Abstract
Meeting highlights
When I was asked to summarize the Vascular Scientific Sessions (VSS) presented by the Society for Vascular Medicine in Washington, DC, September 7–10 (aka, #SVM23), of course my first thought was how on earth will I find new jokes to write that I did not use up last year already? Still, here we go…
Last year’s conference was such a success that it gave us an appetite to do even more. And we did. One might say that the 2023 Vascular Scientific Sessions were the ‘Even More’ sessions. In fact, the idea came to me as a poem:
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—
I looked up close, I stared some farther. Then they came, an idea, and another.
So exciting, so unique, that I nearly landed on the floor.
‘Tis the way’, I shouted, ‘to make our conference like no other—
We will make it even more!’
Our goal when planning the Vascular Scientific Sessions was to put people in the center. Every decision we made was geared toward creating a great experience for attendees of all flavors. Starting with the preconference speed mentoring session chaired by Drs Elizabeth Ratchford and Aaron Aday, through several networking sessions, and all the way to the heated ping-pong tournaments, the Vascular Scientific Sessions are where you come to see friends and learn from colleagues. No wonder we had more attendees than ever. In total, there were over 400 attendees on site. And almost naturally, it meant that this year would have even more great content than ever.
Drs Tamar (Tammy) Polonsky and Yogen Kanthi chaired the Abstract Selection Committee. We had more submissions than ever and wherever I turned I heard people praising the level of the science presented. You can find the list of accepted abstracts in the Vascular Medicine journal.1,2 Some posters were selected for special recognitions, including Young Investigator Awards, Highlighted Original Research, and Featured Posters. Congratulations to Emily Juzwiak, BS, the winner of the Jay D Coffman Young Investigator Award. For even more science, Dr Mary McDermott chaired the Highlighted Original Research session, where we enjoyed presentations of the crème de la crème of science. Congratulations to all the presenters on their amazing work.
This year we experimented with even more formats, going beyond the formal oral presentation. Personally, I think our experiments were a success.
First, we had amazing keynote speakers who were so gracious to jump onto the special stage we built and deliver a variety of high-level, thought-provoking, engaging, and entertaining talks. Thank you, Drs Ken Rosenfield, Matthew Menard, Manuel Monreal, Eric Isselbacher, and Kyla Lara-Breitinger. Dr Mitchell Weinberg and his shiver of killer co-moderators, Drs Anahita Dua and Thomas Rooke, circled around brave presenters who passionately presented unique, thought-provoking, and admirable points of view in a ‘shark tank’-like format. Congratulations to Dr Andrew Klein, who clinched the victory in this session.
We also went back to a few successful formats from last year. Dr Gaurav Parmar organized a smash hit with his second packed point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) session. As always, there was a long list of people on standby to get into the course. Dr Jay Bishop drew a large crowd to his Primary Care and Hospital Medicine track. Attendees included local physicians and vascular scientific sessions (VSS) attendees who wanted a refresher on the basics. Drs Elizabeth Ratchford and Stan Henkin amazed us with an informative, up-to-date, and practical Risk-Factor Management Session. Vascular medicine specialists are positioned so nicely at the intersection between procedures and prevention, making this track relevant to everyone, a fact that was emphasized by a packed room.
Drs Daniella Kadian-Dodov and Vladimir Lakhter entertained us, and definitely made me realize I still have so much to learn, in another amazing iteration of Vascular Jeopardy. Congratulations to our winner, Dr Steve Dean (no surprises there)!
Also, we came back to ‘Cases on the Rocks’ (formerly known as ‘Cases over Cocktails’). Dr Ana Casanegra and her crew selected challenging cases, and throughout the evening Drs Esther Kim and Andrew Dicks made sure that we stayed engaged, even when we clearly did not have a clue as to the diagnosis. Still, as the evening advanced, we were all reminded why we fell in love with vascular medicine in the first place.
There was even more on Sunday! After the 2nd Annual 5K Fun Run/Walk in honor of Dr Will Hiatt (that turned into a 5-mile run for some of us), Dr Natalia Fendrikova-Mahlay moderated an excellent session on vascular imaging. Then, we continued to focus on imaging through a session with Tips for Readers. Thank you to Drs Merry Ellen Barnett and Alireza Vaziri for moderating. Finally, we kept one of the best sessions for last. Drs Shea Hogan and Dmitriy Feldman chaired a spirited debate session that brought us all the way to the end of the meeting.
Before I drift off into the summary paragraphs, I want to give special thanks to Dr Herb Aronow, our (now) Past-President, who for 2 years in a row has given me free reign and all the support I needed to bring my sometimes a bit …novel… ideas to you in our conference.
I would also like to thank Dr Elizabeth Ratchford. Of course, many of you know Dr Ratchford as the Society’s Secretary (now President-Elect), or as chair of the Membership Committee, or as the founder and chair of the mentorship program. One is dizzy just keeping up with her accomplishments. But for me, over the last year, Elizabeth has been a partner in designing this wonderful conference that we were all so proud to provide to you.
Finally, I would like to dedicate special thanks to our partners at Veritas. Without Matt Helms, Sandy Addison, Jennifer Fitzgerald, Ryan O’Sullivan, Jennifer Manthei, Sue O’Sullivan, an occasional helping hand from Donna Kelly, and behind-the-scenes handholding by a team of people (thank you Julie Ahlert, Jake Bolling, Karen Potempa, and Michelle O’Connor), this conference would not have become a reality. For them, saying ‘yes’ is only a starting point. They always follow-up with ‘and here’s how we will make it happen’.
