AHA Scientific Sessions, Philadelphia 2023

The American Heart Association Scientific Sessions was back in Philly for 2023! A great time to catch up with colleagues, friends and former Temple trainees and continue to learn about the world of science while at this meeting.

The lab had a nice showing with John as a moderator for multiple sessions, and senior lab member Andrew also having the opportunity to moderate a session. And lastly, fellow senior lab member Joanne gave an abstract oral presentation.

The Aging + Cardiovascular Discovery Center hosted the AHA After Party at Howl at the Moon for colleagues around the world.

TRiMAD Conference 2023- Pittsburgh, PA

TRiMAD - Translational Research in Mitochondria, Metabolism, Aging and Disease was back in person for the first time in three years. A meeting to discuss all things mitochondria and an excellent opportunity to network, the Elrod Lab headed to Pittsburgh to take part in this remarkable event!

Highlights from the week:

  • Tyler was selected to present an abstract on mitochondria in aging.

  • Joanne gave a brief talk on the newest Elrod Lab discovery project: TMEM and it’s role as a positive regulator of mitochondrial calcium efflux.

SUMMER 2023 RECAP

This was a busy summer for the Elrod Lab! The trainees traveled the country attending and presenting at multiple conferences and even came home with multiple awards! Here is a recap of what went down:

Gordon Research Conference: Epigenetic Regulation of Cardiovascular Disease, Ventura, California: June 17-23, 2023

  • Mike gave a seminar talk and presented at paper entitled Nuclear Acetyl-CoA Metabolism Regulates Chromatin-Dependent Activation of the Myofibroblast Gene Program.

  • John lead a discussion on Metabolism and Epigenetics.

ISHR NAS, Madison, Wisconsin: June 27-30, 2023

  • Andrew was a first place poster winner.

  • Joanne was a finalist for the Richard J. Bing Outstanding Young Investigator Competition.

DAWN MARKS DAY: August 30, 2023

  • Henry received a Best Poster Award

Congratulations to all of our winners!

Second Annual DCVS Scientific Retreat

The Department of Cardiovascular Sciences held their Second Annual Scientific Retreat on March 23, 2023.

Many Elrod lab trainees presented posters including undergrad student, Ryan Gaspar. Andrew Gibb was selected to give a faculty seminar on metabolic control of fibroblast faste.

The Annual Holiday Party 2023

The Department of Cardiovascular Sciences held their annual holiday party at Top Tomato in Center City. It was a great time to spread some holiday cheer with all of the labs in the departments!

We can’t wait to see what 2024 brings!

Undergrad Research Symposium

Ryan Gaspar, our undergrad superstar and doppelgänger of his mentor Dr. Andrew Gibb, presented a poster titled “Genetic Deletion of Cardiomyocyte Glutamine Synthetase in a Model of HF Hints at Cardiomyocyte to Fibroblast Metabolic Crosstalk Mediating Fibrosis” at the College of Science and Technology 2022 Fall Symposium.

Excellent work Ryan!

Dawn Marks Day 2022 - trainee showcase

The Elrod Lab wins again at Dawn Marks Day, a graduate school research symposium to highlight work by trainees in the biomedical sciences. Mike Lazaropoulos (MD/PhD student) took home 1st place for his poster titled “Acetyl-CoA Synthesis by ATP-Citrate Lyase is Essential for Myofibroblast Differentiation and Persistence”.


Excellent work Mike!

AHA BCVS 2022 - Chicago, IL

The gang made their way to Chicago for American Heart Association’s Basic Cardiovascular Sciences Scientific Sessions.

Joanne received the award for the top postdoctoral poster for her work titled “Mitochondrial calcium accumulation drives the progression of non-ischemic heart failure: Integrated lessons from genetic mouse models”. Mike presented a poster as well titled, “Acetyl-CoA Synthesis is Required for Chromatin Remodeling in Myofibroblast Differentiation and Persistence”.

Joanne caught up with former Elrod Lab post doc - DT (now faculty at Wake Forest)!

ISHR World Congress in Berlin, Germany - GIBB WINS PRESTIGIOUS BING AWARD

Berlin was a successful trip for the Elrod lab as they took on the ISHR World Congress!

Andrew won the prestigious Bing Young Investigator Award Competition for his presentation titled “Glutaminolysis is essential for myofibroblast persistence and in vivo targeting reverses fibrosis and cardiac dysfunction in heart failure”.

Joanne presented a poster titled "Manipulation of cardiomyocyte MCU expression reveals distinct consequences of mitochondrial calcium uptake in early versus late adaptation to sustained stress" and was awarded an ISHR World Congress Early Career Investigator Travel Award.

LKSOM Educational Excellence Awards

The Lewis Katz School of Medicine Educational Excellence Awards highlights the successes of the faculty mentors throughout the school of medicine. To win the award, current students and trainees nominate their mentors for consideration. Our valiant leader, John, was awarded the Research Mentoring Award. John’s trainees - graduate students and postdoctoral fellows have won countless awards for presentations and posters - nationally and internationally - and have been awarded numerous fellowships and grants, including two recent NIH K99 grants. Anyone working within the Elrod Lab knows that John is an excellent mentor and we are very happy to have others acknowledge the success he has had!

CONGRATS JOHN!

More about the awards ceremony here.

The man, the myth, the legend... Trevor is off to Penn!

Our wonderful lab manager, Trevor, is taking the next steps in his career to be the Director of Lab Operations at the University of Pennsylvania’s Gene Therapy Program. Trevor has been with the lab for over 6 years and has been instrumental in the success of everyone in the lab. The lab celebrated with with a few rounds of simulated golf at Five Iron Golf.

Best of luck Trev! We will miss you and all of your stories!

Pooja and DT off to wake forest university!

Pooja and DT both took the next steps in their academic careers as they begin tenure-track faculty positions in the Department of Internal Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. These two have been instrumental to the lab’s many successes and research direction yielding excellent publications and awards. They have been excellent mentors to numerous fellow trainees in the lab.

We will miss them greatly, but they are going to achieve big things and making massive strides in their prospective fields!

ISHR - Denver, Colorado - ANDREW IS THE YOUNG INVESTIGATOR AWARD WINNER!

The lab had a successful week at the International Society for Heart Research Conference in Denver, Colorado. This was our first ‘in-person’ meeting in two years! It was great to see old friends and colleagues as well as make some new ones.

The lab had a strong showing with many award winners! Andrew won the ISHR Young Investigator Competition Award, DT was a finalist for the ISHR Senior trainee Investigator Competition , and Joanne and Mike both won Michael Bristow Trainee Investigator Awards.

Jonathan returns from Italy!

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Jonathan came back to the lab for a visit to tell us all about his adventures in Italy! The lab enjoyed their time at Jonathan’s favorite brewery in the city, Evil Genius , and played many rounds of corn hole.

Introducing Dr. Emma Murray

Emma Murray (PhD student) defended her thesis "N-ethylmaleimide sensitive factor (NSF) is a regulator of plasma membrane rupture and necrotic cell death" on April 8th. The lab celebrated her successful defense at Harper’s Garden in Center City. Emma has now transitioned to an industry position as a precision medicine scientist at the Rajant Corporation. Congratulations Emma and best of luck!

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CTM faculty came out to celebrate Em’s achievements!

CTM faculty came out to celebrate Em’s achievements!