Weekly presentation and discussion of recent journal articles that represent an important advance in the field of cardiovascular biology. Students and Postdocs are expected to lead the discussion and answer questions in relation to the paper and field in general. Specific focus will include "hot" topics and new methodologies related to cardiovascular biology and pathology as they emerge from the literature and how such topics/techniques can be applied to one's own research. The paper discussion will enhance the presentation, problem solving, critical thinking skills of the trainee and his/her ability to provide constructive criticism to improve scientific work.
Jump to: Co-Directors Spring 2025 Past Years
Dr. Gabor Csanyi
Dr. Vijay Ganta
| Date | Speaker |
| Aug 15 | Hunter Sellers, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: David Fulton, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Aug 22 | Candee Barris, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Eric Bellin de Chantemele, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Aug 29 | Doug Sloan, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Sept 5 | Josue Zambrano-Carrasco, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Huabo Su, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Sept 12 | Cody Bridgewater, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: David Stepp, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Sept 19 | Chang Min Lee, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Jie Li, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Sept 26 | Khalia Cummings, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Immunology Center of Georgia Advisor: Marco Orecchioni, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Oct 3 | Emily Steinbeck, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Immunology Center of Georgia Advisor: Adil Rasheed, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Oct 10 | Drew Speese, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: David Stepp, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Oct 17 | Kelvin Orji, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisors: Masuko Ushio-Fukai, PhD, and Tohru Fukai, MD, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Oct 24 | Obaalologhi Wilfred, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Huabo Su, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Oct 31 | Jaser Doja, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Joseph Miano, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Nov 7 | No meeting |
| Nov 14 | Elizabeth Aboagye, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Benard Ogola, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Nov 21 | Tamasi Roy, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Nov 28 | No meeting |
| Dec 5 | Stephen Addo, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Dec 12 | Amritha Sreekumar, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Dec 19 | Delphine Okoye, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Benard Ogola, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Dec 26 | None |
| Happy 2026 | |
| Jan 2 | None |
| Jan 9 | Doug Sloan, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Jan 16 | Kamarajan Rajagopal, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Vascular Biology Center Mentors: Masuko Ushio-Fukai, PhD, and Tohru Fukai, MD, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Jan 23 | Mitch Shivers, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: David Fulton, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
| Jan 30 | Elizabeth Aboagye, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Benard Ogola, PhD Title: 鈥淭BA鈥 |
SPRING 2025
| Date | Speaker |
| January 3 | NO Journal Club |
| Jan 10 | Delphine Okoye CANCELED - To be rescheduled. |
| Jan 17 | Delphine Okoye, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Benard Ogola, PhD Title: 鈥FSH Is Responsible for Androgen Deprivation Therapy鈥揂ssociated Atherosclerosis in Mice by Exaggerating Endothelial Inflammation and Monocyte Adhesion" ArteriosclerThrombVasc Biol. 44(3) | DOI.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.123.319426 |
| Jan 24 | Zach Brown, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: David Fulton, PhD Title: 鈥淓arly intermittent hyperlipidaemia alters tissue macrophages to fuel atherosclerosis鈥 Nat. 2024 Oct; 634(8033):457-465 | DOI.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07993-x |
| Jan 31 | Amritha Sreekumar, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title: 鈥淢acrophage ILF3 promotes abdominal aortic aneurysm by inducing inflammatory imbalance in male mice鈥 Nat Comm | ( 2024) 15:7249. | DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51030-4. |
