Postdoctoral fellow Sarasa Isobe was invited to present a at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Pulmonary Vascular Biology and Medicine VMI/HVI Research Seminar Series, where she talked on "How does DNA damage alter gene expression and acquire a pulmonary hypertension phenotype?” (January 2023). Also in January, Dr. Isobe represented Dr. Rabinovitch at the Gordon Research Conference in Vascular Cell Biology (Ventura Beach, CA) where she spoke on “The Link Between Unrepaired DNA Damage, Impaired Endothelial Regeneration and Pulmonary Hypertension”.

Dr. Rabinovitch and our collaborator Dr. Roham Zamanian were invited by the NIH/NHLBI to lead a session on “Elafin: From Translational PPG to Clinical Trial” at the upcoming American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Meeting in Washington, DC in May.  Dr. Rabinovitch is also an invited speaker at the session “Under the Magnifying Glass – Omics and Deep Phenotyping in Pulmonary Vascular Diseases” where she will talk on From Omics to targeted treatment options in pulmonary vascular disease.

Dr. Rabinovitch is an invited speaker for the American Heart Association Integrative Omics Symposium and an organizer of the Keystone Symposium: Pulmonary Hypertension: State of the Art and Therapeutic Opportunities to take place in June and a member of the Task Force on Pathobiology and Mechanism of Disease for the 7^th World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension (2024).

The American Heart Association presented its 2023 Research Achievement Award to Dr. Rabinovitch, M.D. The Research Achievement Award was recognized during the Presidential Session on Sunday, Nov. 12, 2023, at the Association’s Scientific Sessions 2023. The meeting, was held in Philadelphia, Saturday, Nov. 11 through Monday, Nov. 13, a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science.

2022 brought back in-person meetings, with some virtual conferences taking place as well.

Dr. Rabinovitch was the Keynote Speaker at the Brigham and Women's Hospital Lung Research Day, where she presented a (virtual)n talk on “Genetics and Inflammation Converge and Inform Therapy for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension” (February 2022).

Dr. Rabinovitch participated virtually at the 6^th Meeting on Pulmonary Hypertension Research of the Biomedical Research Network Center on Respiratory Diseases (CIBERES), a network of excellence in respiratory research funded by the Spanish Government. She talked on “Converging Pathways Lead to a Novel Biologic, Small Molecule and Cell Based Therapy for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension” (March 2022).  Also virtually, she presented at the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Lung Vascular Research (Graz, Austria; May 2022).

In May, Dr. Rabinovitch Chaired the session on Translational Approaches and Visualization of Disease Mechanisms in Pulmonary Hypertension at the American Thoracic Society Annual Meeting in San Francisco, CA (May 2022), and served on the organizing committee for the 2022 International Vascular Biology Meeting (IVBM) in Oakland, CA. At that meeting she presented a talk on “Physiological and Pathological Changes in Chromatin Remodeling in Vascular Cells”.  

Dr. Rabinovitch spoke at the 17^th International Workshop on Scleroderma Research in August 2022, on “Altered metabolism in PAH”.  In September, Dr. Rabinovitch presented a virtual talk titled at the 14^th HHT International Scientific Conference (Estoril, Cascais, Portugal).  

The lab was well represented at the 2022 American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions in November. Dr. Rabinovitch talked on “Multi-omic Integration to Identify Novel Genetic Mechanisms of Endothelial Dysfunction in PAH” (Chicago, IL).  Post-doctoral fellow Dr. Tsutomu Shinohara gave a Rapid-Fire Oral Presentation on “High Shear Stress Decreases ERG Causing Endothelial to Mesenchymal Transition and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension” at the session on: What Is Hot, What Is New Novel Molecular Mechanisms and Potential New Therapeutic Targets in Pulmonary Hypertension.  Post-doctoral fellow Dr. Sarasa Isobe gave an oral presentation titled “Reduced Bmpr2 causes a decrease in Foxf1 that links unrepaired DNA damage to persistent pulmonary hypertension”.  Based on her abstract, Dr. Isobe was selected present his project at the Council on Cardiopulmonary, Critical Care, Perioperative and Resuscitation (3CPR) Shark Tank Session, where she won 2^nd place and was awarded funding to visit her chosen mentor, Dr. Stephen Chan, at the University of Pittsburgh.

