Contact: Julie Boyland, jboyland@acc.org,

NEW ORLEANS (Mar 27, 2026) -

The American College of Cardiology has honored nine recipients of the Young Author Achievement Award and fourteen honorable mentions, due to their exceptional research published in the JACC family of journals. All winners will be recognized during the American College of Cardiology’s Annual Scientific Session (ACC.26) in New Orleans.

JACC’s Young Author Achievement Awards are awarded to researchers within the first five years of their training. Editorial boards for each JACC journal nominate winners chosen from research submitted in the prior year. This year’s winners and their mentors are:

JACC: Cardiovascular Interventions: Spencer King Award for Outstanding Scholarship

• Robert Herman, MD, PhD
  Cardiovascular Center Aalst, AZORG, Aalst, Belgium
  Mentor: Timothy D. Henry, MD
  Study: “AI-Enabled ECG Analysis Improves Diagnostic Accuracy and Reduces False STEMI Activations: A Multicenter U.S. Registry”

Honorable Mentions

• Robin Le Ruz, MD
  Mentor: Rebecca T. Hahn, MD
  Study: “New-Onset Conductance Disturbances After Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Replacement: A Mechanistic Assessment”
• Seokhun Yang, MD
  Mentor: Bon-Kwon Koo, MD
  Study: “Anatomical vs Physiological Lesion Characteristics in Prediction of Acute Coronary Syndrome”

JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging: Jagat Narula Award for Outstanding Scholarship

• Dia A. Smiley, DO
  Robert and Suzanne Tomsich Department of Cardiovascular Medicine Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute Cleveland Clinic Florida, Weston, Florida
  Mentor: Matthew S. Maurer, MD
  Study: “Early Detection of Transthyretin Cardiac Amyloidosis Using 124I-Evuzamitide Positron Emission Tomography/Computed Tomography”

JACC: Heart Failure: Christopher O'Connor Award for Outstanding Scholarship

• Josephine Harrington, MD
  University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado
  Mentor: G. Michael Felker, MD, MHS
  Study: “Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction Across the Spectrum of Body Mass Index: Hemodynamic and Echocardiographic Characteristics and Outcomes”

Honorable Mentions

• Ambarish Pandey, MD, MSCS
  Mentor: Dalane W. Kitzman, MD
  Study: “Frailty and Effects of Semaglutide in Obesity-Related HFpEF: Findings From the STEP-HFpEF Program”
• Senthil Selvaraj, MD, MS, MA
  Mentor: Payman Zamani, MD, MTR
  Study: “Crossover Trial of Exogenous Ketones on Cardiometabolic Endpoints in Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction”
• Yousuf Razvi, MCHB, BS
  Mentor: Julian D. Gillmore, MBBS, MD, PHD
  Study: “Early Diagnosis of ATTR-CM Using Carpal Tunnel Biopsy Examination: EDUCATE: A United Kingdom Prospective Multicenter Study”

JACC: Clinical Electrophysiology: Young Author Achievement Award

• Giovanni Peretto, MD, PhD
  IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital; Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan Italy
  Mentor: Paolo Della Bella, MD
  Study: “Intercalated Disc Abnormalities Are Linked to Arrhythmias in Inflammatory Cardiomyopathy”

Honorable Mentions

• Alessio Gasperetti, MD
  Mentor: Hugh Calkins, MD
  Study: “Long term follow-up data on flecainide use as an anti-arrhythmic in arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy”
• Devaki Abhyankar, MD
  Mentor: Olujimi Ajijola, MD
  Study: “Low Dose Cardiac Radiation Improves Electrical Function and Reduces Ventricular Arrhythmogenesis in Nonischemic Cardiomyopathy”

JACC: Basic to Translational Science: Thomas Force Young Investigator Award

• Mariam Meddeb, MD
  Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore
  Mentor: David Kass, MD
  Study: “ATP-Citrate Lyase Supports Cardiac Function and NAD+/NADH Balance and Is Depressed in Human Failing Myocardium”

Honorable Mention

• Reo Hata, MD, PhD
  Mentor: Yoshinori Yoshida, MD, PhD
  Study: “Integrative Transcriptomic-Histological Analysis in Dilated Cardiomyopathy Unveils FGFR1 Inhibition as Anti-Cardiac Fibrotic and Cardioprotective Therapy”

JACC: Case Reports: Young Author Achievement Award

• Carlo R. Bartoli, MD, PhD
  Division of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, Pennsylvania
  Mentor: Frank A. Maffei, MD
  Study: “Ice Water Drowning Survival After 147-Minute Submersion and 7 ◦ C Hypothermic Circulatory Arrest”

Honorable Mentions

• Harissa El Ghoz, MS
  Study: “Prosthetic Mitral Valve Fungal Endocarditis: Challenges in Diagnosis and Management”
• Alexander Schulz, MD
  Mentor: Judith Gronwald, MD
  Study: “Unmasking Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection in a Patient With Misleading Symptoms and Initial Imaging Results”
• Omar Abdelfattah, MD
  Mentor: Matthew Martinez, MD
  Study: “Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and Aortic Stenosis With High Surgical Risk”

JACC: CardioOncology: Young Author Achievement Award

• Danielle Medina-Hernandez, PhD
  Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
  Mentor: Borja Ibanez, MD, PhD
  Study: “SGLT2i Therapy Prevents Anthracycline-Induced Cardiotoxicity in a Large Animal Model by Preserving Myocardial Energetics”

Honorable Mention

• Alexandra Newman
  Mentor: Kathryn Moore
  Study: “Ischemic Injury Drives Nascent Tumor Growth via Accelerated Hematopoietic Aging”

JACC: Asia: Young Author Achievement Award

• Chun-Ka Wong, MBBS
  Cardiology Division, Department of Medicine, School of Clinical Medicine, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, China
  Mentor: Simon Cheung-Chi Lam, MBBS
  Study: “UNICORN for Valve-in-Valve Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: UNICORN Hong Kong Registry”

Honorable Mentions

• Nishant Uppal, MD, MBA
  Mentor: Pradeep Natarajan, MD, MMSc
  Study: “South Asian Representation in Cardiovascular Disease Randomized Controlled Trials: A Systematic Review”
• Yuichiro Mori, MD, MPH
  Mentor: Shingo Fukuma, MD, PhD
  Study: “Impact of Non-Adherence to Any Antiplatelet Therapy after PCI with Drug-Eluting Stents on Critical Outcomes”

JACC: Advances: Young Author Achievement Award

• Alexander C. Razavi, MD, PhD, MPH
  Emory Clinical Cardiovascular Research Institute, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta
  Mentor: Jiang He
  Study: “Primary Prevention Aspirin, Lipoprotein(a), and Cardiorenal Outcomes in Chronic Kidney Disease: Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort”

ACC.26 will take place March 28 – 30, 2026, in New Orleans, bringing together cardiologists and cardiovascular specialists from around the world to share the newest discoveries in treatment and prevention. Follow @ACCinTouch, @ACCMediaCenter and #ACC26 for the latest news from the meeting.

The American College of Cardiology (ACC) is the global leader in transforming cardiovascular care and improving heart health for all. As the preeminent source of professional medical education for the entire cardiovascular care team since 1949, ACC credentials cardiovascular professionals in over 140 countries who meet stringent qualifications and leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. Through its world-renowned family of JACC Journals, NCDR registries, ACC Accreditation Services, global network of Member Sections, CardioSmart patient resources and more, the College is committed to ensuring a world where science, knowledge and innovation optimize patient care and outcomes. Learn more at www.ACC.org or follow @ACCinTouch.

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