DALLAS, Dec. 9, 2022 — Sarah Margaret Urbut, M.D., Ph.D., was selected as the inaugural winner of the Quest Diagnostics and Steve Rusckowski Early Career Investigator Award for Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine Research. Dr. Urbut’s research was selected from five finalists who presented their abstracts to the award selection committee on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, during the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2022 in Chicago. The 2022 awards selection committee included Monica Mukherjee, M.D., M.P.H., FAHA, chair of the Association’s Council on Clinical Cardiology Fellow-in-Training and Early Career Committee; Mohit Pahuja, M.B.B.S.; Carl Streed Jr., M.D., M.P.H.; and Marc S. Penn, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Urbut presented her abstract, “Dynamic Importance Of Genomic And Nongenomic Risk Factors For Coronary Artery Disease Over The Life Course,” focused on a new framework to predict coronary artery disease within the course of an individual’s lifespan. Her research examined how time-related variables impact genomic and nongenomic risk factors throughout a person’s lifecycle and incorporated that information into calculating risk trajectory. Previous research into coronary artery disease development examined risk factors within a fixed time window and had only been successful in predicting early onset coronary artery disease.
The four other 2022 award finalists who presented their research abstracts to the awards selection committee on Nov. 5, 2022, were: Amélie Paquin, M.D., M.Sc.; Nilay S. Shah, M.D., M.P.H.; Renato Quispe, M.D., M.H.S.; and Tara Shrout Allen, M.D., M.Sc.
“Congratulations to Dr. Sarah Margaret Urbut for her research abstract, as the inaugural recipient of this new Early Career Investigator Award focused on improving cardiovascular disease prevention,” said the American Heart Association’s Chief Executive Officer Nancy Brown. “We are grateful for the research dedication and innovation of Dr. Urbut and the four other finalists; their work is crucial to the continued evolution of preventive cardiovascular care. Thank you to Quest Diagnostics and Steve Rusckowski for their ongoing support of the Association’s lifesaving mission and support for this award celebrating the science contributions of early career physicians and scientists.”
Dr. Urbut is a fellow in cardiovascular medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and a postdoctoral fellow in statistical genetics at the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT. She earned a bachelor’s degree in molecular biology from Princeton University. She earned a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and a doctorate in human genetics at the University of Chicago. Dr. Urbut completed her residency at Yale New Haven Hospital and Yale University.
The Quest Diagnostics and Steve Rusckowski Early Career Investigator Award for Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine Research is supported by Quest Cardiometabolic Center of Excellence at Cleveland Heart Lab and named for Quest Diagnostics’ retired CEO. The competition is open to all professional members of the Association who are active in research and in training as an undergraduate or pre-doctoral student and within 10 years of completing a medical fellowship or residency as of the award application date.
Submissions for the 2023 Quest Diagnostics and Steve Rusckowski Early Career Investigator Award will open in April 2023, with applications due mid-June. Abstracts submitted may be based on clinical studies, preclinical studies or research and must be submitted in the Council on Clinical Cardiology or the Council on Cardiovascular Surgery and Anesthesia abstract presentation categories. Up to 5 finalists will be selected to present their abstract during Scientific Sessions, and the winner will be honored with a plaque, a cash prize and travel stipend. The finalists’ abstracts will also be designated in the Scientific Sessions online supplement to the Association’s flagship scientific journal Circulation.
Additional Resources:
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The American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2022 is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science. The 3-day meeting featured more than 500 sessions focused on breakthrough cardiovascular basic, clinical and population science updates occurring Saturday through Monday, November 5-7, 2022. Thousands of leading physicians, scientists, cardiologists, advanced practice nurses and allied health care professionals from around the world convened to participate in basic, clinical and population science presentations, discussions and curricula to shape the future of cardiovascular science and medicine, including prevention and quality improvement. During the three-day meeting, attendees received exclusive access to more than 4,000 original research presentations and the opportunity to earn Continuing Medical Education (CME), Continuing Education (CE) or Maintenance of Certification (MOC) credits for educational sessions. Engage in Scientific Sessions 2022 on social media via #AHA22.
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