2020 Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting

The High Blood Pressure Research Council of Australia are delighted to advise we will be running a fully virtual “Annual Scientific Meeting Experience” on the 3rd and 4th of December 2020!

It will have all of the benefits of a regular Annual Scientific Meeting, including the opportunity for Students and Early Career Researchers to compete for the prestigious awards HBPRCA offers, without the hassle of travelling interstate and paying for flights and accommodation!

The entire event can be experienced right from the comfort of your own home and coupled with an impressive line-up of invited guest speakers, both international lecturers and home-grown experts this first of its kind virtual meeting is sure to be a success.

This program will again be of great interest to clinicians and researchers alike in this area and is the flagship virtual event of the year. There will be terrific opportunities for learning and as you can see from the high calibre speakers already confirmed below, the education and science will be of the highest standard.

Keep an eye out in your inbox as the draft program will be released shortly and ensure you register early to take advantage of the early bird rates!

Invited Speakers include:

RD Wright invited Lecturer: Prof. Martha Gulati

MS, FACC, FAHA, Division Chief, Cardiology, College of Medicine, Phoenix Arizona

As division chief of Cardiology for the UA College of Medicine – Phoenix and physician executive director for the Banner – University Medicine Heart Institute, Dr. Martha Gulati leads educational activities in cardiovascular sciences for medical students, residents and fellows at the college and Banner Health. She also heads clinical heart care as the director of the Cardiovascular Institute at Banner.

She completed medical school at the University of Toronto, Canada; her internship, residency and cardiology fellowship at the University of Chicago; is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association; and is board-certified in cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Gulati is passionate about the study of women and heart disease, as well as about its prevention. As the principal investigator of the St. James Women Take Heart Project, a study examining cardiac risk factors in women, she’s helped to set new standards for women’s fitness levels and heart rate response to exercise in women. In addition, she is a co-investigator on the Women Ischemic Syndrome Evaluation (WISE); she previously served as a co-investigator on the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI); is a member of numerous advisory boards and societies, including the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology; and has published articles in peer-reviewed publications, such as The New England Journal of Medicine, Circulation and Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Her exceptional commitment to this prevalent health issue has also won her numerous awards and distinctions.

Prior to her time with the UA College of Medicine – Phoenix, Dr. Gulati served as an associate professor of Medicine and Clinical Public Health in the Division of Cardiology at the Ohio State University, where she was the Sarah Ross Soter Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health and the section director for Women’s Cardiovascular Health and Preventive Cardiology.

Read more HERE

Colin I Johnston invited Lecturer: A/Prof. Elisabeth Lambert

Swinburne University of Technology

A/Prof Elisabeth Lambert joined the Faculty of Health, Art and Design in February 2017. She previously worked at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute for 18 years. Elisabeth’s research program focusses on the sympathetic nervous function in a number of important clinical conditions such as hypertension, obesity, metabolic syndrome, type-2 diabetes and chronic kidney disease. Most of her efforts have focused on the understanding of the role played by the sympathetic nervous system in the development of metabolic abnormalities and organ damage with a view of implementing novel treatment modalities in order to decrease cardiovascular risk.

Recent major achievements of her group include:

• Refinement and application of techniques for studying single-unit muscle sympathetic nerve activity in the context of hypertension and obesity as well as anxiety/affective disorders.
• Identifying a defect in the noradrenaline transporter, a key protein of the sympathetic nerve terminals, in the pathology of postural tachycardia syndrome.
• Demonstration that young normotensive individuals with excess adiposity have subclinical organ damage (cardiac, renal and endothelial) and that the degree of organ dysfunction is directly related to the degree of sympathetic activation.
• Demonstration that the hormone ghrelin was involved in modulating sympathetic nervous activity and stress response.
• Demonstration of the link between sympathetic activity and endothelial dysfunction in women with dyslipidemia.
• Elisabeth Lambert has published over 150 papers and has been a chief investigator on 10 NHMRC grants.

Read more about her work HERE

Austin Doyle invited Lecturer: Prof. Suzanne Cory

BSc Melb PhD Cantab Hon DSc Syd Hon DSc Oxon FAA FRS, Laboratory Head, Blood Cells and Blood Cancer Division, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research

Professor Cory’s  laboratory investigates the role of different genetic changes in the development of leukemia and lymphoma. They also examine how these changes influence the response of cancer cells to chemotherapy.