Other engagements in 2022 by Dr. Rabinovitch included the Stanford Division of Pulmonary, Allergy & Critical Care Medicine Grand Rounds, on “Loss of BMPR2 has Cell and Non-Cell Autonomous Consequences in Pulmonary Hypertension” (September 2022) and the Penn-Stanford CVI Symposium at the University of Pennsylvania, on “Changes in the Gene Regulatory Landscape in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension” (October 2022).  Dr. Rabinovitch participated virtually at the NAVBO meetings where she talked on “Endogenous Retrovirus and Inflammation in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension” (November 2022), and at the NHLBI virtual workshop on Mitochondria in the Pathogenesis of Lung and Sleep Disorders (December 2022).

2022 - Other news –

Post-doctoral fellow, Sarasa Isobe, MD, PhD was awarded a two-year fellowship from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science for her postdoctoral research in the Rabinovitch lab, on the molecular mechanism underlying unrepaired DNA damage that promotes the pathogenesis of PAH. As mentioned above, Dr. Isobe won 2^nd place at the AHA 3CPR Shark Tank Session.

Post-doctoral Fellow Mauro Lago Docampo was awarded a fellowship from the Ramón Areces Foundation of Spain, to pursue his proposed studies in the Rabinovitch lab, investigating the basis of TBX4-mediated pulmonary arterial hypertension.

Having missed the yearly celebration in 2021, the Wall Center hosted a festive Spring Fling and Service Awards reception at the Palo Alto Sheraton on April 27, 2022. Our own Aiqin Cao, PhD was recognized for 10 years of service.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2021 was characterized by virtual talks and very few in-person scientific meetings.
 

In September 2021, Dr. Rabinovitch was honored as the ATVB Distinguished Lecturer at the AHA Scientific Sessions. Her lecture addressed “Converging Pathways in Pulmonary Vascular Pathobiology”.
 

In November 2021, Dr. Rabinovitch was the Keynote Speaker at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute’s virtual Annual Research Day, where she talked on “Chromatin Remodeling, Shear Stress and Gene Regulation in Vascular Homeostasis and Disease”.
 

Other engagements in 2021 were a virtual NAVBO seminar on “Chromatin Remodeling and Gene Regulation in Vascular Homeostasis and Disease”, a talk in the PVRI Live Interactive Webinar Series, on “Notch-BMPR interactions in endothelium in PAH” (August) and a Scleroderma Research Global Webinar on “Endogenous Retroviral Elements, Myeloid Cells and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension“
 

Other news -- postdoctoral fellow JR Moonen was appointed as Instructor in Pediatrics.

In June, Dr. Rabinovitch presented Myeloid Cells and Endogenous Retroviral Elements in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension at the Frontiers in CV Science Seminar Series at Stanford University. 

In October, Dr. Rabinovitch presented Grand Rounds for Pulmonary, Allergy and Critical Care at Stanford.  The title was Inflammation in Pulmonary Hypertension Informs Disease Modifying Therapy.

Dr. Rabinvitch presented “The Year in Review: Basic Science” at the 12th International Conference on Neonatal and Childhood PVD at UCSF in March 2019, and moderated the Faulty/Trainee Clinical-Translational Science Session at the 2nd Annual Heart Center Research Day at Stanford. She will speak at the Stanford Single Ventricle Scientific Summit, sponsored by the Comprehensive Single Ventricle Program of the Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center in April, 2019.

Later in April, she will talk on “Molecular Mechanisms in Pulmonary Hypertension“ at the 30th Annual Western Society of Pediatric Cardiology Conference in Las Vegas, and at the University of Pennsylvania Respiration Research Retreat(May 2019).

Dr. Rabinovitch will discuss “Bench to Bedside: Pathogenesis of Different Types of PH”. American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference Postgraduate Course: Proceedings from the World Symposium 2018: What Do We Need to Know Moving Forward?” in Dallas, May 2019.

