Young Investigators Awards

Review all abstracts and presentations on ESC 365, The Cardiology Knowledge Hub

ESC Congress 2024 Young Investigators

ESC Congress 2022 Young Investigators

Young Investigator Award Thrombosis

Konrad Pieszko (Nowa Sol, Poland)

Predicting the presence of left atrial appendage thrombus with clinical features and transthoracic measurements using machine learning

Young Investigator Award Basic Science

Shintaro Yamada (Tokyo, Japan)

Aberrant interaction between TEAD1 and Lamin A/C causes cardiomyopathy

Young Investigator Award Population Sciences

Shady Abohashem (Revere, United States of America)

Burden and disparities in cardiovascular mortality rates associated with obesity prevalence in United States: county-level analysis from 2010 to 2019

Young Investigator Award Clinical Cardiology

Alexandros Protonotarios (London - United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland)

Risk stratification in Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy: the impact of genotype on the 2019 ARVC risk calculator

Young Investigator Award Coronary Pathophysiology and Microcirculation

Roberto Scarsini (Verona , Italy)

Coronary microvascular dysfunction is associated with reduced cardiac performance in low flow low gradient aortic stenosis

Young Investigator Awards Session in Cardiac Imaging

Marco Spartera (Oxford, United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland)

Left atrial vorticity is independently associated with embolic brain infarcts and represents a promising imaging biomarker of cardioembolism in sinus rhythm and atrial fibrillation

See also Best Clinical Case and Nursing and Allied Professions Investigator

ESC Congress 2021 Young Investigators

Young Investigator Award Thrombosis

Evangelos Tzolos (Edinburgh, United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland)

In vivo coronary artery thrombus imaging with 18F-GP1 PET-CT

Young Investigator Award Basic Science

Rafael Blanco Dominguez (Madrid, Spain)

CD69 expression in regulatory T cells protects from the immune-mediated damage after myocardial infarction

Young Investigator Award Population sciences

Constantin-Cristian Topriceanu (London, United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland)

Childhood bradycardia associates with atrioventricular conduction defects in older age: a longitudinal birth cohort study

Young Investigator Award Clinical Cardiology 

Matthew Burrage (Oxford, United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland)

Impaired myocardial energetics limits cardiac functional reserve and leads to exercise-induced pulmonary congestion in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction

Young Investigator Award Coronary Pathophysiology and Microcirculation

Christos Kotanidis (Oxford, United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland)

A human arterial transcriptomic signature predicts major adverse cardiac events and identifies novel, redox-related therapeutic targets within the vascular wall

Young Investigator Award Sudden Cardiac Death

Richard Elis Jones (London, United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland)

In-depth phenotypic characterisation of myocardial fibrosis by cardiovascular magnetic resonance predicts sudden cardiac death in coronary heart disease: a long-term prospective outcome study

ESC Congress 2020 Young Investigators

Young Investigator Award Thrombosis

Dario Bongiovanni (Muenchen, Germany)

The pro-thrombotic transcriptomic signature of reticulated platelets in patients with chronic coronary syndrome.

Young Investigator Award Basic Science

Michael Lacy (Muenchen, Germany)

Modification of histone 3 lysine 27 (H3K27) trimethylation in EZH2 and JMJD3 deficient T cells attenuates atherosclerosis through polarization towards anti-inflammatory phenotypes.

Young Investigator Award Population sciences

Anders Holt (Copenhagen, Denmark)

Effect of beta blocker therapy following myocardial infarction in optimally treated patients in the reperfusion era - a Danish, nationwide, and registry-based cohort study.

Young Investigator Award Clinical Cardiology 1

Federico Fortuni (Pavia, Italy)

A matter of proportions: a novel framework to classify functional tricuspid regurgitation.

Young Investigator Award Clinical Cardiology 2

Jeanne Du Fay De Lavallaz (Basel, Switzerland)

Application of the ESC and AHA guidelines for admission of syncope patients presenting to the ED.

Young Investigator Award Coronary Pathophysiology and Microcirculation

Rocco Montone (Rome, Italy)

Macrophage infiltrates in coronary plaque erosion portend a worse cardiovascular outcome in patients with acute coronary syndrome.

