktails made this convention stand out even more, as these educational activities, which use an interactive approach, are not the norm in any of our local conventions. There was certainly no dull moment from the first to the last day.
In particular, the discussions on arteriopathies, peripheral artery disease (PAD), chronic venous diseases, and critical limb ischemia have been most enlightening and will be useful in our day-to-day practice in treating Filipinos afflicted with these diseases. It has taught me how to manage diverse and challenging vascular disease and it also made me become familiar with the diagnostic and therapeutic modalities that are soon to be available in my country. The discussion on anticoagulation provided the evidence needed to address a lot of the dilemmas that we have encountered from venous thromboembolism prophylaxis to periprocedural anticoagulation management.
Moreover, this activity has allowed me to interact and network with colleagues from all over the world, and more importantly, it gave me the opportunity to learn from the renowned experts in vascular medicine.
In my country, this subspecialty continues to grow remarkably, and we are not far behind because of SVM’s steadfast guidance and support to our own society and to the Filipino physicians.
University of California, San Francisco, California, USA
I would like to thank the SVM and the 29th Annual Scientific Sessions Program Committee for the opportunity to receive the Alan T Hirsch Travel Award and attend the Scientific Sessions. I was able to present two posters at the meeting, which both reported original research and highlighted the role that radial artery tonometry may play in risk stratification among patients with PAD and how fish oil supplementation may be beneficial in the same population. I would not have been able to attend the meeting and share my work without the support of this award.
Attending the Scientific Sessions was a very valuable educational experience and allowed me to network with my fellow trainees and vascular researchers. During the poster session, I was able to share my work and ideas with another researcher who was presenting his research and had done similar work in the same field. I learned more about the field of vascular medicine, current vascular research, and what the future of vascular medicine might look like. The Scientific Sessions broadened my understanding of the breadth of clinical and academic opportunities in vascular medicine. It was also inspiring to see how the SVM valued its collaborations with fellow societies and even hosted a panel with the American Venous Forum. I strongly believe that these collaborations are key to providing our patients with the best vascular care possible.
As I advance through my clinical and research training, I plan to continue being involved with the SVM. Doing so will be essential to my growth as an academic physician committed to driving the advancement of vascular research and providing excellent vascular care to my community.
Spotlight on five outstanding (and adventurous) Young Investigators
Elizabeth V Ratchford, MD, FSVM
The Jay D Coffman Young Investigator presentations were certainly a highlight of the 29th Annual Scientific Sessions. This group of finalists may be the most impressive young investigators in SVM history and several have remarkable things in common. Two went to medical school together (at Tulane), two like to cook, three do not eat meat, and several have international family connections. The most common theme among all five of them was a sense of adventure and enjoyment of physical fitness activities. Perhaps their success relates to their carpe diem approach to life.
Arvind Pandey, MD
Dr Arvind Pandey was awarded first place in the Coffman competition this year. His work looked at how endothelial nitric oxide synthase, the main source of nitric oxide in the vasculature, is regulated by CD70, a classical immune system component which, prior to this, had not been known to function in endothelial cells.
Arvind was born in Nashville but grew up in New Orleans. He completed his undergraduate and medical school training at Tulane, followed by his internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins, and then cardiology fellowship at Vanderbilt. Arvind previously had a deep interest in vascular biology, working with his research mentor Dr David Harrison. He was planning to be a general cardiologist and physician-scientist until SVM’s Dr Joshua Beckman came to Vanderbilt, which changed his career path and led him to vascular medicine as a closer clinical complement to his basic vascular biology training. He is now going to Brigham and Women’s for vascular medicine fellowship.
In his free time, Arvind enjoys running. He has run two half marathons in Nashville. Now that he technically has run a whole marathon, he ultimately plans to run in the Boston Marathon. He also enjoys playing basketball, although his promising NBA-caliber basketball career was potentially stymied by a fractured 5th finger. He is vegetarian and he speaks Hindi. He lived in India at age 13 and spent his 8th grade year outside Mumbai. His brother is a cardiology fellow in California, and Arvind eventually may like to move closer to the West Coast. He has enjoyed his involvement with SVM, and he astutely observed that the Society is the ‘glue’ that holds our field together.
Eri Fukaya, MD, PhD, FSVM
Dr Eri Fukaya earned second place for her work on the genetics of varicose veins. Varicose veins are common, occurring in up to a quarter of the adult population. Little is known about the genetics of varicose veins despite its strong familial trait. Her work took a closer look at this topic through a genome-wide association study (GWAS) using UK Biobank data and identified several interesting findings, including an association with height.
Eri was born in Tokyo and now lives in Redwood City, CA. She trained at Tokyo Women’s Medical University and became a plastic surgeon with a focus on burns and wound care. After practicing plastic surgery in Japan, she decided she wanted to expand her horizons beyond the operating room, delving deeper into the longitudinal care of wounds. She went to UCSF for post-doctoral training and became enamored with blood vessels, as she witnessed the critical role of both the arteries and veins in the success of flaps. She came across some articles on vascular medicine and found her calling as a vascular medicine specialist. To achieve this goal, she moved to New York City to Beth Israel for internal medicine residency and ultimately went on vascular medicine fellowship training at University of Pennsylvania with our late esteemed colleague, friend, and Master of SVM, Dr Emile Mohler. Eri is currently a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of Vascular Surgery at Stanford and has a joint appointment in the Department of Medicine. She has a special interest in venous disease and started the Stanford Vascular and Vein Clinic in Portola Valley in 2016. Meanwhile, she is pescatarian (eats fish but no meat) and enjoys experimental cooking. She trains rigorously in the martial art of Jiu-Jitsu and has a purple belt.
