Executive Committee
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Julio A. Chirinos, MD, PhD is a Professor of Medicine in the Cardiovascular Division, Co-Director of the Clinical Research T32 Training Program in Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine, and Adjunct Faculty at the Center for Magnetic Resonance and Optical Imaging, at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. He is a specialist in cardiac imaging (echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging). He is also adjunct Faculty at the University of Ghent in Belgium, where he maintains an active collaboration with the Asklepios Investigators. His PhD training was focused on the non-invasive assessment of arterial hemodynamics in humans.
He directs an NIH-funded research program focused on the role of arterial stiffness and pulsatile hemodynamics in cardiovascular disease, mechanisms of human heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), the use of proteomics to discern mechanisms of heart failure, and the cardiovascular consequences of COVID-19. He currently leads clinical studies designed to therapeutically target the arterial tree in order to reduce the consequences of adverse pulsatile hemodynamics on the heart. He also leads various cohort studies in which deep cardiovascular phenotyping is aimed at characterizing phenotypic profiles and mechanisms of disease in humans, including general community studies, and clinical studies in patients with HFpEF and COVID-19 survivors.
Dr. Chirinos has published >250 papers in high-impact journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, New England Journal of Medicine Evidence, The Lancet, The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), Circulation, Hypertension and Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC). He has received awards or honorary fellowships from the American Heart Association, the Inter-American Society of Cardiology, the American Society of Hypertension, the European Society of Cardiology, and the Korean Society of Cardiology. He has also received multiple research grants from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the National Institute on Aging (NIA), the National Institutes for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), the American College of Radiology (ACR), and the American Heart Association (AHA), among others. He has participated in various clinical expert committees for the American Heart Association, American Society of Echocardiography, European Society of Cardiology, American Society of Hypertension, European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging and the Lancet Commission for Hypertension. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Chirinos led 2 international multicenter trials testing therapeutic strategies related to the intersection of COVID-19 and cardiovascular disease. He is the co-Chair of the Global Heart Failure biomarker consortium, an international effort aimed at characterizing novel protein biomarkers in heart failure. He is also the University of Pennsylvania Principal Investigator and member of the Steering Committee of Heart Share, a multicenter research consortium funded by the NHLBI aimed at discerning mechanisms of disease in human Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction.
He is currently the President of the North American Artery society, which promotes the study of arterial function as a determinant of cardiovascular disease. He was also an Associate Editor of the American Heart Association Journal Circulation Heart Failure, the journal of Clinical Hypertension, Editor of the Cochrane Group (Cochrane Collaboration), Senior Consulting Editor of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology – Cardiovascular Imaging and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of the American Heart Association, Pulse and the Journal of Geriatric Cardiology. He is the editor of a comprehensive textbook on Arterial Stiffness and Pulsatile Hemodynamics (Arterial Stiffness and Pulsatile Hemodynamics in Health and Disease; Elsevier, 2022).
Dr. Chirinos also directs a core analysis laboratory for assessments of cardiac and arterial structure and function with non-invasive imaging, which has served as the core lab for various multicenter studies, including multicenter population studies, clinical cohort studies, American College of Radiology Network studies and industry-funded studies. He has been an invited speaker in >150 scientific sessions
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A native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Dr. Thais Coutinho received her medical degree from the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro in 2004, and completed residency and fellowship training in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, Vascular Medicine, Advanced Echocardiography, and Research at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, in 2013. During her training, she received numerous awards, including the American Heart Association’s Young Investigator Award (2011), the Mayo Clinic’s Summerskill Research Award (2013) and the Mayo Clinic’s Cardiovascular Division Outstanding Achievement Award (2013).
Upon graduating, Dr. Coutinho joined the University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) as a Clinician-Scientist and continued to receive Awards for her research and advocacy, including the Canadian Cardiovascular Society’s Young Investigator Award (2015), the UOHI Academic Medical Organization Research Award for Clinical Science (2016) and Public Education (2018), the UOHI Global Achievement Award (2019), the Women as One Escalator Award (2021), The Ottawa Hospital Department of Medicine Jeff Turnbull Healthcare Advocacy Award (2021), the Canadian Cardiovascular Society’s Dr. Harold N. Segall Award of Merit (2022), and the University of Ottawa Faculty of Medicine’s Early Career Researcher of the Year Award – Clinical (2022).
In 2017, she was appointed Chief of the Division of Cardiac Prevention and Rehabilitation and Chair of the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Centre. This was a historical moment for the UOHI, as Dr. Coutinho was the first woman in the Institution’s 40-year history to be appointed as Division Chief.
