Tag Archives: American Heart Association

American Heart Association honors Dr. John Spertus with Distinguished Scientist Award

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John Spertus, M.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine and Daniel J. Lauer, M.D., Endowed Chair in Metabolism and Vascular Disease Research, was honored with the American Heart Association’s 2018 Distinguished Scientist Award.

John Spertus, M.D., M.P.H., professor of medicine and Daniel J. Lauer, M.D., Endowed Chair in Metabolism and Vascular Disease Research, received the American Heart Association’s 2018 Distinguished Scientist Award on Nov. 11 at the AHA Scientific Sessions in Chicago.

The award recognizes prominent scientists and clinicians who have made significant and sustained contributions to advancing the understanding, management and treatment of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

As clinical director of outcomes research at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, Spertus developed technology that guides physicians and patients in medical-decision making by using models to measure and predict the risk factors of various procedures. Many experts cite two tools he created — the Seattle Angina Questionnaire and the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire — as the gold standards for measuring symptoms, function and quality of life in treating coronary artery disease and heart failure. Both have been translated into more than 95 languages.

“I am humbled by the honor to be recognized by the AHA for our work to improve the patient-centeredness of care,” Spertus said. “While traditionally the basic sciences are prioritized, to see the work of our community to improve care and outcomes is a terrific validation of the collective efforts of my entire team and colleagues.”

Spertus is the founder of two outcomes research organizations. The Cardiovascular Outcomes Research Consortium and CV Outcomes is a non-profit corporation dedicated to advancing health care quality and outcomes research in cardiovascular disease. The Health Outcomes Sciences is an information technology company that implements precision medicine in clinical care.

He is currently leading a regional effort with BioNexus KC and the Frontiers CTSA to bring local hospitals together in collaboration to improve the value of health care in Kansas City.

This is Spertus’ third major award from the AHA. He previously received the organization’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015 and the Council on Quality of Care and Outcomes Research Distinguished Achievement Award in 2013.

Med School scientist receives American Heart Association grant for research study

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Mingui Fu, Ph.D.

The American Heart Association has awarded a $154,000 grant to UMKC School of Medicine scientist Mingui Fu, Ph.D., to conduct a two-pronged study that could lead to the development of novel therapies for vascular inflammatory diseases.

An associate professor in the Department of Biomedical Science, Fu has been studying the molecular process that leads to atherosclerosis, a thickening of the artery walls created by the buildup of plaque. Atherosclerosis is a common underlying issue surrounding cardiovascular disease and stroke.

While some therapies have proven beneficial, there are currently no available treatments to reduce the early steps that lead to the formation of these abnormal arterial masses.

Fu’s new study will explore at a molecular level the process by which a particular protein, TRIM65, has been found to target those molecules responsible for regulating inflammation, antivirus and cancers. The research also seeks to determine how the loss of the TRIM65 protein affects the adhesion of those abnormal fatty cells to arterial walls to produce atherosclerosis.

If successful, Fu’s study will define a regulatory pathway of endothelial activation and provide insights for developing new therapies for vascular inflammatory diseases such as atherosclerosis.

Recently, Fu and his research lab at the School of Medicine published a paper in the journal Scientific Reports that revealed the discovery of a novel secreted protein in body fat tissue that displayed a potent anti-inflammatory role in immune cells and vascular endothelial cells. In addition, he also has published a review article in Nature Reviews Immunology about RNA-binding proteins in immune regulation.

According to a 2017 report by the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease is the worldwide leading cause of death and is an underlying factor in nearly one-third of all deaths in the United States.