They study leukaemogenesis, with a particular focus on MYC, a potent oncoprotein, and the BCL-2 family of proteins, which control cell life and death. They pioneered transgenic models of human Burkitt’s lymphoma, which is provoked by MYC, and follicular lymphoma, provoked by BCL-2. They collaborated in the development of agents called BH3 mimetics, which block the action of specific pro-survival Bcl-2 family proteins. Using their models, they have shown that a combination of a BH3 mimetic with low dose chemotherapy is highly efficacious in vivo against aggressive lymphomas that express high levels of BCL-2 and MYC. They are now testing BH3 mimetic combination therapy to treat acute myeloid leukaemia (AML).

The lab is currently investigating the role of MNT, a MYC-related protein, in lymphocytes and lymphoid tumours.

Read more HERE

Pricing schedule:

Thanks to the following sponsors:

Medtronic – Platinum Sponsors

Servier – Gold Sponsors

CSL – Bronze Sponsors

Awards available include:

Early Career Researcher (ECR) Oral and Poster Awards 

Best Oral Prizes of $1,000 will be awarded to the best presentation in the Early Career Researcher Oral Award Finalists Session and also to the best Student Oral Presentation.
Best Poster Prizes of $500 will be awarded to the best Early Career Researcher presentation and also to the best student presentation.

AHA Council on Hypertension Research Award 

This is a single award to the highest scoring presentation from either the Early Career Investigator Oral Award Finalists or the Student Oral Presentation Award Finalists. The prize is a formal invitation to attend and present at the following AHA Hypertension Scientific Sessions, typically held in September. The award comprises an amount of $3,000 towards travel expenses.

Overseas Conference Award

This is a single award to the highest scoring presentation from either the Early Career Investigator Oral Award Finalists or the Student Oral Presentation Award Finalists. The award comprises an amount of $3,000 towards travel expenses to attend a Hypertension Conference of your choosing (subject to ability to travel).

Judith Whitworth Award

The highest ranked abstract for which the first named author is a woman will receive the Judith Whitworth Women in High Blood Pressure Research Award. Only current HBPRCA members are eligible.

The awardee will be announced at the ASM, where this person will receive a certificate and a $250 prize.

Jaye Chin-Dusting Award 

A one page nomination by a HBPRCA member should be submitted, outlining the nominee’s contributions to high blood pressure research. A mid-career scientist (between 5-20 years post PhD) will receive the Jaye Chin-Dusting Award. Only current HBPRCA members are eligible.

The awardee will be announced at the ASM, where this person will receive a certificate and an award of $250.

Paul Korner Medal

A senior scientist (>20 years post-PhD) who is an active researcher and has made a significant contribution to high blood pressure and the HBPRCA will receive the Paul Korner Senior Scientist in High Blood Pressure Research Medal. Only current HBPRCA members who are attending the ASM are eligible (attendance may be excused under certain circumstances).

Nominations for both the Paul Korner Medal and the Jaye Chin-Dusting award are due by the 31st of August to admin@yoursecretariat.com.au

Click HERE for more information on awards available.

Abstracts:

Please click HERE to download our ‘How to guide’ for submitting abstracts online.

Due to the nature of this Virtual Meeting, depending on whether you are selected as an Oral vs Poster will determine how your abstract is presented. All abstracts will be pre-recorded and sent through to our AV team ahead of time. Once you have received confirmation that your abstract has been selected our AV team will be in touch to assist and give you more information on recording your presentation.

If you are selected for an oral abstract you will be given 15 minutes in total to present your abstract, 10 minutes to present and then 5 minutes of questions which will be read by the moderator of your session. Your 10-minute presentation will be pre-recorded and then played on the day of the meeting, once your presentation is finished playing you will be brought in live with the moderator for your Q&A.

If you are selected for a poster abstract you will be given 2 minutes and 2 slides to present your abstract. Your 2 minute presentation will be pre-recorded and then played at the meeting with live chat function underneath your video for Q&A.

If you are selected as a poster finalist you will be given 5 minutes in total to present your abstract, 3 minutes to present and then 2 minutes of questions which will be read by the moderator of your session. Your 3 minutes presentation will be pre-recorded and then played on the day of the meeting, once your presentation is finished playing you will be brought in live with the moderator for your Q&A.

Prior to the meeting if you have a live component such as the Q&A to your presentation our AV team will be in touch to give you a test run in the system so you are familiar on the day.

Abstract key dates are:

Abstract and registration open July 31st

Abstracts close October 16th

Notification of acceptance/oral vs poster releases October 30th

Abstracts withdrawn for non-registration cut off November 21st

If you have any questions on abstracts or submission do not hesitate to contact admin@yoursecretariat.com.au

Draft Program

The interactive draft program is available HERE.

Please note this is a draft and the program is subject to change.

Click HERE to download the program.