ESC Congress 2019 Young Investigators

Young Investigator Award Global Cardiovascular Health

 Alessandro Vella (San Donato Milanese, Italy)

Phenotyping acute decompensated heart failure by intrarenal venous flow and right ventricle-pulmonary circulation uncoupling

Young Investigator Award Basic Science

 Emile Nyns (Leiden, The Netherlands)

Continuous shock-free termination of atrial fibrillation by local optogenetic therapy and arrhythmia-triggered activation of an implanted light source

Young Investigator Award Thrombosis

 Lina Guiomar Mendieta Badimon (Barcelona, Spain)

Intravenous administration of IV-STATIN CARDIOSHIELD during myocardial infarction renders higher cardioprotection than oral atorvastatin given shortly after reperfusion: a translational CMR studyPhenotyping acute decompensated heart failure by intrarenal venous flow and right ventricle-pulmonary circulation uncoupling

Young Investigator Award Population Sciences

 Parag Ravindra Gajendragadkar (Oxford, United Kingdom)

Impact of genetically determined differences in ECG parameters on risk of AF in c. 300,000 UK Biobank participants

Young Investigator Award Clinical Cardiology

 Evangelos K. Oikonomou (Oxford, United Kingdom)

Perivascular fat attenuation index stratifies the cardiac risk associated with high-risk plaque features on coronary computed tomography angiography

Young Investigator Award Coronary Pathophysiology and Microcirculation

 Betty Raman (Oxford, United Kingdom)

Blunted stress myocardial oxygenation and not myocardial perfusion reserve is associated with arrhythmic risk in hypertrophic cardiomyopathyPhenotyping acute decompensated heart failure by intrarenal venous flow and right ventricle-pulmonary circulation uncoupling

ESC Congress 2018 Young Investigators

Young Investigator Award Global Cardiovascular Health

 Dr. Tarek Nafee

Performance of a machine learning model vs. IMPROVE score for VTE prediction in acute medically ill patients: insights from the APEX trial

Young Investigator Award Basic science

Dr. Toshiyuki Ko

Single-cell analysis of non-cardiomyocytes in heart reveals a critical regulator of cardiac homeostasis

Young Investigator Award Population sciences

Ms. Nicole Elise Maria Jaspers

Development and validation of a decision-support tool for individualizing lifelong lipid, blood-pressure, and aspirin treatment in people without cardiovascular disease

Young Investigator Award Clinical

Dr. Evangelos K Oikonomou

Computed tomography-based perivascular fat phenotyping identifies unstable coronary lesions and active vascular calcification

Young Investigator Award Coronary

Dr. Ioannis Akoumianakis

Insulin triggers oxidative stress in the vascular wall of patients with atherosclerosis, independently of systemic insulin resistance: the beneficial role of DPP-IV inhibition

Young Investigator Award Valvular Heart Disease

Dr. Timothy Cartlidge

18F-Fluoride PET-CT in the detection of early bioprosthetic valve degeneration

ESC Congress 2017 Young Investigators

Young Investigator Award winner on Thrombosis

Dr. Simon Wilson, United Kingdom

Thrombin Exosite 1 Inhibition with JNJ-375 Inhibits Fibrin-Rich Thrombus Formation in a Human Translational Model of Thrombosis

Young Investigator Award winner on Basic Science

Ms. Franziska Sophie Rathjens

Molecular mechanisms of arrhythmia upon TBX5 loss

Young Investigator Award winner on Population Sciences

Ms. Linda Vissers

Is dairy product intake related to risk of type 2 diabetes? A pan-European Mendelian Randomisation study.

Young Investigator Award winner on Clinical Science

Dr. Husam Abdel-Qadir

The spectrum of cardiovascular disease after early stage breast cancer: a population-based cohort study

Young Investigators Award winner on Coronary Pathophysiology and Microcirculation

Dr. Jerrett Khee Eiong Lau

Remote ischaemic preconditioning causes rapid increase in coronary flow reserve and reduction in microcirculatory resistance.

Young Investigator Award Percutaneous Coronary Intervention

Dr. Giovanni Ciccarelli

Angiography versus hemodynamic assessment to predict the natural history of coronary stenoses: a fractional flow reserve versus angiography in multivessel evaluation 2, (FAME 2)-substudy.

Previous years' awardees

Young Investigators Award winners on Basic Science

• ESC CONGRESS 2016 - Dr. Kenzo Ichimura, Japan: Anoparticle-mediated targeting of pitavastatin into small pulmonary arteries by intravenous administration attenuates the progression of monocrotaline-induced pulmonary arterial hypertension in rats.
• ESC CONGRESS 2015 - Sarah Costantino, Sweden: miR-218 and mi-R34a induce oxidative stress by orchestrating epigenetic remodelling of DNA/histone complexes in the diabetic heart.
• ESC CONGRESS 2014 - Francesco Paneni (Stockholm, SE): Prolyl-isomerase-1 (Pin1) causes endothelial dysfunction and vascular inflammation in diabetes: a study in mice and humans
• ESC CONGRESS 2013 - Sarah Costantino (Zurich, CH): Hyperglycemia-induced myocardial oxidative stress and inflammation persist despite optimal glycemic control: role of mitochondrial adaptor p66shc
• ESC CONGRESS 2012 - Francesco Paneni (Roma, IT): Vascular hyperglycemic memory is driven by p66Shc via epigenetic changes and post-translational modifications: insights for the progression of vascular complications despite intensive glycemic control
• ESC CONGRESS 2011 - Dennis Wolf (Freiburg Im Breisgau, DE): Selective disruption of the CD40L/Mac-1 interaction by a small peptide inhibitor mimicking the EQLKKSKTL motif attenuates inflammation and atherogenesis in mice
• ESC CONGRESS 2010 - Joanna Hammond (Brussels, BE): Human beta-3 adrenoreceptor over-expression inhibits neurohormones-induced cardiac hypertrophy in vitro and in vivo.
• ESC CONGRESS 2009 - Samuel Sossalla (Goettingen, DE): Atrial fibrillation leads to electrical remodelling of Na currents. Role of INa inhibition by ranolazine on arrhythmias and contractility.
• ESC CONGRESS 2008 - Daan Westenbrink (Groningen, NL): Erythropoietin induced cardiac regeneration in heart failure is mediated through augmented VEGF production by cardiomyocytes.
• ESC CONGRESS 2007 - Simon T Macdonald (Oxford, GB): Epiblastic Cited2 function explains pleiotropy and penetrance of cardiac malformation resulting from its deficiency.
• ESC CONGRESS 2006 - Delvac Oceandy (Manchester, GB): The sarcolemmal calcium pump: a novel mediator of cellular signalling and contractile function in the heart.
• ESC CONGRESS 2005 - Stefan Engelhardt (Muenchen, DE): The transcriptional repressor NAB1 is a specific regulator of pathological cardiac hypertrophy.

Young Investigators Award winners on Clinical Science

• ESC CONGRESS 2016 - Rohan Sajeev Wijesurendra, United Kingdom: Atrial fibrillation is associated with impaired left ventricular energetics that persist despite successful catheter ablation
• ESC CONGRESS 2015 - Chloe Park, United Kingdom: Subclinical left ventricular dysfunction is associated with reduced brain structure and function
• ESC CONGRESS 2014 - Kaleab Asrress (London, GB): Performance of novel adenosine-free and established indices of coronary lesion severity using invasive and non-invasive techniques, as well as absolute quantification of myocardial blood flow
• ESC CONGRESS 2013 - Konstantinos Rizas (Tuebingen, DE): Low frequency waves of repolarization as a novel predictor of mortality after myocardial infarction
• ESC CONGRESS 2012 - Darren Mylotte (Massy, FR): Multivessel primary percutaneous coronary intervention in acute myocardial infarction complicated by cardiogenic shock and resuscitated cardiac arrest: friend or faux?
• ESC CONGRESS 2011 - Jean Malte Sinning (Bonn, DE): The influence of a systemic inflammatory response syndrome on prognosis after transcatheter aortic valve implantation
• ESC CONGRESS 2010 - Andrew Ludman (London, GB): The effect of erythropoietin as an adjunct to PPCI: a randomised controlled trial
• ESC CONGRESS 2009 - Carly Jenkins (Brisbane, AU): Association of outcome with left ventricular parameters measured by two- and three-dimensional echocardiography.
• ESC CONGRESS 2008 - Juan Pablo Kaski (London, GB): Prevalence of sarcomere protein gene mutations in pre-adolescent children with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
• ESC CONGRESS 2007 - Anders Sahlen (Stockholm, SE): High reproducibility of cardiac biomarker release in response to endurance exercise.
• ESC CONGRESS 2006 - Anthony White (Melbourne, AU): Matrix metalloproteinase-3 genotype is associated with higher coronary plaque burden, positive remodelling and increased risk of unstable disease.
• ESC CONGRESS 2005 - Maurizio Pieroni (Rome, IT): Myocardial production of Chromogranin A: a new regulatory peptide of myocyte function.

