Research

In this era of dwindling government research funding and support for research fellowships, the ASE Foundation plays a crucial role in supporting the progress and future of our field through investment in the discovery process and in the careers of investigators. Funding in this area preserves dedicated time for investigators through research grants, and also creates opportunities for researchers to interact with global experts in cardiovascular ultrasound, building relationships that lead to future research and professional collaborations.

Research Studies – 2019 Funding Available

The new E21 Research Grant for Clinician-Scientist and Engineering Partnership program will provide funding for research that aims to use engineering solutions to solve a relevant clinical problem in cardiovascular ultrasound. This ASE Foundation funding is offered in partnership with the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, the National Board of Echocardiography, Inc., Bracco, Inc., and Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc. Three grants of up to $200,000 each are available. Recipients are also eligible for travel support to present the results of their projects at future ASE and AIUM scientific meetings. Visit ASEFoundation.org/E21ResearchGrant for more information and application instructions. Submission opens April 10, 2019.

Past Funding: The Foundation’s 2014 Value Grant was a $200,000 multi-year grant targeting fusion imaging. Learn more about this study here: “Echocardiographic Evaluation of Hemodynamic Significance of Coronary Stenosis in Patients with Chest Pain Undergoing CT Angiography.”

2014/2015 Value Grant Recipient: Victor Mor-Avi, PhD, FASE, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL – “This project will explore the possibility of ‘fusion’ of CTCA and 3D echocardiography for combined assessment of coronary stenosis and its functional significance, which may help in identifying patients who need intervention, and may thus have important implications in terms of reducing the number of unnecessary tests and resulting in significant savings.” ASE290

At the 2017 Scientific Sessions, Victor Mor-Avi, PhD, FASE, presented the results of this research project. The full presentation is available below:

 

Research Investigator Support

The presentation of original research on the latest advances in cardiovascular ultrasound from around the world is an integral component of ASE’s educational meetings. Young researchers are the scientific heart of our field, and each year ASE Foundation funding supports competitions to recognize exceptional work and travel grants to assist investigators with their travel expenses.

 

Top Investigator Travel Grants
The presentation of original research from around the world illustrating exciting new developments in cardiovascular ultrasound is an integral component of ASE’s Annual Scientific Sessions. Each year, a special group of investigators are selected as the ASE Foundation’s Top Investigators. These early career abstract presenters are selected by the Abstract Chairs based on the scientific merit of their research projects and are awarded grants to offset his/her Scientific Sessions travel expenses. Beginning in 2018, the Alan S. Pearlman Research Award was established to honor Dr. Pearlman’s ten years of service as JASE Editor-In-Chief Supported by a grant to the ASE Foundation by Elsevier, this annual award of $1,000 is given to the overall highest scoring investigator.

2018 Alan S. Pearlman Research Award Winner: Dai-Yin Lu, MD, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan – “At the ASE Annual Scientific Sessions, I was very excited to meet fantastic colleagues and have brainstorming on echo research. Listening to the talk given by Dr. Harvey Feigenbaum, the founding father of ASE, was so inspiring. From M-mode to 3D imaging, what an incredible progress that echo has gone through! It was such an honor be the recipient of the Alan S. Pearlman Research Award. The ASE Annual Scientific Sessions offered diverse resources for young faculties to build-up not only academic research track but also better career management.


2018 Top Investigator Travel Grant Recipients:

  • Alan S. Pearlman Research Award: Dai-Yin Lu, MD, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
  • AbdulRahman Abutaleb, MD, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL
  • Lindsey Aurora, MD, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, MI
  • Meaghan J. Beattie, MD, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA
  • Ajay Bhandari, MD, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
  • Dale Burkett, MD, Children’s Hospital Colorado, Aurora, CO
  • John L. Colquitt, MD, Baylor College of Medicine/Texas Children’s Hospital, Houston, TX
  • Katherine DeWeert, MD, Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, IL
  • Sarah R. Fuchs, MD, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN
  • Mansi Gaitonde, MD, Emory University, Sibley Heart Center, Atlanta, GA
  • Barinder Hansra, MD, University of Massachusetts Medical Center, Worcester, MA
  • Daniel R. Harland, MD, Aurora Cardiovascular Services, Aurora Sinai/Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Centers, Milwaukee, WI
  • Atsushi Hayashi, MD, Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, Los Angeles, CA
  • Kalie Kebed, MD, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL
  • Dan L. Li, MD, Jacobi Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY
  • Ellen Liu, MD, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
  • Ralph Matar, MD, Cook County Health and Hospitals System, Chicago, IL
  • Hari K. Narayan, MD, The University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA
  • Jonathan D. Nyce, MD, Kravis Children’s Hospital at Mount Sinai, New York City, NY
  • Scott L. Purga, MD, Albany Medical Center, Albany, NY
  • Marija Vukicevic, PhD, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, TX
  • Haiyan Wang, MD, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN

Click here for a list of past Abstract Presenter Travel Grant recipients.

 

Arthur E. Weyman Young Investigator’s Award Competition
Young investigators under the age of 40 who are no more than five years from the end of their training are eligible for this annual competition supported by the National Board of Echocardiography (NBE) in honor of their first president, Arthur E. Weyman, MD, FASE. Four finalists are selected to present their research to a panel of experts during the opening plenary sessions of the Annual ASE Scientific Sessions in June. The winner is then invited to present his/her research at the upcoming European Association of Cardiovascular Imaging’s EuroEcho-Imaging meeting in December, and the Japanese Society of Echocardiography’s Annual Scientific Meeting the following spring.

2018 Winner: Brandon Helfield, PhD, Sunnybrook Research Institute, Toronto, ON, Canada for his research titled “Endothelial Cell Repair Biophysics During Ultrasound and Microbubble Sonoporation.”

 

Click here for a list of past Arthur E. Weyman Young Investigator’s Award Competition winners.

 

Brian Haluska Sonographer Research Award Competition

The ASE Foundation’s annual Sonographer Investigator’s Award Competition was renamed as the Brian Haluska Sonographer Research Award Competition to honor the late Brian Haluska, PhD, MSC (HONS), MSC, RDCS, AMS, FASE and his incredible contributions to sonographer-led research over the course of his career. Designed to highlight and support sonographer-led research, this annual competition recognizes non-physicians who served as the primary investigator on their project of original research. Four finalists are selected to present their work to a panel of judges during the ASE Annual Scientific Sessions.

2018 Winner: Jason B. Pereira, RCS, Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, CT for his research titled “Feasibility of Contrast Echocardiography to Assess Right Ventricular Size and Function.”

 

Click here for a list of past Sonographer Investigator’s Award Competition winners.

 

TomTec Innovator Research Travel Grants

Supported by a grant to the ASE Foundation from TomTec Imaging Systems, this annual award is given to assist a promising young researcher presenting his/her work at the ASE Annual Scientific Sessions. Application is open to investigators under 40 years of age who have an abstract accepted for presentation in one of the following research categories: novel technologies (3D, Doppler, or strain), valvular heart disease, or ventricular function. For more than 20 years, TomTec has driven innovations in echocardiography and the ASE Foundation thanks them for investing in the young researchers who will continue to drive our field forward.
2018 Recipient: 
  • Tomoyuki Sato, MD, from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

Click here for a list of past TomTec Innovator Research Travel Grant recipients.