May 28, 2020
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William R. Huckle, Editor
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Boston, MA
Postponed until Summer 2021

September 9-12, 2020
Abstracts due May 31, 2020
Travel Awards available



Vascular Biology 2020
Newport, RI
October 25-29, 2020

June 18-22, 2021 - Visit Website
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Subscription for VBPA
Vascular Biology Publications Alert Now Available by Subscription
The NAVBO Vascular Biology Publications Alert will now be available to non-members for a $55 a year subscription.  If you would like to receive this alert, but are not a member, please contact Danielle at [email protected].
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Help Support NAVBO 
Partner Network Advantage on the NAVBO Job Board
Why post your job on NAVBO's career center rather than going directly to the larger job networks?
Pricing on the mass job boards can vary, but to get a job noticed you typically have to sponsor it for $5 - $10 per day, which can add up quickly especially since you also pay for each click the job gets. When you add it all together, you could be spending up to $45 per day on your job posting. But, when posting a job on NAVBO's career center, you simply pay a flat fee! The Premium package includes our Exclusive Extended Partner Network - which means the jobs are broadcast to sites like ZipRecruiter and Jobs2Careers and more for a flat fee.
 
With special member pricing, you can post a job for as low as $300 with this Partner Network. You never pay for each click, just the flat fee on the NAVBO career center. In addition, the Premium package includes a 60-day job posting making it a great value. The Premium packages also offer features like having your company's logo featured on the career center homepage, having your job appear first in search results, and more.
 
Post your open position now at www.navbo.org/jobs!
 
NAVBO Privacy Policy
Your data privacy and security are important to NAVBO. To that end, we have updated our privacy policy to reflect recent privacy and security regulation implementations and changes. Please review our policy as time permits so you have a complete understanding of the data we have, why we have it, and how we use it.
 
Part of the updates relate directly to the European Union's new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) that went into place May 25.   The GDPR seeks to improve the transparency of data usage and give end users more control over their own data. We believe these changes are important and will be compliant with the GDPR regulations.
 
Contact NAVBO if you have any questions or to change your communication preferences.
 
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Vascular Biology 2020
We're Going Virtual!
It was a hard decision to come to, but we feel it is the right one.  Vascular Biology 2020 will be a virtual meeting.  We are currently polling our members for input about the format. In general we will hold it at a time that at least includes the week it was scheduled for - October 25-29.  If you would like to give us some input about the formatting, etc. please complete the survey.

The organizers know full well that one of the most important aspects of this meeting is networking with colleagues and we plan to incorporate as many live discussion opportunities as possible.  Lunch and Learn for trainees will definitely happen - it maybe breakfast on the west coast and dinner in Europe and a midnight snack in Asia, but we will try to help trainees connect with senior investigators as much as possible.  Poster discussions will be held and we're aiming to allow you to move from one group to another, just like at a real meeting!  We will include the Pre-Conference Meeting for Trainees - and that will have its own day and most likely take place a day or so before the full meeting.  We have also heard from all of the speakers and they are on board!  Plan to join us!

We are now accepting abstracts for Vascular Biology 2020!  The meeting features our Biology of Signaling in the Cardiovascular System and Vascular  Inflammation Workshops and a neurovascular cross-over theme.  Go to https://www.navbo.org/vb2020 for the program. 

Registration fees will be adjusted.  Notifications will be sent when the registration site reopens. 

