Trayanova selected to receive HRS Distinguished Scientist Award

Natalia Trayanova, the Murray B. Sachs Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, has been selected to receive the Heart Rhythm Society’s (HRS) Distinguished Scientist Award. Trayanova will be honored at the Society’s 40th Scientific Sessions in San Francisco this May.

The HRS, a leading resource on cardiac pacing and electrophysiology, is dedicated to improving the care of patients by promoting research, education, and optimal health care policies and standards. They represent specialty organizations and medical, allied health, and science professionals from more than 70 countries who specialize in cardiac rhythm disorders. The HRS’s Distinguished Scientist Award recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of scientific knowledge in the field of cardiac pacing or cardiac electrophysiology.

Trayanova has pioneered the use of 3-D virtual models of the heart and its electrical function to improve patient care for individuals who suffer from ventricular or atrial fibrillation, two types of irregular heartbeats. By personalizing her models with data from individual patients, Trayanova is developing innovative methods to predict the risk of sudden death or stroke from these conditions, as well as determine optimal treatments. Last fall, Trayanova partnered with Hugh Calkins, professor of cardiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, to launch the Alliance for Cardiovascular Diagnostic and Treatment Innovation, or ADVANCE, a research effort that aims to improve the diagnosis and treatment of heart rhythm disorders by leveraging innovations in cardiac imaging, computer simulations, and data science.

“I feel very honored by this award,” said Trayanova. “It represents a recognition of a biomedical engineering contribution to clinical cardiac electrophysiology, an acknowledgement of the promise that engineering holds for the future of cardiac patient care.”