Ottawa Cardiovascular Research Day 2024

About

The 36th Annual Ottawa Cardiovascular Research Day celebrated the region’s research excellence through moderated oral presentations and poster sessions. It was an excellent venue for trainees to showcase their outstanding projects and network with faculty and colleagues.

Save the date

May 13 & 14, 2024

Keynote Speaker

James F. Martin, MD
James F. Martin, MD, PhD

Vice Chairman/Professor
Molecular Physiology and Biophysics
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, TX US

Vivian L. Smith Chair in Regenerative Medicine
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, Texas United States

Director
Cardiomyocyte Renewal Laboratory
Texas Heart Institute
Houston, Texas United States

Watch Hippo Signaling in Heart Regeneration (YouTube) »

Program Guide

Ottawa Cardiovascular Research Day - 2024 Program (PDF)

Awards

Ottawa Region’s Cardiovascular Trainee of the Year

We are pleased to announce the recipients of the 2024 Ottawa Region Cardiovascular Research Trainee of the Year Award. The awardees are recognized for their outstanding productivity and exceptional leadership in the research community.

Congratulations to the 2024 award recipients!

UOHI Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in Research Award

Innovation Award

Presented to the most innovative idea pitched.

Winner
Alex Ross, PhD Candidate
Supervisor: Emilio Alarcón, PhD
Bioinspired Peptide Materials for Scarless Wound Healing

Honourable Mention
Semhal Gessese, MSc Candidate
Supervisor: Krystina Lewis, PhD 
Transforming Diabetes Care: A Culturally-tailored Toolkit for Clinicians and African, Caribbean, and Black Patients

Presentation Prizes

Dr. Yves Marcel Award for Best Basic Science Oral Presentation
Nadya Morrow, PhD Candidate
Supervisor: Erin Mulvihill, PhD
Investigating the roles of GLP-1R+, GLP-2R+, and GIPR+ cells within the gut in the fasting refeeding response

Honourable Mention for a Basic Science Oral Presentation
Claire Fong-McMaster, PhD Candidate
Supervisors: Erin Mulvihill, PhD and Mary-Ellen Harper, PhD
Remodeling of mitochondrial supercomplex-associated proteins in murine heart failure: implications for pyruvate and alpha-ketoglutarate metabolism

Polk Award for the Best Clinical Science Oral Presentation
Joanne Joseph, MD, Cardiology Resident
Supervisor: Markus Schwerzmann, MD
Transition and Transfer in Congenital Heart Disease Care: Health decline while on the wait list

Honourable Mention for a Clinical Science Oral Presentation
Dylan Malenfant, PhD Candidate
Supervisor: Glenn Wells, PhD
Characterization of an AI Tool to Identify Motion Compensation Candidates in SPECT Myocardial Perfusion Imaging

Best Basic Science Poster
Julie Pan, MSc Candidate
Supervisor: Kyoung-Han Kim, PhD
Irx5 is a Critical Regulator of Transmural Transcriptional Gradients in the Healthy and Diseased Heart

Honourable Mention for a Basic Science Poster
Cassandra Locatelli, PhD Candidate
Supervisor: Erin Mulvihill, PhD
Ketogenic Diet Modulation of Lipoproteins and Atherosclerosis in Obese Male Mice, A Departure from Human Physiology

Best Clinical Science Poster 
Javad Heshmati, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow
Supervisor: Hassan Mir, MD
Vaping Cessation Interventions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Honourable Mention for a Clinical Science Poster
Jamilah Alharbi, MD, Clinical Fellow (Imaging)
Supervisor: Terrence Ruddy, MD
Test-Retest Precision of Myocardial Perfusion and LV function in Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography (SPECT) Imaging

Trainee Committee Poster Swap Award
Alex Ross, PhD Candidate
Supervisor: Emilio Alarcón, PhD
Bioinspired Peptide Materials for Scarless Wound Healing
and
Jerry Wang, PhD Candidate
Supervisors: Wenbin Liang, MD, PhD, Rob Beanlands, MD
Wnt5a is arrhythmogenic in both rodent hearts and human iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes