NAVBO members receive discounts on registration to IVBM
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Travel Awards available for NAVBO members
Vasculata 2016
Uppsala University
and
University of Pennsylvania
August 15-18
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| Look inside the IVBM Virtual Conference Bag |
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Lymphatic Conference
in Chicago, IL
June 8-11, 2017
Vascular Biology 2017
Monterey, CA
October 15-19
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Diamond Level
Welcome Reception Host
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Event Partner
Contributor
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Silver Level
Academic Supporters
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Bronze Level
Academic Supporter
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Register for Vasculata 2016
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Plan to attend Vasculata in Philadelphia
OR in Uppsala!! Lectures will be presented in Uppsala with a live stream to Philadelphia. Moderators at Philadelphia will ensure lively discussion. Poster sessions will be held at both sites.
See the Program. Meeting dates are August 15-18, 2016.
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Organize a Session for Vascular Biology 2017
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Several members have submitted some exciting proposals for sessions at
Vascular Biology 2017. If interested, t
he deadline to submit your proposal is May 1, 2016. Go to
http://www.navbo.org/events/vb2017 for more details.
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New Job Board - NAVBO Career Center
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If you haven't had the chance to visit the new Career Center, I urge you to do so and post a job or your CV. Job seekers should set up email alerts. If you have, we'd love to hear your feedback (
[email protected]).
The biggest benefit to members is lower prices on the enhancements. AND, one of the enhancements is the ability to have your job posting included within the Indeed web site.
All current members are included as Employers (regular members) or Job Seekers (trainee members). Your log in is your email address. When you access the site for the first time, you will need to reset your password. You will have to enter your NAVBO Member Id to obtain the member discounts.
Please take a look at the new Career Center - www.navbo.org/resources/jobs
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Lessons Learned
(from April 14 issue)
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The NAVBO Education Committee has asked some junior faculty to share their experiences during the transition from trainee to first independent post. We hope that their accounts of challenges confronted, dilemmas dissected, and lessons learned will help smooth your career path. If you would like to share your own experiences, please send us reflections on your transition to Assistant Professor or whatever form of solo flight you undertook. What helped you, what held you back, what was the "if only I had known" secret you can share. Send your piece to [email protected].
The View from the Other Side of the Desk
My name is Stefania Nicoli, and I have been an Assistant Professor at the Yale Cardiovascular Research Center since 2012. This four-year journey in the academic world, more than any previous experience, has made me understand the importance of mentoring models for junior faculty.
Reaching the other side of the desk is what everybody dreams of during their training positions. However, during this time you are not only learning to become a boss but also a mentor. You are now in charge of efficiently communicating, motivating your employees, solving team conflicts, understanding and working with their career and life priorities, their weaknesses and reactions to stress and rejection, and ultimately, their success. Indeed, it appears that this part of the work is energy consuming and sometimes no matter what you might say or do you are wrong and for many of us this feeling, together with the continuous stress of reaching scientific excellence, is overwhelming.
Becoming a boss might be a natural process for a new faculty member, as we ourselves reached this academic status thanks to determination, self-assurance and hard work, traits typical of a leader. However, becoming a mentor is not necessarily included in our natural predispositions. Seeking direction, I asked several senior colleagues about their experiences regarding how they became mentors. Interestingly, there are various theories, all very personal, that I would like to classify into two distinct points of view: the Darwinian or Lamarckian theory of the junior faculty evolution. Essentially some faculty members believe in "natural selection" of the strongest phenotype. Others believe in the progressive learning process of more complex skills that allow successful "adaptation and survival" in any environment.
Of course, this sounds like a scientific joke, but there is some truth in both theories. Indeed, in our competitive and difficult economic climate, scientists have limited time to learn naturally from their mistakes. Therefore, learning quickly is the key to successfully "survive" and "drive." I found it crucial having someone to teach us mentoring strategies as rapidly as possible, to avoid energy dispersion while also gaining efficiency. For example, attending periodic psychology workshops or leadership courses is essential in acquiring these tools. High profile corporations invest time and considerable resources understanding strategies to make employees more efficient. Obviously, academia might not have the same capacity, but an investment toward junior faculty mentoring programs is, in the long run, important for the success of the entire institution.
