Monday 22 June 2026

Time	Session/Location
07:00 - 09:00	ES-ISHR Council Meeting - Room 202
08:30 - 09:00	Registration and Refreshments - Foyers of Teaching and Learning Building
09:00 - 10:30	ECI Flash Talks (JMCC sponsored) - Lecture Theatre 1 (3 minutes each) FT1 - Yannik Andrasch, Heidelberg University, Germany Immune-myocardial crosstalk in cardiomyocyte polyploidization FT2 - Rebecca Gilchrist, University of Glasgow, UK Rad as a target for novel cardiac inotropes: effects of Rad knockdown in hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes and development of a BRET-based drug screen FT3 - Angeliki Choustoulaki, National And Kapodistrian University Of Athens, Greece Chronic exposure to wild type and mutant transthyretin induces cardiotoxicity in primary murine cardiomyocytes via downregulation of OXPHOS complexes FT4 - Angeline Geiser, Université Catholique De Louvain, Belgium The Myo-Inositol/SMIT1 Axis as a Key Regulator of Heart Failure and Cardiac Fibrosis FT5 - Jack Antoine Gemayel, Saint Joseph University Of Beirut, Lebanon Intracardiac Ganglia, a Specialized Niche for Cardiac Telocytes: Targeted Isolation and Functional Calcium Signaling Characterization FT6 - Maxime Gouin-Gravezat, Avignon University, France Mitochondrial NO signalling, a key regulator of cardiac response to adrenergic stress FT7 - Zsombor I. Hegedus, Semmelweis University, Hungary Divergent Roles of ICOS and ICOSL in Cardiac Fibrosis and Ventricular Remodelling FT8 - Or Levi, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel Cardiomyocyte-Specific Disruption of the AKAP6β -RSK3 Signalosome Attenuates Implant-Induced Susceptibility to Atrial Fibrillation in Rats FT9 - Merel Lianne Ligtermoet, Amsterdam Umc, Netherlands ZEB2 Overexpression Preserves Cardiac Function in a TPM1-E54K Mouse Model of Genetic Dilated Cardiomyopathy FT10 - Aiste Liutkute, University Medicine Göttingen, Germany Persistent Atrial Fibrillation Is Associated with Proteome Profile Homogenization Between Left and Right Atria FT11 - Molly O'Reilly, Academic Medical Centre, Netherlands (Para)sympathetic nervous system remodeling in CPVT: functional implications for cardiac autonomic regulation FT12 - Jiabin Qin, Umc Amsterdam, Netherlands Unravelling the role and mechanisms of SK4 channels in atrial fibrillation: the immune-cardiac crosstalk FT13 - Katie Tompkins, University of Birmingham, UK Sympathetic Nervous System Dysregulation and Ventricular Arrhythmogenesis in a Progressive Murine Model of Chronic Kidney Disease FT14 - Nuha Yeniturkogullari, Imperial College London, UK Proteoglycan remodelling in human cardiac development FT15 - Sejal Singal, Imperial College London, UK Nav1.5 clustering at the neuro-cardiac junction by an Ankyrin-G-dependent mechanism is required for sympathetic control of cardiomyocytes FT16 - Freddy Ganse, Vall D´hebron Institut of Research, Spain From Nanotherapy to Thermal Conditioning: Novel Approaches to Blunt Air Pollution–Induced Arrhythmias Session Chairs: Jonathan Lambert, University of Padova, Italy  Rocco Caliandro, Amsterdam Universities Medical Centers, Netherlands
10:30 - 11:00	Refreshment Break
11:00 - 11:40	Young Investigator Session 2.1 - Lecture Theatre 1 ECI/MCI Session 2 Panel Discussion - Moving Research from Bench to Bedside Expert Scientists: Roger Foo, National University of Singapore, Singapore Frank Lezoualc'h, University of Toulouse, France Eva van Rooij, Hubrecht Institute, Netherlands Sveva Bollini, University of Genova, Italy Christoph Maack, University Hospital Würzburg, Germany Session Chairs: Jonathan Lambert, University of Padova, Italy  Rocco Caliandro, Amsterdam Universities Medical Centers, Netherlands