Young Investigators Award winners on Population Sciences

• ESC CONGRESS 2016 - Jenny Bjerre, Denmark: Risk of motor vehicle accidents in patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator - A Danish nationwide study.
• ESC CONGRESS 2015 - Joni Valdemar Lindbohm, Finland: Dose and time dependent associations of smoking to incident subarachnoid hemorrhage in men and women.
• ESC CONGRESS 2014 - Pierluigi Costanzo  (York, GB): Impact of change of body mass index on long-term cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality in patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
• ESC CONGRESS 2013 - Maarten J G Leening (Rotterdam, NL): The healthy volunteer effect and coronary risk prediction in the general population: the Rotterdam study
• ESC CONGRESS 2012 - Mattis Flyvholm Ranthe (Copenhagen, DK): Clustering of cardiovascular diseases in family members of young sudden cardiac death victims: - a danish nationwide cohort study
• ESC CONGRESS 2011 - Nicolas Schroten (Groningen, NL): Renin predicts cardiovascular events in the general population independently of aldosterone or hemodynamic parameters
• ESC CONGRESS 2010 - Radoslaw Debiec (Leicester, GB): Genetic control of heart rate in the general population - a large-scale genetic analysis
• ESC CONGRESS 2009 - Francesco Barone Adesi (Turin, IT): Italian smoking regulation decreased hospital admissions for acute coronary events: effect modification by age and day of the week.
• ESC CONGRESS 2008 - Emil Fosbol (Hellerup, DK): Risk of myocardial infarction and death associated with the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) among healthy individuals: a nationwide study.
• ESC CONGRESS 2007 - Silke Wiedmann (Regensburg, DE): Genetic variants within the LPIN1 gene, encoding lipin, are influencing phenotypes of the metabolic syndrome in human.
• ESC CONGRESS 2006 - Catherine Mary McGorrian (Dublin, IE): Differences in the risk associated with gender and other risk factors for cardiovascular disease in the presence of self-reported diabetes: the SCORE project.
• ESC CONGRESS 2005 - Ernst Rietzschel (Ghent, BE): Metabolic syndrome, a map of the cardiovascular damage. Results from the asklepios study in 2528 apparently healthy 35-55 year-old subjects.

Young Investigators Award winners on Thrombosis

• ESC CONGRESS 2016 - Christina Fanola, United States of America: A novel risk prediction score in atrial fibrillation for a net clinical outcome from the ENGAGE AF-TIMI 48 randomized clinical trial.
• ESC CONGRESS 2015 - Line Melgaard, Denmark: Assessment of a stroke risk stratification scheme in a heart failure population in sinus rhythm.
• ESC CONGRESS 2014 - Anne-Marie Schjerning Olsen (Hellerup , DK): Impact of NSAID treatment on bleeding risk after myocardial infarction in patients treated with different combinations of aspirin, clopidogrel, or vitamin k antagonist - a Nationwide study
• ESC CONGRESS 2013 - Erik Walter Holy (Zurich, CH): Carbamylated LDL induces a pro-thrombotic state via the LOX-1 receptor and arterial thrombus formation:  a novel mechanism of cardiovascular events in end-stage renal disease
• ESC CONGRESS 2012 - Erik Walter Holy (Baden, CH): Critical role for PI3K/p110alpha in arterial thrombosis and vascular smooth muscle cell activation: implications for drug-eluting stent design
• ESC CONGRESS 2011 - Alexander Akhmedov (Zurich, CH): Endothelial overexpression of LOX-1 decreases arterial thrombosis and TF expression in vivo.
• ESC CONGRESS 2010 - Sasha Koul (Lund, SE): Effect of upstream clopidogrel treatment in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction undergoing primary PCI.
• ESC CONGRESS 2009 - Pamela Moceri (Nice, FR): Strong decrease of the clopidogrel antiplatelet effect with esomeprazole, but not with ranitidine and recovering of the antiplatelet effect by doubling the dosage of clopidogrel.
• ESC CONGRESS 2008 - Gemma Vilahur (Barcelona, SP): Mechanisms of myocardial protection and restoration of heart function after an experimental total occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery modelling acute myocardial infarction.
• ESC CONGRESS 2007 - Mikhail Sovershaev (Tromsoe, NO): The search for the origin of blood-borne tissue factor using siRNA-mediated gene silencing approach.
• ESC CONGRESS 2006 - Scott Richard Willoughby (Adelaide, AU): The effect of ramipril on platelet function in patients with high cardiovascular risk: a double-blind randomized placebo-controlled evaluation of ramipril on platelet nitric oxide responsiveness.
• ESC CONGRESS 2005 - Dominick Joseph Angiolillo (Jacksonville, USA): Influence of the 807 C/T polymorphism of the glycoprotein Ia gene on platelet response to sustained dual antiplatelet treatment.