| February 7 | Jaser Doja, PhD Candidate Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Joseph Miano, PhD Title: 鈥淢itochondrial NAD+ deficiency in vascular smooth muscle impairs collagen III turnover to trigger thoracic and abdominal aortic aneurysm鈥 Nat Cardiovasc Res (2025) | DOI.org/10.1038/s44161-024-00606-w |
| Feb 14 | Barun Chatterjee, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Vascular Biology Center Mentors: Masuko Fukai, PhD, & Tohru Fukai, MD, PhD Title: 鈥淟ipid droplet degradation by autophagy connects mitochondria metabolism to Prox1-driven expression of lymphatic genes and lymphangiogenesis" NAT COMM (2022) 13:2760 | DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-022-30490-6 |
| Feb 21 | Stephen Addo, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title: 鈥Disruption of PCSK9 Suppresses Inflammation and Attenuates Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Formation鈥 Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2025;45:e1鈥揺14. | DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.123.320391 |
| Feb 28 | Mitch Shivers, PhD Candidate Vascular Biology Center Advisor: David Fulton, PhD Title: 鈥淧ro-inflammatory macrophages produce mitochondria-derived superoxide by reverse electron transport at complex I that regulates IL-1尾 release during NLRP3 inflammasome activation鈥 Nat Metab (2025). DOI.10.1038/s42255-025-01224-x |
| March 7 | Cody Bridgewater, PhD Candidate Vascular Biology Center Advisor: David Stepp PhD Title: "Glycocalyx dysregulation impairs blood鈥揵rain barrier in ageing and 诲颈蝉别补蝉别鈥 Nature (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-025-08589-9 |
| Mar 14 | NO Journal Club for Graduate Research Day events |
| Mar 21 | Josue Zambrano-Carrasco, PhD Candidate Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Huabo Su, PhD Title: "Spatially organized cellular communities form the developing human heart鈥 Nature 627, 854鈥864 (2024). | DOI.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07171-z |
| Mar 28 | Khalia Cummings, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Immunology Center of Georgia Advisor: Marco Orecchioni, PhD Title: 鈥淟ipid droplets sequester palmitic acid to disrupt endothelial ciliation and exacerbate atherosclerosis in male mice鈥 Nat Commun 15, 8273 (2024). | DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52621-x鈥 |
| April 4 | Yilang Li, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Vascular Biology Center Mentor: Huabo Su, PhD Title: 鈥淥verexpression of Wild-Type TMEM43 Improves Cardiac Function in Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy Type 5鈥 |
| Apr 11 | No Journal Club | Spring Break |
| Apr 18 | Siva Kuppuswamy, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Vascular Biology Center Mentor: Vijay Ganta, PhD Title: 鈥DCBLD1 Modulates Angiogenesis by Regulation of the VEGFR-2 Endocytosis in Endothelial Cells鈥 Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2025;45:198鈥217. | DOI:10.1161/ATVBAHA.123.320443 |
| Apr 25 | No Journal Club |
| May 2 | No Journal Club |
| May 9 | Md. Selim Hossain, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Vascular Biology Center Mentor: Masuko Ushio-Fukai, PhD, and Tohru Fukai, MD, PhD Title: 鈥Astrocyte-to-neuron H2O2 signalling supports long-term memory formation in Drosophila and is impaired in an Alzheimer鈥檚 disease model鈥 |
| May 16 | Chongyu (Will) Zhang, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Vascular Biology Center Mentor: Yao Liang Tang , PhD Title: 鈥Mechanistic basis of lineage restriction鈥 |
| May 23 | Md. Sadikul Islam, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Vascular Biology Center Mentor: Huabo Su , PhD Title: 鈥淩educing Granules Without Splicing Restoration Alleviates RBM20 Cardiomyopathy鈥 |
| May 30 | Adeel Zaidi, PhD Assistant Research Scientist, Vascular Biology Center Mentor: Ruth Caldwell , PhD Title: 鈥Hypoglycemia promotes inner blood-retinal barrier breakdown and retinal vascular leakage in diabetic mice鈥 |
| 2025-2025 session will begin in August |
FALL 2024
| Date | Speaker |
| Aug 16 | Suhib Alhusban, PhD Candidate Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Brian Annex, MD Title: 鈥淧hosphoglycerate dehydrogenase activates PKM2 to phosphorylate histone H3T11 and attenuate cellular senescence鈥 Nat Comm. 2023.14:1323 | DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-023-37094-8 |
| Aug 23 | Hunter Sellers, PhD Candidate Vascular Biology Center Advisor: David Fulton, PhD Title: 鈥淩OS-induced ribosome impairment underlies ZAKa-mediated metabolic decline in obesity and aging鈥 Science. 2023.382:1135 | DOI.org/10.1126/science.adf3208 |
