UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute and Heart Institute at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh Present at 2025 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions

November 12, 2025

More than 50 UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute, Heart Institute at UPMC Children’s, and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine faculty and trainees gave lectures and presented research posters at the 2025 American Heart Association Scientific Sessions held in New Orleans, La. from Nov. 7 to 10.

UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute and University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine/University of Pittsburgh Faculty and Trainees

Robert Adamian, MD (Resident)

• Cardiogenic Shock Patients Achieving Native Heart Survival With Impella 5.5 Support Still Experience Significant Skeletal Muscle Loss - Presenter
• Psoas Muscle Index Is Associated With Native Heart Survival In Cardiogenic Shock Supported By Impella 5.5 – Presenter

Siya Bhagat, MD (Resident)

• Incidental Peripheral Calcifications On Computed Tomography In Patients Post-Pci Predict Poor Long-Term Outcomes – Presenter

Antoine Bejjani, MD (Resident)

• Education And Household Income Are Associated With Incident Venous Thromboembolism: The Atherosclerosis Risk In Communities Study – Presenter

Lily G. Bessette (MD/PhD Student)

• Primary Non-Adherence And Patterns Of Underutilization Of Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy Following Hospitalizations For Myocardial Infarction – Presenter
• Underutilization Of Guideline-Directed Medical Therapy Following Hospitalizations For Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction Among U.S. Veterans, 2022 To 2023 – Presenter

Clifton W. Callaway, MD, PhD

• Perioperative Thermoregulation: Temperature Never Stopped Being A Vital Sign - Adult – Presenter

Stephen Y. Chan, MD, PhD

• Clinical Decision Making In Pulmonary Hypertension: Navigating The Evolving Landscape – Moderator
• Lipid Metabolism In PAH: A Driver Of Vascular Dysfunction? – Presenter
• Reflections On Resilience: Pursuing A Career Of Failure And Unpredictability – Presenter

Alyssa Chang, MD (Fellow)

• COVID-induced TNF receptor-associated periodic syndrome: a case of refractory microvascular angina resolved with anti-interleukin-1 therapy by multimodality imaging – Presenter

Malamo E. Countouris, MD, MS

• Pregnancy-Related Hypertensive Disorders And Brain Health - Social Media Moderator
• Advances In Understanding Cardiovascular Disease After Preeclampsia - Presenter
• Case Presentation: A Need For Multifaceted Prevention - Presenter

Aishwary Desai, MD (Resident)

• Association Of Race With Disease Expression And Clinical Outcomes Among Patients With Mitral Valve Prolapse – Presenter

Mehak Dhande, MD, MS

• Digital Twins In Cardiac Electrophysiology: Hype, Hope, Or A Bit Of Both? - Social Media Moderator
• The Heart Of The Matter In AF May Actually Be The Brain? – Moderator

Ankur A. Doshi, MD

• QA - Poster Professor
• Moderated Digital Poster Session 1 - Moderator

Jonathan Elmer, MD, MS

• Moral Beats: Aligning Values With Cardiac Arrest Care – Presenter
• Speed Mentoring Mentors – Presenter
• Neuroprognostication: Improving Prognostic Skills In Post-Arrest Care – Presenter

Rameen Forghani (MD/PhD Student)

• Variability In Expert Confidence When Neuroprognosticating After Cardiac Arrest – Presenter

Daniel E. Forman, MD

• Pumping Iron: Prehabilitation Before Undergoing Cardiac Surgical Procedure  – Presenter

Paulomi H. Gohel, MD (Resident)

• Incidence And Predictors Of Atrial Fibrillation After Cavotricuspid Isthmus Ablation For Typical Atrial Flutter – Presenter

Sharon Ann George, PhD

• Genomic And Precision Medicine Symposium: Model Systems: Preclinical To Phase I Bridge: Session 2, Assessing Therapeutics In Model Systems – Panelist
• Modeling Arrhythmias: Animals And Human Heart Slices – Presenter

Stephanie Marie Helman, PhD, RN (Postdoctoral Fellow)

• Perioperative Thermoregulation: Temperature Never Stopped Being A Vital Sign - Pediatric – Presenter
• ECG-SMART: A Clinician-Guided AI Dashboard For Occlusion Myocardial Infarction Detection In The Emergency Department – Presenter

Chukwukadibia Ibecheozor, MD (Fellow)

• Advanced Heart Failure And Mechanical Circulatory Support In The Context Of Incarceration: A Clinical Challenge – Presenter

Marissa Jarosinski, MD (Resident)