Other engagements in June 2019 are the Anandi L Sharma Visiting Professorship of CV Medicine at Mt. Sinai Hospital and Icahn School of Medicine in New York, Cardiology Grand Rounds, Yale School of Medicine, and an invited talk on “BMP2 Signaling in Pulmonary Hypertension Angiogenesis” at the Thomas L. Petty Aspen Lung Conference 62ndAnnual Meeting in Aspen, CO

In September she presented a talk on Genetics, Epigenetics and Inflammation Inform Novel Therapies for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension at the 3rd JCS Council Forum on Basic CardioVascular Research (BCVR) in Japan. (Group picture here)

In October she presented twice, including Grand Rounds at the Respiratory Institute, Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, OH.  She also received an award:  Robert Beamish Leadership Award Lecture –  at the 21st Annual ICS Naranjan Dhalla Cardiovascular Awards Day, Institute of CV Sciences, St. Boniface Hospital Albrechtsen Research Centre, Univ. of Manitoba, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, CANADA

NAVBO:  Dr. Rabinovitch co-chaired with Dr. Kayla Bayliss, the Vascular Matrix Biology and Bioengineering Workshop of the Vascular Biology 2019 Sponsored by the North American Vascular Biology Organization (NAVBO) in Asilomar, CA. October 2019

Presentations by fellows in 2019:

Post-doctoral fellow Dan Li, PhD:
Talked on “ALDH1A3 Regulates Chromatin Remodeling and Smooth Muscle Cell Pro-Proliferative Genes in Pulmonary Hypertension” at the Stanford CVI Postdoc-Faculty Round Table in February  2019.  Stanford, CA. She also presented a poster, "Revealing the Changes in Pulmonary Arterial Smooth Muscle Cell in Patient by Using Multi-Omics Approach". Li D, Chen S, Snyder M, Rabinovitch M.  at the Annual Conference of American Society of Mass Spectrometryon June 2-6, 2019 in Atlanta, GA. Poster presented on "ALDH1A3 Inhibition Protects Against Proliferation of Pulmonary Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension". D Li, N Shao, M Shi, JR Moonen, S Otsuki, L Wang, D. Marciano, J Wu, M Snyder, M Rabinovitch.  Annual Meeting of the North American Vascular Biology Organization (NAVBO). Monterey, CA, October 2019. She received a travel award for this and was among the most highly rated for her work. Se presented another poster titled, "ALDH1A3 Inhibition Protects Against Proliferation of Pulmonary Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension". D Li, N Shao, M Shi, JR Moonen, S Otsuki, L Wang, D. Marciano, J Wu, M Snyder, M Rabinovitch. Poster presented by D Li, Stanford-Penn Cardiovascular Symposium.  Stanford, CA, November 2019.

Postdoctoral Fellow, David Marciano, PhD:
Presented a poster, “Therapeutic EV Rescue a Deficient Hypoxic Response in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension.” D. Marciano, R. Harper, V. Viswanathan, L. Wang, M. Rabinovitch, M. Snyder at the International Society of Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) Annual Meeting in Kyoto, Japan in April 2019. Another poster, “Therapeutic Exosomes Target Deficient Hypoxic BMPR2 Signaling in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”. DP Marciano, RL Harper, V Viswanathan, J Chappell, R Kahn, D Li, S Otsuki, L Wang, S Melemenidis, K Jung, G Pratx, M Rabinovitch, MP Snyder. Poster presented by D Marciano, Vascular Biology 2019, North American Vascular Biology Organization, Monterey, CA, October 2019. He received a Best Poster Award by a Postdoc.

Researcher, Yifei (Simon) Miao, PhD, presented 4 posters:
1)“Single-Cell RNA-Seq Reveals Abnormality in iPSC derived Endothelial cells from Patients with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome”, at the 2nd Annual Heart Center Research Day, Stanford, CA, on March 11, 2019  2) “Single-Cell RNA-Seq Reveals Abnormality in iPSC derived Endothelial cells from Patients with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome”, at the 10th Annual Pediatrics Research Retreat, Stanford, CA, on April 19, 2019 3) “Single-cell RNA-seq and Patient-specific iPSCs Reveal Endocardial and Endothelial Abnormality in Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome”, at the ISSCR 2019 Annual Meeting in Los Angeles, CA on June 26-29, 2019 and 4) “Single-Cell RNA-Seq and Patient-Specific iPSCs Reveal Endocardial and Endothelial Abnormalities in Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome” at the Vascular Biology 2019 - NAVBO Annual Meeting in Monterey, CA, on October 27-31, 2019.  Simon did a Rapid Oral Sessions Presentation, “Single-Cell RNA-Seq and Patient-Specific iPSCs Reveal Endocardial and Endothelial Abnormalities in Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome” at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2019 in Philadelphia, PA on November 16-18, 2019.

Post-doctoral fellow Shalina Taylor, PhD:
She presented a poster on “How the Antiviral Signature in Neutrophils from Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Affects Function” at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference, Dallas, in May 2019.  She received a Travel Award.