Young Investigators Award winners on Coronary Pathophysiology and Microcirculation (Working Group Award)

• ESC CONGRESS 2016 - Ward Heggermont, Belgium: Serial endomyocardial microRNA-126 measurements in heart transplant recipients  with and without allograft vasculopathy. 
• ESC CONGRESS 2015 - Duygu Kocyigit, Turkey: Enhanced platelet toll-like receptor- 2 and 4 expression in acute coronary syndrome.
• ESC CONGRESS 2014 - Andreas Mangold (Vienna, AT): CD4+CD28null T cells are enriched at the culprit lesion site in STE-ACS and promote NET production
• ESC CONGRESS 2013 - Marios Margaritis (Oxford, GB): A novel cross-talk between perivascular adipose tissue and the arterial wall controls redox state in human atherosclerosis
• ESC CONGRESS 2012 - Fabio Mangiacapra (Aalst, BE): Intracoronary enalaprilat to reduce microvascular damage occurring during elective percutaneous coronary intervention trial (Promicro trial): a randomized double-blind controlled study
• ESC CONGRESS 2011 - Michail Papafaklis (Boston, US): Low endothelial shear stress upregulates atherogenic and inflammatory genes extremely early in the natural history of coronary artery disease in diabetic hyperlipidemic juvenile swine
• ESC CONGRESS 2010 - Alexios Antonopoulos (Athens, GR): Genetic variability of adiponectin gene affects arterial redox state by regulating adiponectin biosynthesis in adipose tissue from patients with atherosclerosis.
• ESC CONGRESS 2009 - Yiannis Chatzizisis (Boston, USA): Augmented expression of extracellular matrix-degrading enzymes by low Endothelial Shear Stress (ESS) promotes the formation of coronary atheromata with thin fibrous caps.
• ESC CONGRESS 2008 - Charalambos Antoniades (Oxford, GB): Genetic variability of MTHFR affects vascular redox and nitric oxide bioavailability in human vessels, by modifying eNOS coupling.
• ESC CONGRESS 2007 - Charalambos Antoniades (Oxford, GB): Plasma asymmetrical-dimethyl-arginine (ADMA) regulates nitric oxide bioavailability and vascular superoxide production in human vessels.
• ESC CONGRESS 2006 - Sandra Erbs (Leipzig, DE): Restoration of coronary microvascular function in the infarct-related artery by bone marrow-derived progenitor cells after acute MI: results from the double-blind, placebo-controlled REPAIR-AMI trial.

Young Investigators Award winner on stroke

• ESC CONGRESS 2016 - Mohamad Anas Hussain, Canada: Twelve-year outcomes of surgery versus stenting for carotid artery stenosis in a large multicenter population-based cohort study

Young Investigators Award Winner on Ageing and Senescence

• ESC CONGRESS 2015 - Marios Margaritis, United Kingdom: Telomere length predicts clinical outcomes post-revascularization procedures: its role as a novel biomarker of systemic oxidative stress and cardiovascular ageing

 Testimonials

 “It is very satisfying to discover that our work is acknowledged and appreciated on an international level!...I think this award is a benchmark in my career...I received congratulations from numerous colleagues at the congress and back at my institution...I will try to use the award as a basement for further steps into the field.” Andreas Mangold (Vienna, AT) - Winner Young Investigators Award on Coronary Pathophysiology and Microcirculation - ESC Congress 2014

“This award is a major step in my career. It really underlines the importance of my project." Read more - Anne-Marie Schjerning Olsen (Hellerup , DK) - Winner Young Investigators Award on Thrombosis - ESC Congress 2014

“I do believe that the recognition of my scientific work by the ESC is an important achievement and certainly represents a good starting point for the career of a young investigator. I was very pleased and honoured to receive my second international award at the 2014 ESC congress." Read more - Francesco Paneni (Stockholm, SE) - Winner Young Investigators Award on Basic Science - ESC Congress 2014

