Course Directors

Bartley P. Griffith, M.D.
University of Maryland


Keith A. Horvath, M.D.
NHLBI

The AATS SAGR Committee has developed a new, one-day course on large animal surgical models to be held on Thursday, March 3, 2011, the day prior to the Grant Writing Workshop, in Bethesda and Baltimore, Maryland. This new program will provide training to surgical investigators in relevant thoracic and cardiac in-vivo models. Program Directors Drs. Bartley Griffith and Keith Horvath will host a morning session at the Bethesda Marriott on large animal heart failure models and ex-vivo pulmonary perfusion and lung regeneration models. Leading and funded investigators will discuss their experiences and preferences. In the afternoon, those choosing the cardiac track will visit Dr. Horvath’s laboratory at the NIH for a live demonstration of his own chronic myocardial ischemia model, and those choosing thoracic track will visit Dr. Griffith’s laboratory at the University of Maryland to receive hands-on experience with ex-vivo perfusion.

A critical component in successfully translating basic science to clinical practice particularly that in cardiothoracic surgical applications is the correct implementation of animal models. While cardiothoracic surgeons are uniquely positioned to perform critical studies in both small and large animal systems, there are many potential obstacles and important considerations when designing studies that require animal models. The first objective of this session will be to provide an overview on the regulatory, administrative and resource aspects of developing a research protocol utilizing animal models. The second objective will be to examine animal models that would hold particular relevance to cardiothoracic research, and for this purpose models of ischemic heart disease and heart failure will be used as prototypical examples. However, model systems that address thoracic and pediatric cardiac surgical issues will also be discussed. The third objective is to provide a forum for discussion between leading experts in the use of animal models for cardiothoracic surgical research and investigators considering developing a research program requiring animal models.

Transportation will be provided to and from the hotel to the afternoon sessions at NHLBI and the University of Maryland campuses.

Registration: February 4, 2011
Housing: February 10, 2011