Instructor, Mingxia Gu, MD, PhD:
Presented “Single-Cell RNA-Seq Reveals Abnormality in iPSC derived Endothelial cells from Patients with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome” at the 2nd Annual Stanford Heart Center Research Day, March, 2019.   Dr. Gureceived an ISSCR Travel Award for the 2019 ISSCR Annual Meeting in Los Angeles in June 2019, for her abstract “Single-Cell RNA-Seq And Patient-Specific iPSC Reveal Endocardial and Endothelial Abnormality in Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome.” She also gave a talk on iPSCs at he Vascular Matrix Biology and Bioengineering Workshop of the Vascular Biology 2019 Sponsored by the North American Vascular Biology Organization (NAVBO) in Asilomar, CA. October 2019.

Post-doctoral fellow Rebecca Harper, PhD:
“Loss of CD14-BMPR2 Axis and impaired immune response in monocytes from patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.” RL Harper, DP Marciano, L Wang, S Deivanayagam, A Cao, M Rabinovitch. Poster presented by RL Harper at Vascular Biology 2019, North American Vascular Biology Organization, October 2019, Asilomar, CA. 

Post-doctoral fellow Jan-Renier Moonen, MD, PhD:
“KLF4 Recruits SWI/SNF to Increase Chromatin Accessibility and Rewire the Endothelial Enhancer Landscape under Laminar Shear Stress”. Moonen JR, Chappell J, Li D, Shi M, Taylor S, Shinohara T, Cao A, Zhao Z, Wang L, Snyder MP, Rabinovitch M. Talk presented by JR Moonen, Vascular Biology 2019, North American Vascular Biology Organization, Monterey, CA, October 2019

Visiting Clinical Professor, Tsutomu Shinohara, MD, PhD:
“Impaired Jagged1-Notch2 signaling in Alagille Syndrome Decreases Shear Stress-Mediated Elastin Production by Endothelial Cells and is Related to Pulmonary Stenosis.”  T Shinohara, Moonen, J-R, Taylor S, Li, D, Otsuki S, Marciano, D, Harper R, Isobe S, Martin M, Miao Y, Saito T, Gu M, Cao A, Wang L, Rabinovitch M.  Poster presented by T Shinohara, Annual Meeting of the North American Vascular Biology Organization (NAVBO). Monterey, CA, October 2019.

On July 3rd, we had our yearly summer BBQ at San Gregorio Beach.  We hosted 12 summer students from around the country.  We had a mix of interns from high school, college and medical schools.  Friends and family came as well.  We walked along the beach and played soccer, frisbee, and wiffle ball.  We ate a lot and had a fantastic time!

Dr. Rabinvotch was invited speaker at the 13th John Vane Memorial Symposium on Prostacycline Science and Pulmonary Vascular Disease of the Royal Society, London, in March 2018, where she talked on “Novel Aspects of the Pathophysiology of PH”.  In April, she spoke on “iPSC Disease Modeling: Toward Therapeutic Discovery” at the Single Ventricle Summit at Stanford, and on “PH and Small Molecule Inhibitors” at the 6th International Ottawa Heart Conference, Precision Medicine in Cardiovascular Disease.

Dr. Rabinovitch chaired the session “Current Controversies in PAH Disease Mechanisms: A Pro/Con Debate”, and represented the view “PRO: PAH is a Systemic Disease”, at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Conference, in San Diego, in May 2018. She also participated in the mini symposium on “Inflammation and the Pulmonary Circulation”.

Later in 2018, Dr. Rabinovitch moderated the Kenneth D. Bloch Memorial Lecture in Vascular Biology, was invited to talk at the University of Toronto Medicine by Design Global Speaker Series. She discussed novel therapies for PAH as invited speaker at UCSF and the Sol Permutt Memorial Lecture, Johns Hopkins University and at the International Pulmonary Hypertension Association Conference in Orlando, FL.