"Winning this award was not only about receiving a prestigious gratification but, mostly, having the opportunity to give great visibility to my research topic. It is also an outstanding academic achievement that looks very bright in the CV and is well recognized among peers and seniors. I also strongly believe that having won this award would multiply and lead to bigger career opportunities.” - Pierluigi Costanzo  (York, GB)- Winner Young Investigators Award on Population Sciences - ESC Congress 2014

"Winning the YIA was a unique opportunity for me to further develop my network and to promote my research at the highest scientific level possible. This experience enabled me to establish a close collaboration within an international framework that may result in the development of a new medical device based on my research findings." Erik Walter Holy (Baden, CH) - Winner Young Investigators Award on Thrombosis - ESC Congress 2012

"It is simply a great way to test yourself and the quality of your work at a high international level... " Read more - Emil Fosbol (Hellerup, DK) – Winner Young Investigators Award in Population Sciences at ESC Congress 2008

"The ESC YIA was my first international research award and it is of course a major step in your career. It opens new professional opportunities and promote further expertise, interest and understanding. This was the most fantastic experience in my life until now !" Tamer Mohamed (Manchester, GB) - Finalist of the Young Investigators Award in Basic Science at ESC Congress 2010

"This award was a major step in my career. It really underlines the importance of my project which has been also confirmed now... ' Read more - Samuel Sossalla (Goettingen, DE) - Winner of the Young Investigators Award in Basic Science at ESC Congress 2009

"The experience of the YIA was excellent and I would thoroughly recommend it. This was my first major international research award and I do consider it a significant step in my career. My colleagues view this as a major achievement and I have had excellent feedback from this. I hope that it will open further opportunities in the future. I was honoured to be shortlisted but to win was fantastic." Andrew Ludman (London, GB) - Winner of the Young investigators Award in Clinical Science at ESC Congress 2010

"Winning this award has contributed significantly to my career so far... " Read more - Delvac Oceandy (Manchester, GB) - Winner Young Investigators Award in Basic Science - ESC Congress 2006

"The Award is my first international prize for research and it proves that young clinicians interested in population genetics can and should successfully compete for ESC Awards" Read more - Radoslaw Debiec (Leicester, GB) - Winner Young Investigators Award on Population Sciences - ESC Congress 2010

Anne-Marie Schjerning Olsen (Hellerup , DK) - Winner Young Investigators Award on Thrombosis at ESC Congress 2014
“It was an acknowledgement from the expert peers that my work was of high standard and was very important in the field of thrombosis. It was also a great moment when the award was announced in front of highly respected audience during the award ceremony. My colleagues and supervisors at the Department of Cardiology, University of Copenhagen Gentofte Hospital are very proud of this achievement and think that this is a great start to a career in cardiology. I should stress that this achievement would not be possible without the excellent supervision of my seniors and support from the Department of Cardiology, University of Copenhagen Gentofte and Department of Cardiology, the Heart Center, Rigshospitalet. I plan to take my research to the next level by joining an international research group in January 2015. I am positive that the YIA will help me stand out from the crowd and hopefully help me in my future career... The award also helped promote the message of my research and this was displayed in several Danish newsletters. I have experienced that my research has great interest in part because of the ESC YIA... I am deeply honoured and proud to have received this award.”

Francesco Paneni (Stockholm, SE) - Winner Young Investigators Award on Basic Science at ESC Congress 2014
"As of today, the ESC Congress is the largest cardiovascular forum with one third of attendees coming from non European countries. The scientific relevance of this meeting has grown rapidly during the last years. I think that major features for the achievement of scientific success include three main aspects: 1) how scientists and other people judge your scientific activity; 2) your personal ability and curiosity to inquire and investigate crucial questions related to the understanding and treatment of cardiovascular disease burden; 3) the enthusiasm in exchange knowledge and willingness to collaborate with other scientists in your and other research fields. I think the achievement of an ESC award represents a good opportunity to start and pursue scientific networking, eventually leading to new job opportunities worldwide. Of course, this is only one aspect and greater efforts have to be made to achieve a “scientific identity” among basic and translational researchers both at national and international level. My personal understanding as well as the knowledge of the topic I am working on so far have surely been improved and strengthened by the achievement of the ESC Young Investigator Award. Indeed, such a scientific environment led myself to further gain expertise and motivation in my research field. In particular, meeting experts in your field of interest is an important chance and source of inspiration which may drive you toward future advances, achievements and struggles. Another important aspect is how your scientific mentor is able to bring out the most of your qualities. In this regard, I feel particularly privileged and I owe him most of my scientific achievements. Sincerely, I was not expecting to receive such recognition. I felt that my session was scientifically outstanding and chances to win were only based on how I was able to make the audience understanding my study and share my enthusiasm. After my talk, I did realize that the chairmen and attendees were fascinated by the data as well as by the active discussion. I felt extremely proud to be nominated winner of a basic science ESC award. Indeed, I engaged in basic research with the background of a clinical cardiologist. However, with time I realized that only motivation, efforts and sacrifices may help you to achieve your goals in life, whatever they are."