| Aug 30 | Chang Min Lee, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Huabo Su, PhD Title: 鈥淢itochondrial transfer mediates endothelial cell engraftment through mitophagy鈥 Nature. 2024;629:660-668 | DOI.org/10.1038/s41586-024-07340-0 |
| Sept 6 | Chongyu Zhang, PhD Postdoctoral Fellow, Vascular Biology Center Mentor: Yao Liang Tang, PhD Title: 鈥淭ranslational landscape of direct cardiac reprogramming reveals a role of Ybx1 in repressing cardiac fate acquisition鈥 Nat Cardiovasc Res. 2023. 2:1060-1077 | DOI.org/10.1038/s44161-023-00344-5 |
| Sept 13 | Candee Barris, PhD Candidate Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Eric Belin de Chantemele, PhD Title: 鈥Xist ribonucleoproteins promote female sex-biased autoimmunity鈥 Cell. 2024. 187(3):733-749 | DOI:10.1016/j.cell.2023.12.037 |
| Sept 20 | WonMo Ahn, PhD Candidate Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title: "Lp-PLA2 (Lipoprotein-Associated Phospholipase A2) Deficiency Lowers Cholesterol Levels and Protects Against Atherosclerosis in Rabbits" Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2023;43:e11鈥揺28. | DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.122.317898 |
| Sept 27 |
CANCELED due to Helene |
| Oct 4 |
CANCELED due to Helene |
| Oct 11 | Ann Cormier, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Brian Stansfield, MD Title:鈥淪RF SUMOylation modulates smooth muscle phenotypic switch and vascular remodeling鈥 Nat Commun 15, 6919 (2024). | DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51350-5 |
| Oct 18 | Stephen Addo, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title:鈥淣F1 deficiency drives metabolic reprogramming in ER+ breast cancer鈥 Mol Metab. 2024 Feb;80:101876. | DOI:10.1016/j.molmet.2024.101876. |
| Oct 25 | Amritha Sreekumar, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Gabor Csanyi, PhD Title: Macrophage ILF3 promotes abdominal aortic aneurysm by inducing inflammatory imbalance in male mice" Nat Comm. 2024.15:7249. | DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-024-51030-4. |
| Nov 1 | David Kim, MD/PhD Candidate Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Neal Weintraub, MD Title: lncRNA VELRP Modulates Pulmonary Arterial Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation and Promotes Vascular Remodeling in Pulmonary Hypertension鈥 ATVB. 2024. DOI.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.124.3214 |
| Nov 8 | Drew Speese, PhD Candidate Vascular Biology Center Advisor: David Stepp, PhD Title: 鈥淎myloid beta 42 alters cardiac metabolism and impairs cardiac function in male mice with obesity鈥 Nat Commun. 2024.15:258. | DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-023-44520-4 |
| Nov 15 | No Journal Club |
| Nov 22 | Khalia Cummings, PhD Student in Vascular Biology Immunology Center of Georgia Advisor: Marco Orecchioni, PhD Title: 鈥淢acrophage-to-endothelial cell crosstalk by the Cholesterol Metabolite 27HC Promotes Atherosclerosis in Male Mice鈥 Nat Commun 14, 4101(2023). DIO.10.1038/s41467-023-39586-z |
| Nov 29 | No Journal Club |
| Dec 6 | Beryl Khakina, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Eric Belin de Chantemele, PhD Title: 鈥淓ndothelial-to-Mesenchymal Transition Contributes to Accelerated Atherosclerosis in Hutchinson-Gilford Progeria Syndrome鈥 Circulation 150, 20 (2024) | DOI.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.123.065768 |
| Dec 13 | Peter Biggs, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Alexander Verin, PhD Title: 鈥淔orce-mediated recruitment and reprogramming of healthy endothelial cells drive vascular lesion growth鈥 Nat Commun 15, 8660 (2024) | DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52866-6 |
| Dec 20 | Ishara Menik, PhD Student Vascular Biology Center Advisor: Eric Belin de Chantemele, PhD Title: 鈥淪ocial Bonds Retain Oxytocin-Mediated Brain-Liver Axis to Retard Atherosclerosis鈥 Atherosclerosis. Circ Res. 2024 Nov 27 | DOI.org/10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.124.324638 |
| Dec 27 | No Journal Club |
SPRING 2024
| Date | Speaker |
| January 5 | Zsuzsanna Bordan, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology David Fulton Lab Title: 鈥Endothelial FIS1 DeSUMOylation Protects Against Hypoxic Pulmonary Hypertension鈥 Circulation Research. 2023;133:508鈥531 | DOI:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.122.321200. |
| January 12 Canceled |
Sonia Batan, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Vijay Ganta Lab Title: 鈥淕enetic inhibition of CARD9 accelerates the development of atherosclerosis in mice through CD36 dependent-defective autophagy鈥 Nat Commun 14, 4622 (2023) | DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-023-40216-x. |