11:40 - 12:30	Young Investigator Session 2.2 - Lecture Theatre 1, Lecture Theatre 2, 211/212 and G15 Breakout Workshop Sessions - Integrating Translational Science into Career Development Facilitators: Mauro Giacca, King's College London, UK Luc Bertrand, Uclouvain, Belgium John Elrod, Lewis Katz School Of Medicine At Temple University, United States Jolanda van der Velden, Amsterdam Umc, Netherlands Delphine Mika, Inserm U1180, France Monika Gladka, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Netherlands Melanie Paillard, Inserm - Lyon 1 University, France Alice Marino, Uclouvain, Belgium Session Chairs: Jonathan Lambert, University of Padova, Italy  Rocco Caliandro, Amsterdam Universities Medical Centers, Netherlands
12:30 - 13:30	Lunch
13:30 - 14:00	Opening Ceremony - Lecture Theatre 1 Prof Adam Tickell (Vice chancellor of University of Birmingham) Session Chairs: Frank Lezoualch, University of Toulouse, France Davor Pavlovic, University of Birmingham, UK
14:00 - 15:00	Plenary Session 1 - Lecture Theatre 1 Prof Barbara Casadei, Imperial College London, UK Atrial Fibrillation: Things are not always what they seem Session Chairs: Frank Lezoualch, University of Toulouse, France Davor Pavlovic, University of Birmingham, UK
	Lecture Theatre 1 - Teaching and Learning Building	Lecture Theatre 2 - Teaching and Learning Building	G15 - Muirhead Tower
15:00 - 16:30	Session 1 - Battle of the Metabolites: Should we focus on glucose, fats, or ketones? (JMCC sponsored) Invited Speakers: (20 minutes each) Luc Bertrand, Uclouvain, Belgium Glucose-derived metabolites in heart failure Michael Shattock, King's College London, UK Beyond Glucose: Metabolic substrate provision for a healthy heartenergetics, function and stability ex vivo Anna Zoccarato, King's College London, UK Intermediary Metabolism in Cardiac Remodelling Selected Abstracts: (15 minutes each) O1 - Eliano dos Santos, King's College London, UK  PGAM2 is a critical metabolic node in heart failure progression O2 - Xi QI, Wageningen University & Research, Netherlands  Mitofusin 2 Deficiency Causes Atrial Lipid Accumulation in Experimental and Human Atrial Fibrillation and Diabetes Mellitus Session Chairs: Lisa Heather, University of Oxford, UK John Elrod, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University, United States	Session 2 - Inflammation and Immunity in Cardiac Remodelling Invited Speakers: (20 minutes each) Federica Marelli-Berg, Queen Mary University of London, UK T cells in cardiac health and disease Ziad Mallat, University of Cambridge, UK  Immune regulation in atherosclerosis Gustavo Ramos, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Germany Immune regulation as a therapeutic approach Selected Abstracts: (15 minutes each) O3 - Jack Keane, Queen Mary University of London, UK The role of tissue resident memory T cells in atrial fibrillation O4 - Ingrid Dumitriu, University of Birmingham, UK Immune remodelling in atrial fibrillation: are alterations in inflammatory T cell subsets the missing link? Session Chair: Ines Falcao-Pires, University of Porto, Portugal  Claudio Mauro, University of Birmingham, UK	Session 3 - The dynamics of epi-genome/transcriptome in cardiac remodelling Invited Speakers: (20 minutes each) Sebastian Preissl, University of Freiburg, Germany Epigenetic mechanisms at single cell resolution Fabio Martelli, IRCCS San Donato Polyclinic, Italy Non-coding RNAs in ischemic cardiovascular disease Mauro Giacca, King's College London, UK Modulating cardiac cell properties using small non coding RNAs Selected Abstracts: (15 minutes each) O5 - Manendra Pachauri, King’s College London, UK Intramyocardial delivery of microRNA-199a-3p by lipid-polymeric hybrid nanoparticles for cardiac regeneration after acute myocardial infarction O6 - Rebecca Artioli, University of Trieste, Italy Uncovering the Notch-Yap transcriptional axis: a novel AAV-reporter system to map chromatin-level crosstalk in cardiac regeneration Session Chairs: Llew Roderick, KU Leuven, Belgium Miron Sopic, University of Belgrade, Serbia
