Robert J. Goldberg is a cardiovascular disease epidemiologist who has had more than three decades of continuous funding support from the NIH and he continues to serve on scientific review panels at the NIH. He has served as the Principal Investigator of several federally funded population-based chronic disease surveillance studies that have been carried out among residents of central MA. He has served as the Director of the Master of Science in Clinical Investigation program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School since its inception in 2009

Cardiovascular disease,chronic disease

Dr Lingfang Zeng has his expertise in stem cell research in vascular biology field, specifically on mechanotransduction, epigenetic modification, and alternative splicing. He has extensive investigation on HDAC3, HDAC7 and IRE1α/XBP1 signal pathway. His current research focuses on alternative translation. His group found that small open reading frame within so-called non-coding area or non-coding RNA could be translated to produce functional small peptides. In addition to ATG, they found that other codons could also initiate the translation to produce more small peptides.

Vascular biology, stem cell, epigenetic modification, splicing

Qiuping Zhang has her expertise in nesprin family research in cardiovascular biology field, specifically on understanding the complex roles of nesprin-1 and -2, family members of multi-isomeric scaffolding proteins, in regulating normal and pathological processes in the heart and muscle. She has extensive studies on the role of nesprins in myoblast differentiation and function as well as mutations in nesprin-1 or -2 in association with Emery Dreifuss muscular dystrophy and dilated cardiomyopathy. Her current research is focusing on defining the roles of nesprins in cardiac cell function by determining the functional significance of novel nesprin-1 and -2 mutations on the linker of nucleoskeleton-and-cytoskeleton complex that connects the nuclear envelope to the actin cytoskeleton, and also identifying novel roles for nesprins in the sarcomere. This may reveal novel pathways that contribute to the development of cardiac cell dysfunction and cardiomyopathy.

Cardiovascular biology, cardiomyopathy, nesprin

Aris Lacis, cardiac surgeon, professor, MD, PhD graduated Riga Medical Institute in 1961. General and thoracic surgeon in P. Stradina University Hospital in Riga (1964–1969). Thoracic and cardiac surgeon in the Latvian Centre for Cardiovascular Surgery (1969–1994). Since 1994 until 2012 – the head of Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery Clinic in University Children’s Hospital, Riga; since 2012 – a consulting professor of this Clinic. Vicepresident of Latvian Society for Cardiovascular Surgery. President of Latvian Association for Pediatric Cardiologists. Author of 395 scientific publications, 3 monographs and 13 patents. Investigator in more than 10 clinical trials including cardiosurgical procedures performed under deep hypothermia, hybrid procedures etc. In May 2009 have been used transcutan intramyocardial delivery techniques for treatment (idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathia) the first 3 months aged patient in the world with autologous bone marrow derived progenitor cells. In November 2010 the first patient with end stage pulmonary hypertension received intrapulmonary implantation autologous stem cells.

Cardiovascular Surgery, Pediatric Cardiology, Pulmonary hypertension, Hypothermia