We recognize that you may not be able to register at this time, but please do submit an abstract!  The deadline is August 1, 2020.
Today's Mini-symposium
New Strategies for Vascular Intervention
May 28 at 1:00pmET

The session will feature the following presentations:
Lysolipid Signaling in Atherosclerosis
- Susan Smyth, University Kentucky
Suppression of endothelial AGO1 promotes adipose tissue browning and improves metabolic dysfunction
- Xiaofang Tang, City of Hope
Sonoporation increases doxorubicin uptake in neuroblastoma xenografts by enhancing vascular permeability
- Sonia Hernandez, University of Chicago
Disruption of profilin1 function suppresses developmental and pathological retinal neovascularization
- Partha Roy, University of Pittsburgh

The session will be moderated by Lisandra Vila Ellis, MD Anderson Medical Center
Reopening Labs, etc!
Panel Discussion on Transitioning to the New Normal
Join panelists Michelle Bendeck, University of Toronto, Ondine Cleaver, UT Southwestern, Zorina Galis, NHLBI, Bill Muller, Northwestern University, Kristy Red-Horse, Stanford University and Linda Shapiro, University of Connecticut to discuss some new issues facing PIs as labs are beginning to open across the country.

Join us June 5 at 2:00pmET
This session will be of interest to PIs, but trainees are welcome to attend.  We'll discuss current hiring policies, status of students and postdocs that were slated to move on, summer programs, etc.

Hope you can join us!
New Opportunity for Trainees
Emerging Scientists Series
We are excited to announce a new opportunity available via the NAVBO website!  

We have heard from a number of people that both graduation ceremonies and thesis presentations have been cancelled and/or reformatted for remote participation.  Coupled with the temporary halt in in-person conferences, this situation may be making it more challenging for trainees to network, promote their science, and search for their next position.  To address this, NAVBO will offer online opportunities for our trainee members.

The new Emerging Scientists Series will offer trainees the opportunity to showcase their thesis research in short research highlight talks.  This new resource will serve as a place for trainees to share their work with employers that are hiring and searching for a new recruit with vascular biology research experience.   
 
If you are a trainee that has just defended your thesis and are interested in this opportunity, please contact [email protected] 
 
Letter to NIH
NAVBO joins fellow scientific societies in protest of NIH grant revocation
NAVBO, together with some 30 other U.S. scientific organizations, has signed a letter to NIH Director Francis Collins, united in their alarm at the recent revocation of a peer-reviewed research grant for studies of coronaviruses by EcoHealth Alliance.
 
Headquartered in New York, EcoHealth Alliance is a global environmental health nonprofit organization with a focus on protecting wildlife and public health from the emergence of disease. The R01 project, titled "Understanding the risk of bat coronavirus emergence" and initially funded in 2014, sought to characterize genetically the many SARS-related coronaviruses in bats in southern China for their risk of infecting humans. Proposed studies included sequencing of receptor binding domains to identify viruses with the highest potential for spillover. The grant came under fire owing to EcoHealth's history of collaboration with scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the object of as-yet unsubstantiated claims that the novel SARS-CoV2 had escaped from Wuhan laboratories.
 
The letter of objection, whose circulation among sister organizations was led by the ASBMB, describes the grant's termination as "...counterintuitive, given the urgent need to better understand the virus that causes COVID-19 and identify drugs that will save lives..." and notes that the decision "...politicizes science at a time when, if we are to stamp out this scourge, we need the public to trust experts and to take collective action." Revocation of the grant without a justifiable rationale risks the violation of that public trust.
NAVBO Webinars
Upcoming Webinars 
Join us in June as we welcome Mary Wallingford of the Mother Infant Research Institute at Tufts Medical Center and her special guest, Dr. Heidi Stuhlmann, Weill Cornell Medical College, whose presentation is titled, Fetoplacental vasculature in development and disease.   Dr. Wallingford's webinar, Essential Yet Transient: An Introduction to the Placental Circulatory System is scheduled for June 11 at 1:00pmET.   Follow this link to register for this exciting webinar: https://www.navbo.org/events/webinars/916-web062020 .
 