For information about Dr. Nicoli's lab, visit our Lab of the Month (below).
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The Lab of Dr. Stefania Nicoli
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Welcome our newest members
Harshal Nandurkar, The Australian Centre for Blood Diseases
Giorgio Seano, Harvard Medical School
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Hypertension in Pregnancy
publishes data pertaining to human and animal hypertension during gestation. Topics covered in the journal include physiology of circulatory control, pathophysiology, methodology, therapy or any other material relevant to the relationship between elevated blood pressure and pregnancy. Learn more about the journal and enjoy complimentary access to editor's choice articles from the most recently published issue on the journal's website: www.tandfonline.com/IHIP.
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Seeking Trainee Organizers for the 2017 Pre-Conference Meeting
The 2015 Pre-Conference Meeting organized by Juliana Marulanda (McGill University) and Jennifer Fang (Yale University) was very successful and all those that attended wanted to see it continue at subsequent Vascular Biology meetings.
If you are interested in helping to organize this meeting, please send an email to
[email protected] stating your interest and experience, if any, in organizing meetings, workshop, symposia, etc., demonstration of your leadership skills, and why you would like a chance at this opportunity. Please include your CV with your email. The 2017 meeting organizers, Vickie Bautch, Brian Black, Jessica Wagenseil and Craig Simmons, will review the applications and select two co-organizers. We would like to select one postdoctoral fellow and one graduate student, but this is not required.
The session will consist mainly of talks from selected VB2017 poster presenters, but can also include a guest speaker, a presentation on Career Development, etc. The Workshops featured at our 2017 meeting are Developmental Vascular Biology and Genetics, and Vascular Matrix Biology and Bioengineering. The Pre-Conference Meeting will take place on Sunday, October 15 from 2-6pm at the Asilomar Conference Grounds in Pacific Grove, California.
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Recent Publications by NAVBO Members
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| Smooth Muscle Enriched Long Non-Coding RNA (SMILR) Regulates Cell Proliferation
Circulation
Background - Phenotypic switching of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) from a contractile to a synthetic state is implicated in diverse vascular pathologies including atherogenesis, plaque stabilisation, and neointimal hyperplasia. However, very little is known as to the role of long non coding RNA (lncRNA) during this process. Read more
Endogenous Transmembrane TNF-Alpha Protects Against Premature Senescence in Endothelial Colony Forming Cells
Circulation Research
Rationale: Transmembrane TNF-a (tmTNF-a) is the prime ligand for TNFR2, which has been shown to mediate angiogenic and blood vessel repair activities in mice. Read more |
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Industry News
(from April 14 issue)
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Reverse Engineering Human Pathophysiology with Organs-on-Chips
Cell
While studies of cultured cells have led to new insights into biological control, greater understanding of human pathophysiology requires the development of experimental systems that permit analysis of intercellular communications and tissue-tissue interactions in a more relevant organ context.
Read more
Morphogenesis of 3D vascular networks is regulated by tensile forces
PNAS
Understanding the forces controlling vascular network properties and morphology can enhance in vitro tissue vascularization and graft integration prospects. This work assessed the effect of uniaxial cell-induced and externally applied tensile forces on the morphology of vascular networks formed within fibroblast and endothelial cell-embedded 3D polymeric constructs.
Read more
Cardiovascular events in systemic lupus erythematosus
An internation clinical consortium focused on lupus and associated morbidities has
reported that lupus patients experience an early elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, and that such disease may be manifest prior to a diagnosis of lupus. These findings are suggestive of a link between chronic autoimmune-mediated inflammation and the development of atherosclerosis.
Extended treatment with anti-VEGF agents in
diabetic
macular edema
In a study of nearly 700 patients, investigators at Genentech, in conjunction with clinical specialists in retinal disease, report that DME patients with limited initial anatomic response to ranibizumab show delayed but equivalent therapeutic benefit with extended intravitreal treatment (24 months). Thus, certain patients may be slow to respond anatomically, but still can experience vision gains and retinopathy improvement. The findings reaffirm the discordance between retinal thickness and visual acuity. |
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