But wait! There’s even more…you may have noticed that during the conference we set up a video-recording studio. I would especially like to thank Dr Stan Henkin who helped me brainstorm on how to make this happen and Dr Gaurav Parmar for his tireless execution. Expect to hear more about this effort over the upcoming weeks.
To make sure you don’t miss out on this, and much more, be sure to subscribe to all our social media channels on X (@SVM_tweets), LinkedIn, and YouTube.
I truly hope you enjoyed the conference experience and learning opportunities, and that you will come to Houston next year – for even more. And when you do, I know you will bring a friend or two, so that they can also become part of the SVM’s biggest annual family reunion.
2023 Society for Vascular Medicine Award Recipients
Jess R Young Outstanding Vascular Medicine Educator Award
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Master of the Society for Vascular Medicine (MSVM) Designation
The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
OhioHealth, Columbus, OH
Mayo College of Medicine, Rochester, MN
Mark A Creager Prize for Research Excellence
Minimal clinically important differences in daily physical activity outcomes following supervised and home-based exercise in peripheral artery disease
Vasc Med 2022; 27: 142–149
Jay D Coffman Young Investigator Award
Androgen and mineralocorticoid receptor signaling contribute to pubertal vascular rupture in vascular Ehlers–Danlos syndrome (vEDS) mice
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Alan T Hirsch Travel Award Recipients
Donations from 2022 Giving Tuesday helped fund the Alan T Hirsch Travel Awards. The following five individuals received a travel grant for one night hotel stay and free registration to attend the meeting in Washington, DC.
Stanford University, Stanford, CA
University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia, SC
UNC Rex Healthcare, Raleigh, NC
Case Western Reserve University, University Hospitals, Cleveland, OH
Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
Additional grants were awarded to 21 individuals for free or discounted registration fees. Their names are listed below:
Anand Athavale, MBBS
Ryan Paul Fernandez, MD
Atefeh Ghorbanzadeh, MD
Rowena Javonillo, MD
Saad Kubba, MD
Emilita Lapuz, MD
Kaye Eunice Lustestica, MD
Queenette Blaise Mateo, MD
Roi Joseph Mendoza, MD
Shantum Misra, MD
Sandeep Murthy, MSAishat Mustapha, MD
Nyssa Elline Palileo, MD
Mark John Sabando, MD
Phoebe Anne Santos, MD
Grace Shadid
Alexander Sullivan, MD
April Valdecanas, MD
Aaron Christian Earl Vidad, MD
Julianne Marie Yamamoto, MD
Stephanie Zawada, MD
Perspectives from the Alan T Hirsch Travel Award Recipients
I could not have been more honored to be a recipient of the Hirsch Travel Scholarship to attend SVM 2023. It was an amazing experience to attend and to be a part of such a wonderful, thought-out conference. It would be hard to select one particular talk or presentation that was the best because all of them were cutting edge and thought provoking. I have already used some of what I have learned with my patients in clinic since returning from the conference. Plus, I’m already studying for next year’s Jeopardy challenge and Cases on the Rocks! I feel fortunate to be a part of SVM and look forward to future events. I really appreciate the award!
This year, I was grateful to attend the Society for Vascular Medicine Scientific Sessions supported in part by the Dr Alan T Hirsch Travel Award. This was my second time attending the Scientific Sessions, and it continues to be increasingly engaging and informative. I have truly felt welcomed into the SVM community and have appreciated the opportunity to learn from experts in the field of vascular medicine. The sessions offered exposure to the latest research and clinical insights within the field, and importantly, allowed for networking and conferencing with a wide array of colleagues from broad subspecialty types. I hope to continue to attend the SVM Scientific Sessions in the future and stay involved as the landscape of vascular medicine continues to evolve and develop.
Alan T Hirsch Travel Award recipients – Heather Lawson, Joel Keefe, Catharine Bowman, Amanda Morrison, Alex Sullivan (not a recipient), and Tabitha Lobo.
The Vascular Medicine Editorial Board meeting and reception was well attended.
The Veritas team (Ryan O’Sullivan, Sue O’Sullivan, Michelle O’Connor, Sandy Addison, Matthew Helms, Jennifer Fitzgerald and Scientific Program Coordinator and President-Elect, Dr Ido Weinberg, pictured on the rooftop of the Watergate Hotel at the SVM leadership dinner. What a magical evening!
SVM President-Elect Dr Ido Weinberg and President Dr Herb Aronow take a moment to remember SVM Past-President Dr Alan T Hirsch with a doll likeness gifted to SVM by his family.
The Jess R Young Vascular Medicine Educator Award was presented to Dr Robert Schainfeld of Massachusetts General Hospital by President Dr Herb Aronow.
The Master of the Society for Vascular Medicine (MSVM) designation was bestowed onto Dr Steven Dean (Ohio State University), Dr Raghu Kolluri (OhioHealth), and Dr Robert McBane (Mayo Clinic, not pictured) by Dr Herb Aronow.
Full house for perennial favorite Vascular Jeopardy.
Attendees gather for the hands-on POCUS session.
The Mark A Creager Prize for Research Excellence was awarded to Dr Polly Montgomery and her colleagues by Drs Heather Gornik and Mark Creager.
The Jay D Coffman Young Investigator Award was presented to Emily Juzwiak by Drs Tamar (Tammy) Polonsky and Yogen Kanthi.
Dr Herb Aronow delivered his final Presidential Address.
Drs Josh Beckman and Esther Kim are a match!
Drs Alejandro Perez and Alireza Vaziri wore matching outfits – who wore it best?
Preparing for the SVM 5K Fun Run/Walk in memory of Dr Will Hiatt!
