The SVS Foundation started to seek proposals in mid-April for pilot outreach projects to help identify needed vascular services in underserved portions of the U.S.
The projects will be part of the Foundation’s VISTA (Vascular Volunteers In Service To All) program. The initial focus is expected to be on defining barriers to care and on the education of both local community healthcare providers and their patients.
“We want our surgeons to survey the medical landscape around them, asking themselves, ‘What is the need here and how can I help?’“ said Foundation Chair Peter Lawrence, MD. “It could be basic information about vascular disease, the importance of knowing risk factors, public education on when to seek care. A person with diabetes might not have the specific knowledge needed to know when to see a physician about foot ulcers that could lead to the need for amputation.”
Projects should help identify improved pathways to treatment, optimizing or expanding use of existing local providers. The Foundation wants proposals that emphasize providing evidence-based management of vascular disease, not the promotion of specific products, devices or medications. The expected timeline would be two to three years. Ideal proposals would include:
- A concise impact statement delineating a realistic potential benefit to the target community
- Metrics for success and specific deliverables
- Plans for ongoing communication and either virtual or physical support for the target community
- Follow-up plans and information on potential scalability of the project consistent with planned future phases of the VISTA Program
The deadline to submit proposals is August 1, 2022. Learn more about VISTA at vascular.org/VISTA.
Foundation announces VRIC trainee award-winners
The SVS Foundation has selected four trainees to present their high-scoring research at the 2022 Vascular Research Initiatives Conference (VRIC) in Seattle, on May 11.
VRIC is dedicated to stimulating and encouraging interest in research among trainees who are aspiring academic vascular surgeons, according to the Foundation. “The meeting’s exclusive and intimate atmosphere allows for the free exchange of ideas and development of collaborative projects equally among senior and junior investigators.”
Recipients are:
- Mario Figueroa, MD; general surgery resident at Rutgers-UMDNJ; post-doctoral research fellow at Medical University of South Carolina; “Vascular smooth muscle cell mechanotransduction through serum and glucocorticoid inducible kinase-1 promotes interleukin-6 production and macrophage accumulation in murine hypertension.” Mentor: Jean Marie Ruddy, MD
- Carson Hoffmann, MD; research fellow, Emory University; “Modifiable mesenchymal stem cell defects in veterans with diabetes mellitus.” Mentor: Luke Brewster, MD
- Kevin Mangum, MD, PhD; vascular resident, University of Michigan; “MOF expression regulates interferon ß in diabetic wound macrophages and impairs tissue repair.” Mentor: Katherine Gallagher, MD
- Molly Schieber, MS; MD-PhD student, G3, University of Nebraska Medical Center; “Microvessel oxidative stress predicts changes in leg function of patients with peripheral arterial disease after supervised exercise therapy.” Mentor: Iraklis Pipinos, MD