Eri has been an active member of SVM and serves on several committees, including the Next Generation Committee and the Clinical Practice Committee. She and Dr Nick Leeper have been working hard to grow our field through the creation of a vascular medicine fellowship program at Stanford, which will start this year.
Andrew Prouse, MD
Dr Andrew Prouse presented his work on the incidence and current trends in medical and procedural management of acute limb ischemia (ALI) in the veteran population. He found that over time there has been a consistent decline in the incidence of ALI. Despite this decline, ALI mobility and mortality remain high. The rate of revascularization remains constant, with a statistically significant increase in the number of endovascular interventions. The use of either anti-platelet or anti-thrombotic agents increased over time; the majority of patients were prescribed at least one drug from either class.
Andrew grew up in Orlando and went to the University of Florida as an undergraduate and to Tulane for medical school. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Washington in Seattle, followed by cardiology fellowship at the University of Colorado. He is now finishing his fellowship and transitioning to a faculty position at the University of Colorado. He has worked closely with SVM’s Dr Ehrin Armstrong and Dr Will Hiatt.
Andrew lives in Denver with his wife (who is an OB/GYN) and their 3-year-old daughter and 18-month-old son. In his free time, he enjoys skiing, rock climbing, and biking. In medical school, he biked across the entire United States (4000 miles!) with classmates and conducted experiments on controlled cooling of muscles after exercise. He also led a 45-day whitewater canoeing trip in the Arctic Circle. Meanwhile, he finds time to give back to his community, serving as the president of the board of a non-profit preschool called Paddington Station. He has enjoyed his involvement with SVM and appreciates the benefits of career development and networking.
Kruti Patel, BS
Medical student Kruti (pronounced ‘kroothi’) Patel is the rising star medical student among the Coffman Young Investigators. She went to Northwestern as an undergraduate and is now a second year medical student at the University of Illinois-Chicago. She plans to pursue a career in internal medicine. She has enjoyed working under the guidance of Dr Mary McDermott for the past 2 years. The aim of their study was to determine whether 6 months of supervised treadmill exercise or supervised leg strength exercises could improve walking ability in patients with PAD. They found that supervised treadmill exercise improved walking ability while supervised leg strength exercises did not. From there, they went on to examine whether the improved walking ability would be sustained 6 months after participants stopped the supervised treadmill exercise; they found that it was not sustained and walking ability declined.
Kruti grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. She has a younger brother who is in high school. In her spare time, Kruti enjoys reading, cooking, and baking. She has always been a vegetarian and loves experimenting with new recipes. She is clearly the most adventurous of the group as she likes ‘wing walking’, which is a step up from skydiving. Again, it is a step UP from skydiving. Wing walking is defined as the act of moving on the wings of an airplane during flight; it originated during the 1920s in airshows and barnstorming. Kruti literally walks on the wing of the plane while the plane does aerodynamic tricks.
Kruti found the SVM meeting to be nearly as exhilarating as well as inspirational. She is grateful for the vascular medicine exposure and the experience of presenting at a national meeting so early on in her career.
Arman Qamar, MD
Dr Arman Qamar is currently a research fellow in the TIMI Study Group at Brigham. His research focuses on conducting clinical trials to improve outcomes in patients with PAD. He presented his findings on the role of vorapaxar in improving cardiovascular and limb outcomes in a broad population of patients in the TRA 2°P-TIMI 50 trial.
Arman was born in Calcutta, India. He went to medical school at the University of Delhi. He moved to the United States in 2010. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Pennsylvania and went on to a cardiology and vascular medicine fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He is earning an MPH degree now at Harvard as part of his research fellowship. Upon completion of this training, he will move to NYU for an interventional cardiology fellowship, including peripheral vascular intervention.
Arman has been married for 2 years, and his wife is currently an internal medicine resident at Tufts. For exercise, he runs and plays tennis. In their (limited) spare time, they both love to travel. In the past year, they explored Spain, Italy, Ireland, and Mexico during their vacation time. He enjoys traveling to conferences for work and visiting his family in India. With his ties to India, he is interested in biobanking and conducting clinical trials among patients with PAD in India.
Dr Eugene Braunwald is one of his personal heroes. He read Dr Braunwald’s cardiology chapters in Harrison’s (the classic medicine textbook) as a medical student in India, which directly inspired him to move to the United States. To his great surprise, he ended up having the opportunity to work with Dr Braunwald in Boston with the TIMI Study Group. Arman has won several teaching awards over the past few years. Fittingly, he was the recent recipient of the Eugene Braunwald Fellowship Award in Cardiovascular Medicine. Arman recommends the book Eugene Braunwald and the Rise of Modern Medicine for further reading on one of the most influential cardiologists of all time.
Arman is on the SVM Next Generation Committee; he has also provided valuable contributions as a member of the SVM PAD Toolkit Committee. He looks forward to collaborating clinically with SVM colleagues and intends to work to increase research collaboration among SVM members in the future.