Day 2 :
Keynote Forum
Brojendra Agarwala
University of Chicago, Comer Children’s Hospital, USA
Keynote: History of development of pediatric cardiology
Time : 09:00-09:35
Biography:
Brojendra Agarwala has completed his MBBS from University of Kolkata, India and completed Pediatric Cardiology Fellowship from New York University Medical Center, New York, USA. He is a Pediatric Cardiologist and Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Chicago. He has received best teacher award by the pediatric residents and the medical students. He has published 68 papers in reputed journals. He is named as one of the top doctors and best pediatricians in Chicago magazine for many years.
Abstract:
In 2015, pediatric cardiology is a very well developed specialty. In the past, cardiology as a specialty was limited to the internists. For centuries, pediatric cardiology was developed into a specialty where only trained pediatricians in cardiology took care of fetuses with congenital heart disease (CHD), neonates and further followed them into adulthood. With excellent care, children with severe life threatening CHD are surviving into adulthood and leading productive lives serving the society as physicians, lawyers, MBAs and in many other professional and non-professional activities. In 1938, when Robert Gross ligated a patent ductus, a new era of pediatric cardiology was born. Clinical acumen, understanding of physiology, anatomy, angiography and development of extracorporeal circulation allowed caring for children with CHD which was previously lethal. A few interested pediatricians taught themselves and finally the subspecialty was born. In 1961, pediatric cardiology became the first subspecialty board in the USA. In the past 60 years, significant progress has been made in non-invasive imaging e.g., cardiac ultrasound, color-Doppler, MRI, and CT scan. Utilization of these modalities has made invasive diagnostic cardiac catheterization almost unnecessary. Development of interventional cardiac catheterization has almost replaced cardiac surgery in multiple CHD. For the past 50 years, pediatric cardiology was focused on diagnosis, patient care, education and clinical research. However, for the past 10 years basic research discoveries of the cause of the CHD have developed, which will hopefully prevent them from happening in the future. Pediatric cardiology is team work involving cardiologists, anatomists, physiologists, surgeons, intensivists, interventionists and the anesthesiologists. All play very important roles in caring for children with cardiac problem. In my presentation, I will discuss more in depth about the role of individual physicians and scientists that have helped to develop this wonderful subspecialty in pediatrics.
Keynote Forum
Maurice J B van den Hoff
University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
Keynote: Changing concept in heart developmnet
Time : 09:35-10:10
Biography:
Maurice J B van den Hoff obtained his PhD in 1994 from the University of Amsterdam. His thesis entitled, “Isolation and characterization of the rat carbamoylphosphate synthetase I gene”. After moving to the field of heart development with Prof. Moorman, he established his own group focusing on heart muscle cell formation and epicardial development after the formation of the linear heart tube. As a Visiting Scientist, he has developed a tight collaboration with the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston (US). Currently, he is Vice-chair of the Department of Anatomy, Embryology & Physiology and AMC Principle Investigator and has published more than 86 papers (H-index 29) in peer-reviewed journals.
Abstract:
The development of the heart is a complex four dimensional process in which the heart, while functioning, transforms from a linear heart tube into a four-chambered heart. The use of genetically modified mice has considerably changed the insights in heart development in the past decade. In this keynote, the genetic model systems that have contributed to the altering insights in the mechanisms underlying heart development will be discussed and these novel insights will be highlighted. Secondly, developmental biologists have classically been focused on the first 10 weeks of human development with respect to heart development, because in this period the building plan of the heart is completed. However, after the first 10 weeks the heart needs to grow enormously and mature. At the end of gestation, the proliferative growth of the heart changes to hypertrophic growth. This change in mechanism of cardiac growth has important consequence for the response of the heart during pathology.