   
Sara Nunes de Vasconcelos of the Toronto General Research Institute will present a webinar titled, Vascularization for Regenerative Medicine on July 9 at 1:00pmET.  Plan to join us! For more information and to register, go to our web site: https://www.navbo.org/events/webinars/928-web072020   
 
Special Webinar on COVID-19
Join us on June 10 for our second webinar on COVID-19 featuring Christer Betsholtz of Uppsala University.  Dr. Betsholtz presentation is titled, The COVID-19 Pericyte Hypothesis, and is based on his recent paper: Pericyte-specific vascular expression of SARS-CoV-2 receptor ACE2 - implications for microvascular inflammation and hypercoagulopathy in COVID-19 patients.  For more information and to register go to: https://www.navbo.org/covid19-webinar.  The recording of our first webinar on COVID-19 is available on our web site - go to https://www.navbo.org/events/online  
 
Later this year we are being joined by Jason Fish, University of Toronto, Luisa Iruela-Arispe, Northwestern University and Hellmut Augustin, Heidelberg University and German Cancer Research Center. Details will be in future Newsletters.  
 
Join us!!  NAVBO Webinars are free to current NAVBO Members. Non-members can attend for $25 per webinar.   

And don't forget you can watch recorded webinars as well - go to  
Upcoming Live Discussions
Tissue Stiffness Live Discussion - June 1 at 1:00pmET
Webinars included are:
microRNA-dependent regulation of biomechanical genes establishes tissue stiffness homeostasis 
Presenter: Stefania Nicoli, Yale University Cardiovascular Research Center
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/107540330265488385
Matrix remodeling and integrin signaling in endothelial function and dysfunction
Presenter: Martin Schwartz, Yale University Cardiovascular Research Center  
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/3477120166408244994
Elastic Fibers and the Mechanics of Maturing Arteries
Presenter: Jessica Wagenseil, Washington University in St. Louis
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6248108254362472962
Please review their recorded webinars prior to the live discussion on June 1.
The session will be moderated by Anjelica Gonzalez, Yale School of Medicine

Development in Cardiovascular Disease - June 15 at 1:00pmET
Webinars included are:
Coronary Development and Regeneration 
Presenter: Kristy Red-Horse, Stanford University
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1089242591412151298
Lacteal Junction Zippering Protects Against Diet-Induced Obesity
Presenter: Anne Eichmann, Yale University  
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5601891191238680067
Please review their recorded webinars prior to the live discussion on June 15
The session will be moderated by Nicholas Chavkin, University of Virginia
NAVBO Summer Camp!!
June 22-July 1, 2020
This virtual "camp" will feature lectures covering basic concepts in Development, Signaling, Bioengineering/Matrix Biology and Inflammation.  Students and other trainees should plan to join us!   
 
Three-hour sessions will be held on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons (eastern time) and will include three lectures, plus presentations by abstract authors.    
 
Registration and abstract submission links are on the web page: https://www.navbo.org/events/summer-camp 
 
Talks will be presented by:
*Masanoria Aikawa, Brigham and Women's Hospital
*Michelle Bendeck, University of Toronto
*Ondine Cleaver, UT Southwestern Medical Center
*Anne Eichmann, Yale University
Gabriele Fredman, Albany Medical College 
*Courtney Griffin, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation 
Karen Hirschi, Yale School of Medicine
*Bill Muller, Northwestern University 
*Stefania Nicoli, Yale University
*Wayne Orr, LSU Health Science Center in Shreveport 
Amber Stratman, Washington University in St. Louis
Hiromi Yanagisawa, University of Tsukuba, Japan 
 
*indicates organizers   
 
Registration is free!!  Hope you can join us!
Lessons Learned
Dr. Julie Phillippi
I'm grateful to the NAVBO Education Committee for the invitation to write and share a reflection of my lessons learned. I have been a faculty member at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine for almost 13 years. In that time, I have learned how to embrace several challenges. In time, perceived disadvantages became strengths that I learned to own and celebrate openly with a sense of pride. After taking inventory of my lessons learned, my message to new faculty can be summarized in four themes: 1) Tune in to what gives you energy, 2) Proactively seek situations that favor serendipity, 3) Don't shy away from non-linear career paths, and 4) Prioritize relationships.
 