Dr. Coutinho has published several high impact manuscripts in the field of Cardiovascular Diseases and has secured over 16 million dollars in research grants, with over 4 million dollars as a Principal Investigator. Her research program focuses on aortic function and hemodynamics, with a special emphasis on arterial stiffness and its role on the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases such as thoracic aortic aneurysms, pre-eclampsia and heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. She applies a sex- and gender-lens to all of her investigations, evaluating sex differences in arterial aging and how it may help explain sex differences in cardiovascular diseases.
Dr. Coutinho is also a sought-after educator, having addressed audiences at many national and international meetings, in addition to her efforts on public education and women’s heart health advocacy. She has co-Chaired the first (2016), second (2018), third (2021) and fourth (2023) Canadian Women’s Heart Health Summit, the largest conference in the world dedicated exclusively to the cardiovascular health of women. Further, she is passionate about advancing knowledge translation about women’s cardiovascular health issues, and to accomplish this she has launched, with her team, the Canadian Women’s Heart Health Alliance, whose Executive Steering Committee she chaired until her departure from Canada in the summer of 2023. This Alliance’s Mission is to provide leadership in the development, implementation and evaluation of cardiovascular prevention and management strategies to improve women’s cardiovascular health.
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Gary L. Pierce, PhD, FAHA, FAPS is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Health and Human Physiology and the Russell B. Day and Florence D. Day Chair in Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Iowa. Dr. Pierce is also an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine, Division of Nephrology and Hypertension in the Carver College of Medicine at the University of Iowa where he also directs the Vascular Core Laboratory in the Institute for Clinical and Translational Science Clinical Research Unit. He is a faculty member in the Abboud Cardiovascular Research Center and the Fraternal Order of Eagles Diabetes Research Center in the Carver College of Medicine and an Associate Member of the Environmental Health Sciences Research Center in the College of Public Health at the University of Iowa. Dr. Pierce is a fellow of the American Heart Association and the American Physiological Society and on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Applied Physiology, Experimental Physiology and Clinical Science. He is Treasurer of the North American Artery (NAA) Society and has been Co-Chair of NAA Annual Meeting Program Committee since 2013. He received a PhD in Applied Physiology and Kinesiology with a focus in cardiovascular exercise physiology from the University of Florida and completed postdoctoral training in vascular aging/physiology in the Department of Integrative Physiology at the University of Colorado Boulder. He has published 100+ articles in the areas of mechanisms of vascular aging (endothelial function/arterial stiffness) and interventions to prevent/treat vascular and cognitive aging in humans and has been continuously funded by the NIH or AHA since 2013. He has been a faculty member at the University of Iowa since 2011.
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Dr. Stella S. Daskalopoulou is an Internist with special interest in Vascular Medicine. She is a tenured Associate Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine (Divisions of Internal Medicine and Experimental Medicine), Faculty of Medicine, McGill University.
Dr. Daskalopoulou’s research program centers around the identification of early markers of vascular impairment and maintenance of vascular health, with a focus on cardio-metabolic diseases, women’s health, and vascular disease prevention. She performs research in hypertension, arterial stiffness in subjects with different cardiovascular risk factors, including pre-eclampsia, hypertension, diabetes, and smoking, as well as in atherosclerotic disease where she is working towards the identification of novel pathways of atherosclerotic plaque instability.
Dr. Daskalopoulou has established and directs the Vascular Health Unit at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), which includes a clinical and a wet-bench lab, and where she is conducting her vascular research projects. She has been co-Leader of the Cardiovascular Health Across the Lifespan (CHAL) Program of the Research Institute of the MUHC, and the Director of the Scholarly Activity Rotation for McGill Internal Medicine Residents at the Montreal General Hospital.
She has over 200 high-quality peer-reviewed publications, and over 6500 citations for her work, with an h-index of 47. She has received research funding from several agencies, including the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada, and Fonds de recherche du Québec - Santé (> $8 million as a Principal/co-Principal Investigator).
She is the co-Chair of the hypertension Canada Guidelines, and the Chair of the Central Review Committee of the Hypertension Canada Guidelines. She is also the secretary of the North American Artery Society.
She holds several personal awards, including, among others: the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Quebec Award of Excellence - John J. Day M.D., the Department of Medicine Early Career Staff Research Award; the Hypertension Canada Jacques-de-Champlain New Investigator Award for significant dedication and contributions to research and health services in Canada; the Department of Medicine, McGill University Early Career Staff Research Award; the Young Researcher Award of Excellence from the HSFQ; the Canadian Foundation for Women’s Health Research Award; the Bourse FRSQ - La Société Québécoise d’Hypertension Artérielle Jacques-de-Champlain; and the Canadian Society of Internal Medicine New Investigator Award.