The lab was well-represented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2018 in Chicago in November 2018. Dr. Rabinovitch spoke on “Elafin in PAH”, and was a moderator in the Shark Tank Style Session.  Mingxia Gu, MD, PhD presented a talk on “High-Throughput Drug Screen to Reverse Phenotype of Pulmonary Artery Hypertension iPSC Derived Vascular Cells Combined with Bioinformatics Uncovers Promising Therapies". Postdoctoral fellow Dan Li, PhD, spoke on “ALDH1A3 Induces NFY to Coordinate Transcription of Cell Cycle and Metabolic Genes Necessary for Smooth Muscle Proliferation in Pulmonary Hypertension“, and post doctoral fellow JR Moonen presented a poster on “KLF and AP1 Having Opposing Roles in Regulating Chromatin Accessibility and the Endothelial Enhancer Landscape Under Laminar vs. Disturbed Shear Stress”. PhD student Diederik van der Feen, who was a visiting scientist for a year, presented a poster on “Loss of Reversibility in Flow-Induced Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension is Associated With a Senescent Vascular Phenotype and Can Be Rescued by Targeted Senolysis”.  Post doctoral fellow Sarasa Isobe, MD,PhD, was selected as a Cournand and Comroe Award Finalist, for her research conducted prior to joining our lab.

Other presentations by lab members, 2018:

Mingxia Gu, MD, PhD:

"iPSC Disease Modeling" Frontiers in Organoid Medicine, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, October 2018.

"High-Throughput Drug Screening of iPSC-Derived Vascular Cells to Reverse PAH Phenotype", Heart Center Research Day at Stanford, March 2018.  (Best Oral Presentation Award)

"Phenotypic High-Throughput Screening of iPSC Derived Vascular Cells Combined with Bioinformatic Approach Reveals Novel Drug Candidates for Pulmonary Artery Hypertension", poster presentation, ISSCR 2018 Annual Meeting, June 2018, Melbourne, Australia

Dan Li, PhD:

“ALDH1A3 Regulates Chromatin Remodeling and Smooth Muscle Cell Pro-Proliferative Genes in PAH.” Poster presentations at the 3rd Annual Stanford Drug Discovery Symposium, April 22, 2018; and at the 4thALDH2 STAR Symposium, October 22, 2018, Stanford, CA

“Integrated Metabolic and Proteomic Profiles Reveal the Metabolism Change in Pulmonary Arterial Smooth Muscle Cells in Patient with Loss-of-function of ALDH.” Poster presentation at the 66th.American Society for Mass Spectrometry Conference on Mass Spectrometry and Allied Topics, June 3-7, 2018, San Diego, CA.

“ALDH1A3 Regulates Chromatin Remodeling and Smooth Muscle Cell Pro-Proliferative Genes in PAH.”  Oral presentation at the 1st Annual Heart Center Research Day for the Betty Irene Moore Children's Heart Center at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, March 26, 2018; and at the 9th Annual Department of Pediatrics Research Retreat, April 26, 2018, Stanford, CA.

Lingli Wang, MD:

“Transgenic Mice Lacking BMPR2 in Smooth Muscle Cells (SMC) Have Persistent Pulmonary (PA) Hypertension Related to Impaired Contractility, Heightened Proliferation and Resistance to Apoptosis of PASMC”. Poster presentation at the Stanford-Duke Cardiovascular Research Symposium, November 29-30, 2018, Stanford, CA.

MARCH 2018

Dr. Mingxia Gu, Instructor, received the Best Oral Abstract Award at the First Annual Heart Center Research Day for the Betty Irene Moore Children's Heart Center at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.  Her abstract was entitled: High-Throughput Drug Screening of iPSC-Derived Vascular Cells to Reverse Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Phenotype.  (Dr. Gu - left, pictured with Dr. Sharon Paige)

FEBRUARY 2018

Dr. Rabinovitch served as co-Chair of the Task Force on “Pathology and Pathobiology” at the 6th World Symposium on Pulmonary Hypertension in Nice, France (February 27 – March 1, 2018). This symposium series was started in 1973, and is held every 5 years to mark the progress in pulmonary hypertension science and anticipate future developments. The published conference proceedings constitute a collection of articles among the most cited in this scientific area.

Dr. Rabinovitch is the 2017 AHA Distinguished ScientistLecturer......

Dr. Rabinovitch was named as the American Heart Association (AHA) Distinguished Scientist Lecturer for the Annual AHA Meeting in Anaheim this year.  The AHA Distinguished Scientists are a prominent group of scientists and clinicians whose work has importantly advanced our understanding of cardiovascular diseases and stroke. This award was created over 10 years ago to recognize AHA/ASA members for significant, original and sustained scientific contributions that have advanced the association's mission.  “This is a signal acknowledgment, made even more remarkable by her winning the Amberson Lectureship at the ATS last year. These awards reflect the high regard towards Marlene held by academic physicians and physician-scientists.” Said Dr. Mark Nicolls, Professor and Chair of Stanford Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine and a long-time collaborator.  Dr. Rabinovitch was recognized at the Annual AHA Scientific Sessions Opening Session, on November 12, 2017. Her lecture was titled “Genetic and Epigenetic Determinants of the Inflamed Vessel Wall Inform New Treatments for Pulmonary Hypertension and Other Vascular Diseases”.

