UNC's McAllister Heart Institute (MHI) and the Integrative Vascular Biology (IVB) T32 Training Program jointly announce their Annual Research Symposium on Wednesday, March 12th, 2025. This year's event will be held from 9AM - 5PM at the George Watts Hill Alumni Center on the UNC campus (150 Stadium Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27514). The symposium highlights research from graduate students, postdocs, and medical fellows within the cardiovascular community at UNC and the greater Chapel Hill area and is intended to promote multi-disciplinary collaborative research. 

Keynote speakers - Keynote addresses will be delivered by Martin Schwartz (Yale University) and Federica Accornero (Brown University). The Schwartz Lab investigates integrin-mediated mechanotransduction, focusing on the VE-cadherin-PECAM-1-VEGFR2 complex in vascular remodeling and atherosclerosis. His presentation is entitled - Fluid shear stress sensing mechanisms in vascular health and disease. The Accornero Lab studies the mechanisms underlying heart and skeletal muscle disease with the goal of developing new therapeutic strategies by targeting the RNA-binding proteins that drive pathologic gene expression. Her presentation is entitled - RNA modification as a homeostatic control system for the heart. Please join us for these and many other great presentations. A final schedule of events will be sent to all registrants about a week before the symposium.

Abstract submission - For those who wish to present data at the symposium, please submit an abstract by Friday, February 28th. Abstracts should include a title, all authors, and are limited to 250 words (not including the title and authors). Note that you will need to have your abstract on hand during the registration process and please indicate whether you wish to be considered for a limited number of oral presentations. Abstract submitters selected for oral presentations will be notified by Monday, March 3rd. Poster board dimensions are 3ft high by 4ft wide.

Final registration deadline - Please register no later than Monday, March 10th.

Social - All symposium attendees are invited to the on-site social event that follows the symposium (from ~4-5).

Acknowledgements – We thank the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, the McAllister Heart Institute, the UNC School of Medicine, and NIH grant T32HL69768 for supporting this event.

Please address questions to IVB Trainee, Anna Beeson (abeeson@unc.edu)