Emil Fosbol (Hellerup, Denmark) – Winner Young Investigators Award in Population Sciences at ESC Congress 2008
"I was fortunate enough to be selected for the YIA competition in 2008 in the population science category and again in 2009. I have benefitted substantially from the contest in terms of personal development but also mainly on my carrier possibilities.In Munich I won the first prize for my abstract concerning cardiovascular risk associated with NSAID treatment among healthy individuals. This award was my first international research award but afterwards I have also been widely credited in my own country as well as in neighboring countries for my work. I definitely consider the first prize at the YIA competition at ESC in 2008 to be a major step in my carrier. Afterwards I was also interviewed for a spotlight interview in Circulation as part of the journal’s European Perspectives section. I believe that the quality of my work and the recognition I have received after ESC 2008 also have played an important role in me later winning several other awards and personal “talent-of-the-year” prizes in my own country, Denmark. The award also helped promote the message of my research and this was displayed in several international newspapers and was cited on the front-page of one of the biggest newspapers in Denmark called Politiken. I have experienced that my research has great interest in the general population and in the media but I have also realized that my person also attracts attention in part because of the ESC YIA. I plan to take my research to the next level by joining an international research group in the near future and hope that these plans will be settled before the summer 2010. I am positive that the YIA and the following interview in Circulation will help me stand out from the crowd and hopefully help me earn a fellowship at a high-quality research center. Thank you for letting me compete in the YIA competition. It is simply a great way to test yourself and the quality of your work at a high international level."

Delvac Oceandy (Manchester, GB) – Winner Young Investigators Award in Basic Science at ESC Congress 2006
"I won the ESC Young Investigator Award Basic Science in 2006. It was my second major scientific award after I won the AMP Queensland Biomedical Research Award in 2001 for my PhD works. Winning this competition has given me a real great feeling. It was an acknowledgement from the expert peers that my works was of high standard and was very important in the field of basic cardiovascular science. It was also a great moment when the award was announced in front of highly respected audience during the award ceremony.
Winning this award has contributed significantly to my career so far. The Dean and the Head of Department in the university has acknowledged my achievement and I also received recognition from a number of senior colleagues. This made me easier to build my reputation in the field and to develop collaboration. It also gave me some extra motivation to do my best in my research career.
I have been promoted as a Lecturer in the University of Manchester and recently I have been awarded a British Heart Foundation (BHF) Basic Science Intermediate Fellowship Grant. I certainly believe that the ESC YIA Award has been an important factor for my recent success as a young academic, working in basic cardiovascular science."

Samuel Sossalla (Goettingen, Germany) - Winner of the Young Investigators Award in Basic Science at ESC Congress 2009
"This award was a major step in my career. It really underlines the importance of my project which has been also confirmed now since it is accepted in JACC. There were also reports about this award in several German newsletters. I was absolutely glad because so many frustrating periods were compensated with this award. I was really encouraged to perform further exhausting research. This was very important for my standing."

Radoslaw Debiec (Leicester, GB) - Winner Young Investigators Award winners on Population Sciences - ESC Congress 2010
"I am deeply honoured to have received the Young Investigator Awards in Population Sciences session at the European Society of Cardiology Congress 2010. The Award is my first international prize for research and it proves that young clinicians interested in population genetics can and should successfully compete for ESC Awards. The award strengthens my commitment to research and makes me believe that young investigators like myself may contribute to translation of findings from cardiovascular genetics into a clinical setting where it will be most beneficial. My colleagues and supervisors ate the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Leicester are very proud of this achievement and think that this is a great start to a career in cardiovascular genetics and clinical translational research. I should stress that this achievement would not be possible without the excellent supervision of my seniors and support from the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, College and the University of Leicester".