Take notice of what brings you energy and invest yourself there. Experiencing joy can go hand in hand with energy, and both can emerge when one or a group works in "flow." The emerging concept of flow can be described as a balance between high challenge and high skill. While in flow, focus and productivity are high, and enjoyment is derived from the work. A unique energy is palpable. The mind is open and poised for active growth. Though flow can be achieved with intentional practice, commitment to a shared purpose can conjure flow organically. There can be joy in little moments that renew energy. Perhaps it's making the acquaintance of potential new collaborator. A smile from a colleague who is usually serious. Moments of silence when working side by side. Where one draws energy has a lot to do with personality. Make a mental note of these joyful experiences and recall them as needed to draw energy.
 
Read more from Julie about creating opportunities that favor serendipity, being open to non-linear academic career paths, and partnerships built and maintained on trust - go to:
https://www.navbo.org/resources/lessons-learned


You can view all of the Lessons Learned by visiting our web site.  Go to
Lab of the Month
The Lab of Dr. Julie Phillippi
This month we are highlighting the lab of Dr. Julie Phillippi, who is an Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh. Find out more about Dr. Phillippi's lab at https://www.navbo.org/membership/members-labs/920-lab052020.
Member News
Welcome to our New Members:
Subhodip Adhicary, Ohio University
Mitzy Cowdin, UT Southwestern Medical Center
Prarthana Dalal, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine
Laura Hansen, Emory University
Lida Kabir,  Imperial College London
Nguyen Long, National University of Singapore
Umar Rekhi,  University of Alberta
Gaye Saginc Giannoustas, Imperial College London
Dennis Wolff,  Kansas City University
 
If you have news to share with your colleagues, send it to [email protected]
Spotlight on Trainees (from our May 14 issue)
Grad students at Oklahoma State among those stepping up to the challenge of SARS-CoV2 testing
Karin Brulliard reports in The Washington Post on the remarkable impact the Oklahoma Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory at OSU has had on testing in its home state for the novel SARS coronavirus. The lab, which typically tests for diseases such as rabies in dogs and respiratory ailments in Oklahoma's large cattle industry, by late March was conducting more human coronavirus tests than any other lab in the state. It has recruited additional staff, including grad students with sharp molecular biology skills, to work deep into the night, processing thousands of tests a week. Notes lab director Jerry Ritchey, "A coronavirus at the end of a nasal swab, it doesn't really matter if it came from a cow, a pig or a person - it's going to be tested the exact same way."  
Recent Publicatons by NAVBO Members
A Single-Cell Transcriptional Roadmap of the Mouse and Human Lymph Node Lymphatic Vasculature 
Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine
Single-cell transcriptomics promise to revolutionize our understanding of the vasculature. Emerging computational methods applied to high-dimensional single-cell data allow integration of results between samples and species and illuminate the diversity and underlying developmental and architectural organization of cell populations. Read more
Canagliflozin Inhibits Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Proliferation and Migration: Role of Heme oxygenase-1  
Redox Biology
Recent cardiovascular outcome trials found that sodium-glucose cotransporter-2 (SGLT2) inhibitors reduce cardiovascular disease and mortality in type 2 diabetic patients; however, the underlying mechanisms are not fully known. Read more
Discoidin Domain Receptor 1-deletion Ameliorates Fibrosis and Promotes Adipose Tissue Beiging, Brown Fat Activity, and Increased Metabolic Rate in a Mouse Model of Cardiometabolic Disease  
Molecular Metabolism
Objective: Discoidin domain receptor 1 (DDR1) is a collagen binding receptor tyrosine kinase implicated in atherosclerosis, fibrosis, and cancer. Our previous research showed that DDR1 could regulate smooth muscle cell trans-differentiation, fibrosis and calcification in the vascular system in cardiometabolic disease. Read more
Call for Papers
Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine  
Special Research Topics


Putting Engineering Back In Vascular Tissue Engineering To Advance Basic Science and Clinical Applications
Topic Editors:  Jessica Wagenseil (Washington University in St. Louis) and W. Lee Murfee (University of Florida).
 