• Glucagon-Like-Peptide-1 Receptor Agonists Are Associated With Lower Postoperative Complication Rates In Patients With Peripheral Artery Disease – Presenter
• Dual Pathway Inhibition Prescription After Percutaneous Vascular Intervention Is Low, And Dependent On Physician And Treating Facility Practice Patterns – Presenter

Siyi Jiang

• Long-Range Chromatin Interaction Mapping Links Snp Rs115561468 To Trimethyllysine Metabolism In Coronary Artery Disease – Presenter

Ebin Johny, PhD (Postdoctoral Associate)

• Mitochondrial Biogenesis In Macrophages Controls Inflammation And Cardiac Remodeling After Myocardial Infarction – Presenter

Aleesha Kainat, MD

• Aspirin Use For Primary Prevention Of Cardiovascular Events In High Risk Patients With Diabetes: A Propensity Matched Analysis – Presenter
• The Impact Of Donor-Recipient Race Matching On Development Of De Novo Donor-Specific Antibodies After Heart Transplantation – Presenter

Krishna Kancharla, MD

• AF Lifestyle Therapy: Drugs Beyond Heart Failure And Obesity – Moderator

Anna Kirillova (MD-PhD Student)

• What A Busy Cardiologist Needs To Know About Genetics - Social Media Moderator
• Pathogenic Variants In Myoferlin (MYOF) Cause Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy – Presenter

Bronson Kunzler, MD (Resident)

• Impella 5.5 Therapy As Bridge Therapy For Delayed Ventricular Septal Defect Repair – Presenter

Tianhao Liu, PhD

• Dissecting Cellular Spatial Relationships In Severe Pulmonary Hypertension Using High-Resolution Spatial Transcriptomics – Presenter
• Single-Cell Resolution Spatial Transcriptomics Reveals Cellular And Molecular Dysregulation In Human Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension – Presenter

Ziyang Liu, PhD (Postdoctoral Researcher)

• Inflammasome-Mediated Galectin-3 Release Limits Its Protective Role In Macrophage Lysosomal Damage Response During Atherosclerosis – Presenter

Jared Magnani, MD, MSc; Ritu Thamman, MD

• Next Century Of Impact: Advancing Health Through Collaborative Partnerships - Moderator

Saurabh Malhotra, MD

• ATTR-CM: Evolving Paradigms In Diagnosis And Patient-Centered Treatment – Presenter

Mioara D. Manole, MD

• Cerebral Microcirculatory Disturbances After Experimental Cardiac Arrest: Arterial Vasoconstriction And Capillary Stalling – Presenter

Rubab Mansoor, MD (Resident)

• Artificial Intelligence-Based Machine Learning To Understand The Future Of Declining Myocardial Infarction-Related Mortality In The United States: A Time Series Modeling Approach – Presenter
• Comparing The Safety And Efficacy Of Direct Oral Anticoagulants Versus Vitamin K Antagonists In Bioprosthetic Valve Replacement: A Meta-Analysis Of Randomized Controlled Trials – Presenter

Pallavi Matai, MD (Resident)

• Does Obesity Influence Cardiovascular Outcomes In Myocardial Infarction With Non-Obstructive Coronary Arteries (MINOCA)? Insights From A Propensity-Matched National Cohort – Presenter
• Outcomes Of Mitral Valve Transcatheter Edge-To-Edge Repair In Patients With Cardiogenic Shock: A Nationwide Cohort Analysis – Presenter
• Stroke Prevention With Cerebral Embolic Protection Device Use During Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: A Nationwide, Matched Analysis From Trinetx Database – Presenter
• Comparative Analysis Of Clinical Outcomes Following Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement In Patients With Wild-Type Transthyretin Amyloidosis: A Multicenter Trinetx Study – Presenter
• Hormone Replacement Therapy And Arrhythmia Risk In Menopause: A Comprehensive Nationwide Analysis – Presenter

Eliza C. Miller, MD, MS

• Pregnancy-Related Hypertensive Disorders And Brain Health – Moderator
• Pregnancy, Hypertension, And The Brain: Unraveling The Neurological Impact Of Hypertensive Disorders – Presenter

Sindhu Muppala, DO (Resident)

• Unveiling The Dual Impact Of HCN4 Gene Mutation: A Case Of Cardiac And Mood Disorder Manifestation – Presenter

Masashi Okubo, MD

• Sequence Of Epinephrine Administration And Advanced Airway Management For Adult Patients With Out-Of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest – Presenter

Seema Oli, MD (Resident)

• Association Between Food Insecurity And Cardiovascular Risk Factors: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Of NHANES Data – Presenter

Albert Danso Osei, MD (Fellow)

