SCMR Mid-Year Meeting Chicago: CMR Phenotyping the Heterogeneic Expression of Heart Failure - Project Summary: The objective of the Society for Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance (SCMR) Mid-Year Workshop is to provide a vital platform for scientists and clinicians to optimize the use of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) in the treatment of heart failure (HF). As a versatile imaging test, CMR is a crucial diagnostic and prognostic imaging tool applicable to over 6 million adults in the United States living with HF. Recent advancements in CMR technology, such as T1/T2/extracellular volume fraction mapping, quantitative myocardial blood flow imaging, 4D flow, cine derived cardiac strain, and late gadolinium-enhancement, have piqued the interest of clinicians specializing in HF. These topics and educational objectives align closely with the mission of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to provide global leadership in research, training, and education for the prevention and treatment of heart and blood diseases. Scientific presentations will shed light on new discoveries regarding the causes of HF, contributing to the translation of these findings into clinical practice. Dedicated hands-on sessions (CMR data analysis, CMR live scanning) as well as case presentations will provide attendees with knowledge on how to establish a clinical CMR service in the setting of HF. Additionally, the proposed educational activities and participant discussions will foster the training and mentorship of early career scientists and physicians. In this context, the workshop will facilitate collaborative research infrastructure, engaging participants from academic institutions and industry. We plan to achieve these workshop objectives through the following aims: (1) Bring together scientists, clinicians, technologists, clinical staff and industry from varied backgrounds, including cardiology, radiology, physics, bioengineering, applied mathematics, computer science, and biology to promote cross-fertilization of ideas on technical developments and clinical applications; (2) provide an effective workshop format by integrating summary lectures from established, internationally recognized investigators with hands-on sessions and oral and poster presentations on new research; (3) foster collaborative relationships among researchers from multiple centers to work on multi-center clinical trials using CMR; (4) challenge established expert centers to innovate time efficient comprehensive CMR protocols that can be easily disseminated and provide examples of innovative practice highlighting translation of research into the clinical arena; (5) educate young scientists, including students, postdocs, residents, fellows, and junior investigators, as well as underrepresented minority (URM) investigators, on the fundamentals and state-of-the- art in CMR technology. The primary goal of this application is to secure support to enable early career investigators, with a specific focus on female investigators and URM from various backgrounds, to attend the Mid-Year SCMR Workshop in 2024. The active involvement of students and early-career scientists and clinicians and URM investigators has the potential to achieve key objectives crucial for the ongoing advancement of medical imaging and cardiovascular medicine.