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Elaine Urbina is Professor of Pediatrics (Cardiology) and Director of Preventive Cardiology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. She began her research career with the Bogalusa Heart Study in 1991 where she initiated non-invasive CV imaging studies on young adults. She later extended this research to adolescents with obesity-related CV risk factors. She has been continuously funded by NIH and/or AHA since 1994. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Heart Association and past chair of the Atherosclerosis, Hypertension and Obesity in Youth committee of the Young Hearts council of AHA. She is also president of the International Pediatric HTN Association and the North American Artery Association. https://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/research/cores/cardio-imaging/
Bioengineering
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Dr. Pahlevan is an Associate Professor of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering at the Viterbi School of Engineering and an Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California (USC). Dr. Pahlevan received B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tehran, M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from California State University, Northridge, and PhD in Bioengineering from California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in 2013. He completed his postdoctoral training in hemodynamics and cardiovascular imaging at Caltech and Huntington Medical Research Institutes (HMRI) as a Boswell fellow. He is the recipient of both the NSF CAREER Award and the American Heart Association’s Career Development Award. In 2022, he received the Junior Research Award from USC's Viterbi School of Engineering. He is an Executive Editorial Board Member of Physiological Measurement and an Academic Editor at PLOS ONE. He also serves on the Editorial Board of Scientific Reports (Nature). In 2022, he was appointed the Gordon S. Marshall Early Career Chair in Engineering. He was honored as a Fellow of the American Heart Association (FAHA) in 2024 and named a Senior Member of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) in 2025.
NAA Conference Committee
Gary Pierce, PhD (Co-Chair, NAA Treasurer)
Professor
University of Iowa
Stella Daskalopoulou, MD, PhD (NAA Secretary)
Professor
McGill University
Ray Townsend, MD, PhD (NAA Past-President)
Professor
University of Pennsylvania
Demetra Christou, PhD
Associate Professor
University of Florida
Andrew Tran, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor
Nationwide Children’s Hospital and Ohio State University College of Medicine
Carol Kotliar, MD
Professor
Hospital Universitario Austral, Buenos Aires
Julio Chirinos, MD, PhD (NAA President)
Professor
University of Pennsylvania
Vienna Brunt, PhD
Assistant Professor
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Zachary Clayton, PhD (Co-Chair)
Assistant Professor
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Tina Brinkley, PhD
Associate Professor
Wake Forest University
Thais Coutinho, MD (NAA Vice President)
Professor
Mayo Clinic
Elizabeth Lefferts, PhD
Assistant Professor
Iowa State University
Jennifer DuPont, PhD
Assistant Professor
Tufts University School of Medicine
David Edwards, PhD
Professor
University of Delaware
Kerrie Moreau, PhD
Professor
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Ashley Walker, PhD
Associate Professor
University of Oregon
Wes Lefferts, PhD
Assistant Professor
Iowa State University
Niema Pahlevan, PhD
Associate Professor
University of Southern California
Adam Gepner, MD
Assistant Professor
University of Wisconsin
Early Investigator Committee
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Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology, Iowa State University
Fun fact: I met my wife at NAA! I have also been to Everest Base Camp twice on research expeditions.
Why I joined NAA’s EIC: I want EIC to provide a social network and opportunity for newcomers to NAA to find friends and network. I first attended NAA without knowing anyone and I stumbled into Bo Fernhall's lab. They were my EIC. I want EIC to be able to welcome new attendees and provide them with some structured events and opportunities to meet new people and make new connections without feeling alone or isolated at a new conference, since that can be intimidating.
Twitter: @weslefferts
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Assistant Professor, Pediatric Cardiology; Director, Preventive Cardiology; The Heart Center, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH
Fun Fact: I have a tradition of finding new sushi places to try whenever I go to conferences. Let me know if you have any suggestions!
What NAA means to me: A dynamic group of people pushing the field of arterial health forward
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewhtran/
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PhD student, Department of Human Physiology, University of Oregon
Fun fact: My passion has always been researching Alzheimer’s disease with a background in the neuroscience. However, after joining the Aging and Vascular Physiology Lab, I learned by adding vascular physiology to the equation there is a greater impact on solving the mechanisms of the disease.
Why I joined NAA EIC: I joined NAA to collaborate and network with highly motivated individuals to better the world of vascular-related diseases.
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sky-ferguson-13a5a4283
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Division of Geriatrics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Fun Fact: I am a Jiu Jitsu practitioner and I have two very vocal huskies.