Also at the 2017 AHA Scientific Session, Dr. Rabinovitch participated in an ATVB Journal Club Session on iPSC derived cell types relevant to atherosclerosis, where she talked about “iPSC-Derived Endothelial Cells”, and presented a talk titled  “Patient specific iPSC-Derived Endothelial Cells Uncover Pathways that Protect Against Pulmonary Hypertension in BMPR2 Mutation Carriers” in a session addressing the use of iPSCs to delineate mechanisms of abnormal cardiac development and disease.

Our lab was well-represented at the meeting.  Recent lab alum Jan K Hennigs, MD, was selected as a 2017 Cournand and Comroe Young Investigator Award Finalist.  He presented a paper on his post-doctoral research project, “Inducible PPARγ-p53 Transcription Factor Complex Preserves Pulmonary Endothelial Homeostasis and Promotes Vascular Regeneration to Reverse Pulmonary Hypertension”.

Mingxia Gu, MD, PhD, talked about “High-Throughput Drug Screening of iPSC-Derived Vascular Cells to Reverse PAH Phenotype”. Dr. Gu received a Travel Award from the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute to attend the meeting.  Dan Li. PhD, presented a  poster on “ALDH1A3 Regulates Chromatin Remodeling and Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferative Genes in PAH” and Shalina Taylor, PhD  on “Neutrophils in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Show Heightened Elastase, Propensity to Form Extracellular Traps and an Antiviral Signature”

Other Highlights in 2017:  

Three of our post doctoral fellows received competitive post-doctoral awards.  Mingxia Gu, MD, PhD, received an NIH Pathway to Independence Award (K99/R00) to carry out research on “Uncovering compensatory mechanisms in family members with disease causing mutations of pulmonary hypertension”. Dr. Gu also received the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute Best Manuscript Award for her paper published in Cell Stem Cell, “Patient-Specific iPSC-Derived Endothelial Cells Uncover Pathways that Protect against
Pulmonary Hypertension in BMPR2 Mutation Carriers” (M Gu et al, Cell Stem Cell 2017; 20:490-504). Dan Li, PhD, was awarded a Senior Research Training Fellowship from the American Lung Association for her research on “The Role of ALDH1A3 in Regulating the Hyperpoliferative Phenotype of Smooth Muscle Cells in PAH”, and Shalina Taylor, PhD was awarded a slot on the NIH/NHLBI Stanford Training Program in Lung Biology, T32 HL129970.

Our lab research was presented nationally and internationally this year. Dr. Rabinovitch talked on “Reduced BMPR2 Promotes Endothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition via HMGA1 and Its Target Slug” at the 11th PVRI Annual World Congress in Miami, FL. She was a Keynote Lecturer at the 81st Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Circulation Society in Kanazawa, Japan, where she talked on “Smooth Muscle Primes Endothelium for Regeneration by Coordinating Metabolism, Chromatin Remodeling and Gene Expression: Implications for Systemic Vascular Disease and Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”.  Studies on the intersection of inflammation and genetics in pulmonary hypertension were featured at the R.L. Johnson Visiting Professorship at the University of Texas Southwestern, and in Scotland, at the Cardiovascular Symposium at the University of Glasgow Institute of Cardiovascular and Medical Sciences. Dr. Rabinovitch discussed “A BMP-Notch Axis Coordinates Mitochondrial Function, Chromatin Remodeling and Gene Regulation to Regenerate Endothelium in Response to Injury” at the Angiogenesis and Vascular Disease Keystone Symposium in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and participated in the American Thoracic Society (ATS) International Meeting Symposium on “Hemodynamic Stress is NOT the Most Important Driver in the Pathogenesis of Occlusive Neointimal Lesions in PAH” in Washington DC.