| January 19 | Amr Salem, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Joseph Miano Lab Title: 鈥淢ural cell-derived chemokines provide a protective niche to safeguard vascular macrophages and limit chronic inflammation鈥 Immunity 56, 2325鈥2341 (2023) | DOI.org/10.1016/j.immuni.2023.08.002 |
| January 26 | Nestor Ishimwe, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Joseph Miano Lab Title: 鈥淓ndothelial HDAC1-ZEB2-NuRD Complex Drives Aortic Aneurysm and Dissection Through Regulation of Protein S-Sulfhydration鈥 Circulation. 2023;147:1382鈥1403 | DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.122.062743 |
| February 2 | Andrew Speese, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology David Stepp Lab Title: 鈥淪keletal muscle regeneration failure in ischemic-damaged limbs is associated with pro-inflammatory macrophages and premature differentiation of satellite cells鈥 Genome Med. 2023 Nov 10;15(1):95 | DOI: 10.1186/s13073-023-01250-y. |
| February 9 | Taylor Kress, PhD Candidate in Vascular Biology Eric Belin de Chantemele Lab Title: 鈥淐D4+ T-Cell Legumain Deficiency Attenuates Hypertensive Damage via Preservation of TRAF6鈥 Circulation Research. 2024;134:9鈥29 | DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.123.322835 |
| February 16 | Yoichi Ono, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Eric Belin de Chantemele Lab Title: 鈥淏eiging of perivascular adipose tissue regulates its inflammation and vascular remodeling鈥 Nature Communications (2022) 13:5117 | DOI.org/10.1038/s41467-022-32658-6 |
| February 23 | Sheela Nagarkoti, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Masuko Ushio-Fukai Lab Title: 鈥淏lood flow patterns switch VEGFR2 activity through differential S-nitrosylation and S-oxidation鈥 Cell Reports 42(11):113361 | DOI:10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113361. |
| March 1 | Maryam Razaei-Gazik, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Jie Li Lab Title: 鈥淒ynamic interplay between RPL3- and RPL3L-containing ribosomes modulates mitochondrial activity in the mammalian heart鈥 Nucleic Acids Res. 2023 Jun 23;51(11):5301-5324 | doi: 10.1093/nar/gkad121. |
| March 8 | NO Journal Club |
| March 15 | Rahul Patil, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Alexander Verin Lab Title: 鈥淢icroRNA-1 protects the endothelium in acute lung injury鈥 JCI Insight. 2023 Sep 22;8(18):e164816 | doi: 10.1172/jci. |
| March 22 | Mai Yamamoto, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Tohru Fukai Lab Title: 鈥淪uccinate-induced macrophage polarization and RBP4 secretion promote vascular sprouting in ocular neovascularization鈥 Neuroinflammation (2023) 20:308 | doi.org/10.1186/s12974-023-02998-1 |
| March 29 | Ishara M.G. Menik, PhD Student Eric Belin de Chantemele Lab Title: 鈥淯nraveling the Role of Sex in Endothelial Cell Dysfunction: Evidence From Lineage Tracing Mice and Cultured Cells鈥 Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2024 Jan.44(1):238-253 | doi.org/10.1161/ATVBAHA.123.319833 |
| April 5 | No Journal Club |
| April 12 | Chang Min Lee, PhD Student Jie Li Lab Title: 鈥淗EG1 Protects Against Atherosclerosis by Regulating Stable Flow-Induced KLF2/4 Expression in Endothelial Cells鈥 Circulation. 2023;149:00鈥00 | DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.123.064735 |
| April 19 | Qimei Han, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Brian Annex Lab Title: 鈥淒isrupted Binding of Cystathionine 纬-Lyase to p53 Promotes Endothelial Senescence鈥 Circulation Research. 2023;133:842鈥857 | DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.123.323084 |
| April 26 | Mohamed Nofal, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Brian Annex Lab Title: 鈥Hyperglycolysis in endothelial cells drives endothelial injury and microvascular alterations in peritoneal dialysis鈥 Clin. Transl. Med. 2023;13:e1498 | DOI.org/10.1002/ctm2.1498 |
|
May 3 |
Beryl Khakina, PhD Student Eric Belin de Chantemele Lab |
| May 10 | Beryl Khakina, PhD Student Eric Belin de Chantemele Lab Title: 鈥淟OX-1 and MMP-9 Inhibition Attenuates the Detrimental Effects of Delayed rt-PA Therapy and Improves Outcomes After Acute Ischemic Stroke" Circulation Research. 2024;134:954鈥969 | DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.123.323371 |
| May 17 CANCELED |
Anil Sakamuri, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow Ben Ogola Lab Title: "lncRNA JPX-Enriched Chromatin Microenvironment Mediates Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Senescence and Promotes Atherosclerosis" Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol. 2024;44:156鈥176 | DOI: 10.1161/ATVBAHA.122.319250 |