Why I joined NAA EIC: My graduate training focused on cardiac and skeletal muscle physiology, but my interest in vascular physiology emerged late in my doctoral studies when I attended my first NAA meeting. The experience was inspiring, and I hope to share the opportunities NAA has to offer with other trainees and encourage those with similar paths to pursue their research interests, even with limited experience.
What NAA means to you: To me, NAA is a welcoming community united by a shared goal—improving the quality of life for older adults and those at risk for cardiovascular disease.
Social Media tags: @B_NguyenCU
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Assistant Professor, Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Fun fact: I spent most of my time growing up immersed in the arts –ballet, violin, acting, musical theater – but I also loved science and medicine. I think what most drew me to research is that it both fulfills my interest in scientific inquiry while fostering creativity!
What NAA means to me: NAA conferences showcase excellent science that is highly relevant to my research, but in an environment that's more supportive and conducive to building strong professional relationships. Each time I have attended, I have come back with new connections and friends, inspired, and excited to do more science.
Twitter: @viennabrunt
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Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesiology, Medical College of Wisconsin Medical Campus
Fun fact: I have a large collection of Star Wars books
Why I joined NAA EIC: NAA was the first conference I attended as a Ph.D. student and ignited a career path that has kept paying off due to the connections made and ideas generated.
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James Boswell Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Medical Engineering, California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Fun fact: I’ve used latte art to demonstrate vortex rings in the heart’s blood flow, it works!
What NAA means to you: To me, NAA represents a forward-looking community shaping the future of arterial function and hemodynamics. It brings together researchers from diverse disciplines who share the same passion for understanding and improving vascular health.
Social media tags, LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rashidalavi/
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Research Assistant Professor, School of Health and Human Sciences, Kansas State University
Fun Fact: My dad is a cardiometabolic physiologist and researcher, so I spent a lot of time in the lab long before knowing what any of the equipment did. Honestly, there are still a few things in his lab that I have no idea what they do!
Why I joined NAA’s EIC: I didn’t know anyone at NAA the first time I attended the conference as a trainee, and it was incredible to be welcomed so quickly into the organization. With the EIC, I want to contribute to that same experience for other trainees to let them know how much enjoyment and development that NAA can provide.
What NAA means to me: The NAA conferences have provided really unique insight for me over the last few years, spanning from discovery in clinical settings to mechanisms in pre-clinical models. The science, networking and connections make NAA conferences something I look forward to every year.
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Assistant Professor
Department of Exercise Science
Syracuse UniversityFun fact: I was born and raised in Wales, UK, and completed my PhD in Australia.
What NAA means to me: NAA is the most accessible conference for those interested in studying blood pressure and arterial function.
Twitter: @mkarmstrong991
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/matthew-k-armstrong-phd-35bb94243
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Assistant Professor, Department of Kinesiology, Iowa State University
Fun fact: Not only can you pick up a pulse by placing a tonometry probe over my descending aorta, but you can get an operator index >90.
Why I joined NAA’s EIC: I am excited about the EIC as it presents a unique platform for early career investigators to network with both peers and established ‘big names’ in the field within a close-knit and welcoming conference environment.
What NAA means to me: Some of my greatest conference memories come from attending NAA (and the associated socials!) and I look forward to trying to increase engagement among current attendees and hopeful new attendees as well!
Twitter: @e_lefferts
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Assistant Professor, Division of Geriatric Medicine
Department of Medicine
University of Colorado Anschutz Medical CampusFun fact: I did not study arterial function during graduate school but made the pivot for my postdoc and couldn't imagine working in another field!
What NAA means to me: A highly supportive group of like-minded individuals with a passion for studying arterial health
Twitter: @ZachSClayton
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PhD candidate, School of Kinesiology, University of Michigan
Fun fact - If I wasn't an exercise physiologist, I would be a spin instructor.
Why you joined EIC: I joined EIC to collaborate with like-minded individuals who are dedicated to making a positive impact in our field
vi. Twitter: @marnie_mclean
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Post Doctoral Fellow in the Division of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine
Fun fact: One of my wedding songs was "Come and get your love" by Redbone, indeed inspired by Guardians of the Galaxy.
Why join EIC: I joined EIC to encourage trainees to take risk and step out of their comfort zone because you never know what ideas or collaborations it will spark for your future. I also enjoy networking with people and hearing their stories of what drives their passions in research.
What NAA means to me: NAA is the like the left ventricle of my early career training. As a trainee it has been a strong propeller of ejecting me out of my own comfort zone into training opportunities and fueling my love for the vasculature, allowing me to recognize the multitude of lenses it can be investigated through.
Social media: @kenziekehmeier.bsky.social