Pei-Chun Chou is a scientist in the Heart Rhythm Center of Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taiwan. She earned her MS under the mentorship of Dr Yu-Feng Hu at the Institute of Clinical Medicine of National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University. During her undergraduate studies, she changed her research interests from aquaculture to cardiac research and is fascinated with the potential medical applications and mechanisms of cardiac pacemaker cardiomyocytes. Being curious and exploring the mysteries of science makes her life rich and colorful. Pei-Chun believes that many unexpected discoveries in medical research remain to be seen, and that mystery fuels her passion for her work. She can be found on Twitter @Pei0503.

Dr Pim van Gorp earned his MD and MS in Biomedical Sciences from Leiden University, where he will also begin his Cardiology residency. His PhD training (mentors, Dr AAF de Vries and Dr DA Pijnappels) in the Laboratory of Experimental Cardiology at the Leiden University Medical Center, focuses on the development and application of conditionally immortalized cardiomyocytes. In the future he aims to work as a physician as well as a scientist.

Dr My-Anh Nguyen is a Research Associate in the laboratory of Dr Katey Rayner at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute in Canada. She earned her BS in Biotechnology from Vietnam National University, focusing on assisted reproductive technology. She then earned her MS focusing on lipoprotein metabolism, as well as her PhD focusing on extracellular RNAs and nanoparticles from the University of Ottawa. Dr Nguyen’s research interest is studying the molecular (non-coding RNA regulatory networks) and cellular (extracellular vesicles) interplay between cardiovascular system, metabolism and inflammation. Besides science, she loves LEGO. She can be found on Twitter @MyAnhNguyen9.

Dr Huy-Dung Hoang is a postdoctoral fellow at Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute-University of Ottawa, where he also earned his PhD. He earned his BS in Biotechnology at Vietnam National University, and his MS in Biotechnology focusing on genetic engineering of industrial fungus at the University of Tokyo, Japan. He then developed an interest in finding a cure for cancer and joined Dr Tommy Alain’s laboratory at his current institution to study the interaction of oncolytic virus and cancer cells at the translation level. At the end of his PhD, he broadened his research interest to translation control in disease conditions, especially in viral infection and inflammatory disease using high-throughput sequencing approaches, including RNA-seq and Ribo-seq. Aside from translation control in atherosclerosis, Dr Hoang also adapts translation control to oncolytic virus engineering to improve their therapeutic efficacy. When not in the lab, he enjoys spending time with his family, including his 9-month-old son, and biking or running on Ottawa’s various beautiful pathways and trails. He can be found on Twitter @DungHuyHoang1.

Dr Xinbo Zhang is a research scientist in Comparative Medicine at Yale University School of Medicine. Dr Zhang earned his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Peking Union Medical College, where he studied lipoprotein metabolism in atherogenesis and cancer. Xinbo was also an AHA Postdoctoral Fellowship awardee. His research interest is focused on a better understanding of the mechanisms of lipid metabolism and inflammation in atherosclerosis and how miRNAs regulate lipid metabolism and the progression of atherosclerosis. Outside of his research, he enjoys playing sports, hiking and spending time with family. Xinbo’s favorite quote is, “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”

Dr Augustin Toma is a final-year internal medicine resident at the University of Toronto. He studied chemical engineering at the University of Western Ontario before completing medical school at McMaster University. Dr Toma’s primary research interests are in machine learning applications in medicine, specifically in the opportunity to better integrate disparate and new forms of healthcare data into patient representations for personalized therapies. In order to further develop his research interests, he will soon be pursuing doctoral studies at the University of Toronto focused on machine learning in healthcare. He can be found on Twitter @ugustintoma.