• A Rare Case Of Genetic Cardiomyopathy: Scn5a Mutation-Associated Multifocal Ectopic Premature Purkinje-Related Complexes Syndrome With Heart Failure With Improved Ejection Fraction – Presenter

Benay Ozbay, MD (Fellow)

• Impact Of Mavacamten And Disopyramide On Left Ventricular Mechanical Dispersion And Ventricular Arrhythmia In Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy – Presenter

Soumojit Pal, PhD

• Cardiomyocyte Selective Overexpression Of Protein Kinase G 1 Improves Left Ventricular Systolic And Diastolic Function In Murine Models Of Cardiomyopathy – Presenter

Kimberly Howard-Quijano, MD, MS

• Periprocedural Atrial Fibrillation: From Molecular Insights Into Therapeutic Strategies – Moderator
• Tricuspid Valve Disease - To Intervene Or Not To Intervene, That Is The Question – Moderator
• Implementing Protocolized Patient Care Structures: Instead Of Relying On Everyone Being Above Average - An Innovation Session – Moderator
• CVSA Early Career And Vivien Thomas Early Career Investigator Award Competitions – Judge
• Early Career Investigator Showcase: Spotlight On AHA Funded Research - Clinical & Population Science – Moderator
• A Delicate Balancing Act: Intraoperative Management In Cardiac Surgery - Poster Professor

Samir Saba, MD

• Long Term Survival Of Older Patients Who Receive Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Devices With Or Without Defibrillation Therapy – Presenter

Neil Shah, MD

• Concomitant Infection In Cardiogenic Shock: Hospitalization Outcomes And Temporary Mechanical Circulatory Support Usage – Presenter

Yinan Shi, PhD (Postdoctoral Associate)

• Cerebellar And Cerebral Frontal Lobe Alterations In Pulmonary Hypertension: Evidence Of An Inflammatory Lung Vascular-Brain Axis – Presenter

Prem Soman, MD, PhD

• ATTR-CM: Evolving Paradigms In Diagnosis And Patient-Centered Treatment – Presenter

Alexis M. Steinberg, MD

• Surrogate-Researcher Dyad Consent Experience For Participation In A Cardiac Arrest Clinical Trial: A Multicenter Qualitative Study – Presenter

Jonathan Tam, MD, MS

• Association Of Pittsburgh Cardiac Arrest Category With Death Due To Withdrawal Of Life-Sustaining Therapy – Presenter

Alexandra Weissman, MD, MS, MPH

• Basic/Translation Abstract Oral Session – Moderator
• Epidemiology II - Poster Professor
• Effect Of Prophylactic Antibiotics On Days Of Antibiotic Spectrum Coverage In Comatose Post-Cardiac Arrest Patients: A Post-Hoc Analysis Of Protect – Presenter

Yu-Sheng Yeh, PhD, RD

• Loss Of Adipose Lipophagy Impairs Lipid Mobilization And Exacerbates Obesity-Associated Metabolic Dysfunction – Presenter

Heart Institute at UPMC Children’s Faculty and Trainees

Adam Christopher, MD

• Practice Variation in Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (CCT) Imaging Protocol and Utility of Tracheal Area Ratio in Airway Assessment in Pediatric Patients With Vascular Ring (VR) - A Multicenter Study - Coauthor

Bryan H. Goldstein, MD

• Navigating Aha Scientific Statements: Advancing Evidence-Based Cardiovascular Care – Moderator

Jacqueline Kreutzer, MD

• Innovations In Pediatric Interventional Cardiology: Precision And Progress - Presenter

Laura Olivieri, MD

• Contrast Echocardiography In Pediatric And Adult Cardiology – Presenter

Lauren Lorenzi Quigley, MD

• Rationale and Design of a Pragmatic Clinical Trial of the WE BEAT Well-Being Education Program in Adolescent Congenital Heart Disease: A Pediatric Heart Network (PHN) Study - Coauthor

Sydney Rooney, MD (Resident)

• Incidence And Predictors Of Atrial Tachyarrhythmia In Fontan Patients From The Fontan Outcome Registry Using CMR Examinations (FORCE) – Presenter
• Forecasting The Onset Of Atrial Fibrillation In The Intensive Care Unit Using Real-World Telemetry Data – Present

Anita Saraf, MD, PhD

• Progression Of Fontan Associated Liver Disease (FALD) Leads To A Metabolic Transformation In Hepatocytes – Presenter

Multiple Heart Institute Faculty

• Evidence for Decreased Cardiomyocyte Proliferation in Infants With Heart Disease and the Potential for Therapeutic Reversal