16:30 - 18:00	Refreshments and Poster Session 1- (Room 118/119)
17:00 - 18:00	IMAGINE+ networking event - Lecture Theatre 2 James Guggenheim, University of Birmingham, UK Dean Kavanagh, University of Birmingham, UK Steve Thomas, University of Birmingham, UK
	Lecture Theatre 1 - Teaching and Learning Building	Lecture Theatre 2 - Teaching and Learning Building	G15 - Muirhead Tower
18:00 - 19:30	Session 4 - AZ sponsored session - Cardiovascular, Renal and Metabolic diseases at crossroads Invited Speakers: (20 minutes each) Rebecca Ritchie, Monash University, Australia Sex-Specific Impact of Incretin Dual Agonist Tirzepatide on Cardiac and Metabolic Health Elise Kessler, Astrazeneca, Sweden Industry Perspective on Implementation of Human Advanced Cell Models in Cardiovascular Drug Discovery Charles Ferro, Univeristy of Birmingham, UK Cardio-Renal-Metabolic Syndrome: the European renal perspective Selected Abstracts: (15 minutes each) O7 - Lukas Emanuel Schmidt, Medical University of Vienna, Austria Proteomic Effects of Genetic and Therapeutic PCSK9 Inhibition O8 - Milena Bellin, Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands In Vitro Modelling of Renal Injury-Induced Cardiac Dysfunction Using hiPSC-Derived Kidney Organoids and Cardiac Microtissues Session Chairs: Elise Kessler, Astrazeneca, Sweden Thomas Eschenhagen, University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf, Germany	Session 5 - Cardiac Regeneration: Lessons from development and beyond Invited Speakers: (20 minutes each) Filipa Simoes, University of Oxford, UK Role of macrophages in cardiac regeneration Stephane Zaffran, Aix Marseille Université, Inserm, France (De)constructing the human heart: single-cell/nucleus insights Monika Gladka, University Medical Center Amsterdam, Netherlands Translational Cardiac Disease Modeling for Cardioprotective Gene Therapy Development Selected Abstracts: (15 minutes each) O9 - Matteo Riccio, University of Trieste and ICGEB, Italy Regulation of cardiomyocyte proliferation by tropomyosin-dependent sarcomeric structure O10 - Ilaria Luciana Carlotta Del Giudice, ICGEB, Italy Age-Dependent Lumican Remodelling Limits Cardiac Angiogenesis After Birth Session Chairs: Sveva Bollini, University of Genova, Italy  Mauro Giacca, King's College London, UK	Session 6 - Preventing cancer-derived cardiotoxicity Invited Speakers: (20 minutes each) Markus Anker, University Medicine Berlin, Germany HFpEF in cancer patients – mechanistic insights and therapy Zoltán V. Varga Semmelweis University, Hungary Effect of immune checkpoint inhibitors on cardiac function Alessandra Ghigo, University of Torino, Italy Adjuvant cardiotherapy: SGLT2i, GLP1R agonists and beyond Selected Abstracts: (15 minutes each) O11 - Giulia Guerra, University of Turin, Italy  Hemopexin mitigates doxorubicin cardiotoxicity by preserving cardiac metabolism while maintaining antitumor efficacy in a mouse model of breast cancer O12 - Marton Kocsis, Semmelweis University, Hungary Active Thymic Output Drives Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Associated Cardiotoxicity Session Chairs: Jolanda van der Velden, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Netherlands Gabriele Tocchetti, Federico II University Hospital, Italy
19:30 - 20:30	Drinks Reception with Nibbles - Teaching and Learning Building Foyers