Physician Update: AHA Special Edition
Read more articles from our most relevant research presented at the 2025 AHA Scientific Sessions.
Comprehensive Heart and Vascular Center
2025 Katz Award: New Frontiers in Cardiac Injury, Therapies, and Disparities
By Glynnis Garry Bann, M.D.
Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine
The Louis N. and Arnold M. Katz Award is the American Heart Association’s oldest and arguably most prestigious honor in cardiovascular basic science. Established in 1969 to recognize outstanding young investigators, the Katz Prize has predicted future excellence for many recipients who have gone on to become leaders in cardiovascular research. With its emphasis on rigorous science that uncovers mechanisms of cardiovascular pathophysiology, the award has recognized several UT Southwestern trainees and faculty over the years. At #AHA25, I was honored to serve as a judge on the Katz Award Committee.
The 2025 Katz Award Committee selected five finalists to present their discoveries at the Scientific Sessions. Xisheng Li, Ph.D., from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, identified circulating extracellular vesicles in patients with chronic kidney disease that are cardiotoxic and contribute to heart failure, helping clarify the long-recognized but poorly understood cardiorenal connection. Anis Hanna, M.D., from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, described a previously unknown myofibroblast subpopulation that emerges after myocardial infarction and may play a protective rather than profibrotic role. Hanqiang Deng, Ph.D., from Yale University, discovered that flow-driven post-translational lactylation of the transcription factor FOXO1 plays a pivotal role in the development of atherosclerosis. The University of Pittsburgh’s Yu-Sheng Yeh, Ph.D., RD, demonstrated that adipocyte lipophagy is a key regulatory signaling pathway in metabolic stress and diet-induced obesity. And Sumeet Khetarpal, M.D., Ph.D., from Massachusetts General Hospital, presented work showing that PGF-1α deficiency induces cardiomyopathy in the setting of forced exercise and identified the secreted myomitokine GDF15 as a mediator of cardiac failure. Further showing that inhibiting GDF15 is protective against exercise intolerance and heart failure, Dr. Khetarpal was selected as the 2025 Katz Award recipient.
“Established in 1969 to recognize outstanding young investigators, the Katz Prize has predicted future excellence for many recipients who have gone on to become leaders in cardiovascular research.”
Glynnis Garry Bann, M.D.
Once again, the Katz Award competition highlighted a broad spectrum of high-impact science spanning myocardial injury response, vascular biology, and cardiometabolic disease, emphasizing the bright future ahead in cardiovascular discovery.