This topic is sponsored by NAVBO
 
Vascular tissue engineering (VTE) can be characterized as the creation of replacement vessels. Over the past 30 years, approaches have incorporated different combinations of extracellular matrix scaffolds, cells and biological active chemical cues. Challenged by the goal to recapitulate the complexity of big or small vessels, the clinical use of in vitro tissue engineered vessel replacements is still limited. With research more often focusing on reductionist materials science or cell biology characterization of vessel-like constructs, an opportunity has emerged to re-apply engineering approaches to guide the next step in VTE. 
 
Submit your abstract by June 19, 2020
Submit your manuscript by October 17, 2020
 
For more information, click here

What do we know about COVID-19 implications for cardiovascular disease?
Topic Editors: Hendrik Tevaearai Stahel , Masanori Aikawa, Shuyang Zhang , and Andrew F. James  
 
The coronavirus epidemic causes major cardiovascular complications. Underlying mechanisms, however, remain incompletely understood. Frontiers in Cardiovascular Medicine invite you to submit your article on this topic. We consider all types of manuscripts: fundamental basic science reports, translational or clinical studies, review articles and methodology papers.
 
Submit your abstract by May 31, 2020 (or contact Dr. Aikawa) 
Submit your manuscript by August 28, 2020
 
For more information, click here 
 
For questions, please contact Masanori Aikawa   [email protected] or the editorial office [email protected]
Industry News (from our May 14 issue)
Academic budgets feeling the pain of uncertainty
Johns Hopkins, Yale, Stanford, and their fellow top-performing research universities are wrestling with both the reality of current revenue losses and the prospect of those to come, as consequences of the coronavirus pandemic. Hopkins leaders disclosed this week that the university will suspend contributions to employee retirement accounts, cut salaries of top leaders, and prepare for furloughs and layoffs as it confronts massive budget shortfalls, projected to total $375 million in FY21. The CARES Act is providing a measure of financial assistance to academic institutions and their students, but the looming gaps dwarf the aid allocated to date.

The Science Underlying COVID-19: Implications for the Cardiovascular System (Liu et al., 2020)
[from the abstract] COVID-19 patients with pre-existing cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and related conditions incur disproportionately worse outcome. The virus uses the ACE2 receptor for internalization, aided by TMPRSS2 protease. The tissue localization of the receptors correlates with COVID-19 presenting symptoms and organ dysfunction. Virus-induced ACE2 down regulation may attenuate its function, diminish its anti-inflammatory role, and heightened angiotensin II effects in the predisposed patients. Persistent immune activation in such patients, such as the elderly and those with CV risk, can lead to a hemophagocytosis-like syndrome, with uncontrolled amplification of cytokine production, leading to multi-organ failure and death. Read more.

FASEB maintaining COVID information clearinghouse
FASEB - the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology - is making a concerted effort to keep its participating societies and their members abreast of the rapidly evolving situation around the COVID-19 pandemic. Toward this end, FASEB is maintaining an online compendium of resources and relevant information, with links out to the COVID-19 pages of specific scientific organizations, federal sponsors, and other governmental agencies. These specialty sites, in turn, contain a wide array of information on basic research, clinical developments, and instructional resources.  Check back frequently for updates.
Job Postings
Calendar of Events
June 22 - July 1
July 12 - 14, 2020
ISTH 2020 Virtual Congress
Sept. 9 - 12, 2020
21st International Vascular Biology Meeting (IVBM 2020)
Oct. 3 - 6, 2020
11th Kloster Seeon Angiogenesis Meeting
Oct. 25 - 29, 2020
Vascular Biology 2020
Nov. 16 - 18, 2020
EMBO Workshop - Cell Signalling and Biology of Vascular Malformations
North American Vascular Biology Organization | [email protected] | http://www.navbo.org
18501 Kingshill Road
Germantown, MD 20874-2211