These Abstract Scholarship Awards have been funded by the American Thoracic Society

Francois Potus, PhD
LavaL University
Abstract Title: miR-126 Down-Regulation: A Specific Signature of Right Ventricle Failure in PAH

Soban Umar, MD, PhD
University of California, Los Angeles
Abstract Title: Y Chromosome Plays a Protective Role Against Hypoxia-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension in Gonadectomized Mice

Gagan S. Thangjam, PhD
Frank Reidy Research Center for Bioelectrics
Abstract Title: Hsp90 Inhibition Suppresses Bacterial Endotoxin-Mediated NF-κB Transcriptional Activation Via a Sirt-2 Dependent Epigenetic Mechanism in Human Lung Microvascular Endothelial Cells

Tufik Ramzi Assad, MD
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Abstract Title: Hemodynamic Evidence of Vascular Remodeling in Combined Pulmonary Hypertension

Alicia N. Rizzo, BA
University of Illinois at Chicago
Abstract Title: Abl Inhibition Attenuates LPS-Induced NFκB Activation and Pulmonary Neutrophil Recruitment

Daniel L. Fox, MD
University of Colorado
Abstract Title: Combining Growth Differentiation Factor-15 and Right Ventricular Strain Measured by Transthoracic Echocardiography Improves Mortality Prediction in Scleroderma-Associated Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Gregoire Ruffenach, MSc
LAVAL University
Abstract Title: RunX2 and Calcification Lesions in Experimental and Human Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Sarah Haeger, BSc
University of Colorado Denver
Abstract Title: Endothelial Glycocalyx-Derived Heparan Sulfate Fragments Impede Lung Repair During Sepsis

Jeffrey C. Robinson, MD
University of Colorado
Abstract Title: Exogenous Iron Supplementation in Acute Hypoxic Pulmonary Hypertension Leads to Decreased Hypoxia Inducible Factor Stabilization and Attenuated Right Ventricular Systolic Pressures

Neil Kelly, BSc
University of Pittsburgh
Abstract Title: Susceptibility to High-Fat Diet-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension is Associated with Reduced GI Alpha-Diversity and Altered Species Composition in Mice

Jarrod W Barnes, PhD
Cleveland Clinic Lerner Research
Abstract Title: O-GlcNAc Transferase Directs Cell Proliferation in Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Paul Lederer, MD
University of Illinois - Chicago
Abstract Title: PF-573,228, an Inhibitor of Focal Adhesion Kinase, Uniquely Mediates Pulmonary Endothelial Barrier Protection

Kathleen A. Clark, PhD(c), MS, RRT
University of South Carolina
Abstract Title: Impulse Oscillometry for the Assessment of Long-Term Lung Health in GRACE Millworkers Exposed to Chlorine Gas

Ayumi Sekine, MD
Chiba University
Abstract Title: Prominin-1/CD133 Expression Defines Cycling, Tissue-Resident Vascular Endothelial Progenitor Cells in the Pulmonary Circulation

Ke Yuan, PhD
Stanford University
Abstract Title: Increased PDK4 Expression in Pericytes Leads to Increased Proliferation but Reduced Endothelial-Pericyte Interactions and Vascular Remodeling in PAH

Peter M. George, MBBS BSc MRCP PhD
Imperial College London
Abstract Title: Effects of Pulmonary Embolism on Medium Term Cardiopulmonary Physiology: A Prospective Cohort Study

Navessa P. Tania, MSc
University of Groningen
Abstract Title: Endothelial Follistatin-Like-1 is Crucial for Normal Development of the Pulmonary Vasculature in Mice

Rebecca Harper, BSc, BA
Hanson Institute
Abstract Title: Upregulation of BMPR2 in Rat Derived Endothelial Progenitor Cells Leads to the Attenuation of PAH in a MCT Rat Model

Rubina M. Khair, MD MPH
Johns Hopkins University
Abstract Title: Validating the SF-36 in Scleroderma-Associated Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension

Ningyong Xu, BSc
University of South Alabama
Abstract Title: Orai1 is a Determinant of Pulmonary Endothelial Migration: Regulation of Extracellular Sodium Permeation Through the ISOC Channel

This Abstract Scholarship Award has been funded by a generous donataion from ATS Public Advisory Roundtable member- Pulmonary Hypertension Association

Rui Zhang, MD
Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine
Abstract Title:  Profiling of Nitric Oxide Pathways Predicts Hemodynamic Abnormalities and Mortality in Patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension