Several Stanford University Faculty, Fellows, and Residents Present
at AHA Scientific Sessions 2023

Anson Lee, MD, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery presented a talk titled, “From Soup to Nuts: How Do I Get My Lab Off the Ground?” on Friday November 10 during the ‘How Do I Become a Physician-Scientist’ session, planned by the AHA Early Career Committee and the Committee on Scientific Sessions Program. In this session, Dr. Lee discussed lessons learned and practical tips for young investigators who are beginning their first research laboratories. Dr. Lee’s lab focuses on advancing the mechanistic understanding of atrial fibrillation via basic science and clinical approaches.

William Hiesinger, MD, an Associate Professor in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery gave a talk titled, “How I Got My First NIH Grant (R01); Nuts and Bolts of Writing a Budget, Refining an Idea, and Preparing Aims” during the November 10th session on becoming a physician-scientist. Dr. Hiesinger’s talk focused on real-world examples from his own experience on how to formulate a successful NIH RO1 proposal, as well as how to reapply after rejections or revisions. Dr. Hiesinger’s lab focuses on machine learning techniques, computational fluid dynamics, and protein engineering.

Hanjay Wang, MD, currently one of our Chief Residents in the I6 program presented a poster titled, “Sustained Natural Heart Regeneration After Myocardial Infarction in One-Week-Old Rats Without Significant Cardiomyocyte Proliferation.” Dr. Wang’s research during his postdoctoral years in the lab of Norman E. Shumway Professor and Chair, Y. Joseph Woo, focused on investigating the cellular and molecular mechanisms of natural angiogenesis and myocardial regeneration in neonatal mammalian models. Specifically, Dr. Wang’s study demonstrated that even by the seventh day of life, neonatal rats are capable of achieving functional recovery of the ventricle after MI despite cessation of cardiomyocyte proliferation at that time. This work suggests that cardiomyocyte proliferation is only one part of the story of myocardial regeneration, and that alternative reparative pathways may also be at play. Dr. Wang’s research was funded by the AHA Postdoctoral Fellowship.

Reid Dale, PhD, a postdoctoral statistician working with Maria Currie, MD, PhD, presented a poster titled, “Sex-Mismatch in Heart Transplantation Confers No Additional Risk of Postoperative Outcomes via Two One-Sided Equivalence Testing on a Propensity-Matched Cohort.” Conflicting opinions exist on whether sex-mismatching between heart transplant donors and recipients results in poorer outcomes. This important study demonstrated no additional risk beyond that attributable to size-mismatch. The implications of this retrospective study should reassure surgeons and transplant teams that donor heart offers from patients of a different sex than their recipient should be given full consideration.

Shin Yajima, MD, PhD, a postdoctoral research fellow in the lab of Y. Joseph Woo, has spent the last two years studying bioengineered therapeutics for the treatment of ischemic heart disease. Dr. Yajima presented a poster titled, “Stromal Cell-Derived Factor-1α-Encapsulated Nanoparticles Specifically Target the Ischemic Myocardium and Attenuate Myocardial Injury via Proangiogenic Effects” that demonstrated localization of liposomal nanoparticles encapsulating the angiogenic cytokine SDF-1a to areas of ischemic injury within the heart, and resulted improved ventricular function one month after ischemia-reperfusion injury. Dr. Yajima’s work was supported by an award from the Thoracic Surgery Foundation.

Matthew Park, PhD, recently graduated with his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University and is currently a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Y. Joseph Woo’s lab. Matthew presented a poster titled, “Biomechanical Finite Element Analysis of Asymmetric Bicuspid Aortic Valve with Different Commissure Positionings for Repair.” Bicuspid aortic valves exist in a spectrum of phenotypes varying in the degree of cusp fusion, raphe geometry, and the angles between commissures. When surgeons perform valve sparing aortic root replacement in patients with bicuspid aortic valves, they must determine whether to minimize or accommodate asymmetric valves. To answer this hotly debated question, Dr. Park used finite element modeling and computational biomechanics to identify the optimal angle between the commissures of patients with bicuspid aortic valves and found that an angle of 150/210 degrees between commissures demonstrated the greatest reduction in peak diastolic leaflet stresses as compared to more or less symmetric configurations.

Yuanjia Zhu, MD, PhD, recently graduated with her PhD in Bioengineering for her work performed in Dr. Y. Joseph Woo’s lab, and is currently a PGY-3 in the I6 program. Dr. Zhu presented a talk titled, “Programmed Death-Ligand 1 Attenuates Myocardial Injury Following Myocardial Infarction,” which described a novel mechanism by which PDL1 may limit collateral damage caused by the inflammatory response after myocardial injury. This project was performed in collaboration with Dr. Christopher Jackson from the Johns Hopkins Department of Neurosurgery and Dr. Michael Lim, Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Stanford. Dr. Zhu also moderated a session titled, “What can AHA Do for You? Opportunities for Early Career Cardiothoracic Surgeons and Anesthesia.”

Stefan Elde, MD, a resident in the I6 program and current postdoctoral research fellow in Dr. Y. Joseph Woo’s lab, presented a poster of a case report titled, “En Bloc Heart-Lung Transplantation and Vascular Reconstruction with Native Tissue in a Patient with Situs Inversus Totalis.” Since the world’s first successful combined heart-lung transplant performed by Dr. Bruce Reitz at Stanford in 1981, our Department has performed over 300 heart lung transplants – the largest case series in the world.