Dr. Rabinovitch is a co-organizer of the NAVBO Vascular Biology 2017 Vascular Matrix Biology and Bioengineering Workshop in Monterey, CA, in October 2017. This workshop is designed to promote exchange of ideas between vascular matrix biologists, cardiovascular regenerative medicine, and cardiovascular engineers. It featured talks on vascular tissue engineering, mechanotransduction, vascular mechanics, the extracellular matrix and disease, vascular calcification, vascular imaging and engineering angiogenesis.  Mingxia Gu, MD, PhD travelled to Shimane, Japan, to attend The 8th TAKAO International Symposium on Molecular Mechanism of Cardiopulmonary Disease in October 2017. She spoke on “Using Patient-Specific iPSCs to Understand and Treat Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension”.

In addition to the Robert F. Grover Prize from the Assembly on Pulmonary Circulation, Dr. Rabinovitch received what is considered to be the highest honor accorded by the ATS, the J. Burns Amberson Lecture at the American Thoracic Society’s annual meeting in San Francisco on May 15, 2016. The lecture honors the late Dr. Amberson, an international authority on chest disease and tuberculosis, and recognizes “a career of major lifetime contributions to clinical or basic pulmonary research and/or clinical practice.”

From a press release: “In her extraordinary, 30-year career, Dr. Rabinovitch has made incredible contributions to our understanding of congenital and acquired pulmonary hypertension,” said Hugh O’Brodovich, MD, the Adalyn Jay Physician-in-Chief at Packard Children's and Professor of Pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine. “She is recognized throughout the world of pediatric and adult cardiology as an amazing scientist, teacher, and clinician. Through the Amberson Lecture, she will no doubt bring great inspiration to current and future leaders in this field, and we are extremely proud to call her one of our own.”

Read Full Story Here

Our Post Doctoral Fellows Presentations

The lab was once more well represented at the two key conferences of the cardiovascular field. Three of our fellows presented their research as posters at the 2015 International Conference of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) in Denver, CO, in May. Pin-I Chen, PhD, presented “Amphetamine Enhances the Propensity of Pulmonary Arterial Endothelial Cells to Apoptosis and DNA Damage via pAkt-Dependent Pathways” (P-I Chen, A Cao, NF Tojais, CG Li, L Wang, M Rabinovitch); Jan K Hennigs, MD, presented “The Transcriptional PPARγ-p53 Complex Represses Osteoprotegerin Expression Upon DNA Damage to Inhibit Pulmonary Arterial Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation” (Jan K. Hennigs, Matthew Roughley, Pin-I Chen, C. Grace Li and Marlene Rabinovitch); and Nancy F Tojais, PhD, presented “Pulmonary arterial hypertension patients with BMPR2 mutation show impaired vascular elastin fiber assembly” (NF Tojais, A Cao, P-I Chen, RK Hopper, CJ Rhodes, L Wang, M Rabinovitch). In November, at the 2015 American Heart Association (AHA) Scientific Sessions in Orlando, FL, post doctoral fellow Kazuya Miyagawa, MD, PhD presented a poster on “Contact-Mediated Interaction between Pulmonary Artery Endothelial and Smooth Muscle Cells Promotes a BMPR2-β-catenin-Notch1 Signal Causing Hyperpolarization of Endothelial Mitochondria and a Stalk Cell-Like Phenotype” (K Miyagawa, CG. Li, JK. Hennigs, S Taylor, JR Moonen, S Sa, L Wang, A Cao, M Rabinovitch).

Lab members also presented their results on work with induced Pluripotent stem cells at the International Society for Stem Cell Research in Stockholm, Sweden, in June 2015. Postdoctoral fellow Mingxia Gu, MD, PhD, presented her work on “Patient-specific IPSC Derived Endothelial Cells Uncover Mechanisms Related to Penetrance of a BMPR2 Mutation in Causing Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension” (M Gu, S Sa, Y Ma, JC Wu, M Rabinovitch) and a poster reported the work of Research Associate Silin Sa, PhD, on “Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Derived Endothelial Cells as Surrogates for Drug Screening in Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension” (S Sa, A Cao, M Gu, Y Ma, R Fong, CG Li, L Nguyen, JC Wu, M Rabinovitch). In January 2016, postdoctoral fellow Caiyun (Grace) Li, PhD, will present a poster on “PPARgamma controls the DNA damage response by modulating UBR5 interaction with the MRE11-RAD50-NBS1 complex” (CG Li, CS Mahon, E Verschueren, V Kantamani, K Cimprich and M Rabinovitch) at the Keystone Symposium on Nuclear Receptors: Full Throttle in Snowbird, UT.