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Research Awards
2010 ASEF Career Development Award
The ASE Education and Research Foundation is pleased to announce the recipients of its 2010 Career Development Award:
Through its annual research award program, the ASE Foundation provides support for innovative and meritorious echocardiographic research activities that demonstrate the key role cardiovascular ultrasound plays in the diagnosis and management of patients with heart and vascular disease.
The ASE Foundation held two very special events during the 2010 ASE Scientific Sessions in San Diego to raise funds for future research awards. We are very pleased to announce that the success of the inaugural ASE Foundation Awards Gala and Silent Auction allowed the ASE Foundation to support a second Career Development Award this year. Thank you to everyone who participated!
Award Eligibility Requirements -
The Career Development Award is given to a qualified physician or scientist beginning his/her career in academic echocardiography. Applicants must hold a professional doctoral degree of MD, PhD or the equivalent and as of May 1, 2010 may be no more than ten years past their most recent doctoral degree. Applicants who are on the faculty of an institution or who have held faculty appointments in the past were not eligible. Applicants must hold a valid appointment at the institution where the research will be conducted; resident and trainee appointments fit this criteria.
Applicants must identify an ASE member as a sponsor and provide a letter of support from that individual. The Award recipient will have scientific responsibility for the conduct of the proposed research.
Award Selection Criteria -
In selecting Award recipients, proposals exploring the role of emerging ultrasound technologies such as 3D, contrast and hand-carried ultrasound and its applications to patient care were encouraged. This was not, however, considered limiting and all meritorious applications were reviewed.
Proposals are selected for funding based upon the following criteria: half of the score is based on the scientific excellence of the proposal, and half on the qualifications of the primary investigator, sponsor and institution.
Scientific Excellence of the Proposal:
- Scientific merit (originality, scientific impact, soundness of approach, ability of proposed aims to address the hypothesis, logical organization, preliminary data, experimental design, methodology, statistical analysis).
- Extent to which the proposal uses emerging ultrasound technologies.
- Probability of achieving meaningful results in one year.
Primary Investigator, Sponsor and Institution:
- Qualifications of the applicant (evidence of potential for a career in echo research, familiarity with pertinent literature and work of other investigators, quality of letters of support).
- Qualifications of the sponsor (publications and funding history, mentoring history, commitment to applicant’s training).
- Qualifications of the institution (facilities and resources).
Policy on Identification and Resolution of Potential Conflicts of Interest in the Selection Process -
The ASE Foundation's research awards program is supported by ASE's general operating funds in large part through member dues and are not sponsored by any corporate interest.
The ASE Research Committee is comprised of 20 recognized experts in the field of cardiovascular ultrasound. When reviewing proposals for research awards, steps are taken to ensure that potential conflicts of interest, such as a reviewer working at the same institution as the proposal's investigators, are avoided. Committee members with a potential conflict of interest in relation to a particular proposal are excluded from the review and/or all discussions regarding that proposal, and are not allowed to comment on that proposal's merits or eligibility for funding.
Members of the ASE Research Committee are not excluded from applying if they meet an Award’s eligibility requirements. In the event that a member of the committee does apply for an Award, they are not allowed to participate in the review of any proposals in that same category, and are excluded from all discussions regarding the eligible proposals received and funding for that Award.
Please contact Andrea Van Hoever at ASE Headquarters with any questions regarding the ASE Foundation's research program.
Rory B. Weiner, MD; Michael H. Picard, MD, FASE; Aaron L. Baggish, MD
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Left Ventricular Torsion in the Healthy Heart and in Common Forms of Left Ventricular Hypertrophy: Defining Reference Values and the Response to Hemodynamic Stressors
Project summary:
Left ventricular (LV) rotation plays an important role in LV contraction and relaxation. This rotation occurs due to contraction of obliquely oriented myocardial fibers and is characterized by rotation of the LV apex and base in opposite directions.The net difference between this counter-directional rotation is left ventricular torsion (LVT). In addition to LVT, subsequent untwisting during early diastole is an important determinant of LV filling.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been the traditional imaging modality used to measure LVT,although speckle tracking echocardiography (STE) has recently emerged as an attractive alternative. However, there is large variability in reported LVT values in subjects of similar age,which has limited the clinical application of this technology. There are several potential explanations for this variability, including variability due to technical / measurement factors or variability due to physiological factors.
Our group has recently developed novel techniques for the standardization of LVT and untwisting rate (UTR) imaging using STE and has begun to apply this to clinically relevant questions. In the current proposal we aim to apply these techniques to measure LVT and UTR in healthy individuals and in subjects with clinically relevant forms of left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH), including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), hypertensive LVH, and exercise-induced LVH. Assessment of LVT and UTR will be performed under resting conditions and during exposure to the cardinal hemodynamic stresses of volume (large volume normal saline infusion) and pressure (isometric hand grip testing).
We propose the following hypotheses: 1) LVT and UTR will differ significantly between healthy individuals and those with LVH; 2) LVT and UTR will differ significantly across the different etiologies of LVH; 3) LVT and UTR will both demonstrate significant load dependence and the magnitude of this load dependence will be a function of LV geometry. As such, the proposed work has the potential to advance the study of LVT and UTR by utilizing STE with torsion-specific imaging criteria to define reference values in healthy individuals as well as subjects with common clinical forms of LVH. Furthermore, assessment of changes in LVT and UTR with volume and pressure challenges will clarify the degree of load dependency of LV twist mechanics in these different subject populations. Results from this work will facilitate the clinical application of STE-derived LVT and UTR measurements.
Ben A. Lin, MD, PhD; Albert J. Sinusas, MD
Yale University, New Haven, CT
Analysis of Regional Myocardial Strain and Vortical Flow Dynamics as Predictors of Left Ventricular Remodeling after Infarction
Project summary:
Left ventricular (LV) remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI) is a leading cause of the development of chronic heart failure. Transmural myocardial injury is correlated with higher rates of pathologic LV remodeling than non-transmural injury. Echocardiographic myocardial strain and strain rate imaging have been used to determine the extent of MI, but there is limited information related to using these parameters to predict LV remodeling after acute MI.
Intracavitary vortical flow patterns have been shown to be altered in diseased hearts during LV filling and may be associated with decreased cardiac pumping efficiency. However, little is known about temporal changes in intracavitary flow patterns in relation to changes in regional myocardial strain or LV remodeling. Using echocardiography in chronic canine models of transmural and non-transmural MIs, we propose studies with the following specific aims:
1. Test the hypotheses that early regional myocardial strain measurements after MI are related to infarct transmurality and are predictive of late LV remodeling. These hypotheses will be tested by comparing estimates of radial, circumferential and longitudinal strains from 2D speckle tracking with serial changes in LV geometry. 2. Test the hypotheses that intracavitary vortical flow patterns after MI are related to infarct transmurality and are predictive of late LV remodeling. We will compare 2D Doppler and contrast speckle tracking measurements of velocities and vorticity parameters (including circulation, sphericity index and vortex formation time) with serial changes in LV geometry. 3. Determine if combining measurements of regional myocardial strain and vortical flow dynamics after MI provides any incremental value in predicting LV remodeling. Significance: These studies aim to determine the relevance of biomechanical parameters related to strain and blood flow for early prediction of the occurrence of pathologic LV remodeling.
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