First Catalyst Award winner to study hypertension, CAD in women
Monday, June 23, 2025
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Posted by: Jessica Frizen
ARLINGTON, VA (June 23, 2025) — The Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) selected Nisha Hosadurg, MBBS, MS as the inaugural recipient of the Chinnaiyan Catalyst Award for Women's Cardiovascular Health Research. The award — established earlier this year by President-Elect Kavitha Chinnaiyan, MD, MSCCT and Arul Chinnaiyan, MD, PhD, with additional support from nine donors — recognizes research projects that highlight and improve gaps in our understanding of cardiac and vascular physiology, specifically in women, incorporating coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) imaging. Dr. Hosadurg’s winning submission, “Quantitative coronary CT in understanding the relationship between hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and premature coronary artery disease in women,” aims to assess novel CCTA-derived biomarkers of cardiovascular (CV) risk in women with a history of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP), who are known to be at a greater long-term risk of cardiovascular disease. To do this, Dr. Hosadurg will create a registry of women 40 to 65 years of age with a history of HDP, encompassing CCTA data, clinical data and blood biomarker data; the latter, she said, will help facilitate future translational discoveries within this realm. “Knowing that women have multiple responsibilities that often result in barriers to registry or trial participation, we will design this registry to make it is as easy as possible for women to be a part of it and continue to be engaged with it long-term.” The judging panel, led by Michelle Williams, MD, PhD, FSCCT, selected Dr. Hosadurg’s submission based on the project’s strong study design and its focus on an often-ignored area, with the potential to improve case report forms and inform future research. “As she outlined in her proposal, evaluating this relationship in a prospective cohort could help identify novel CCTA markers of incident coronary artery disease (CAD) risk and serve to improve risk stratification in this population,” said Dr. Williams. “Dr. Hosadurg’s insight in recognizing a key gap in our understanding, along with her thoughtful approach to exploring CAD risk prediction in women, really stood out to the judging panel." Dr. Hosadurg is assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Virginia, and a member of the SCCT FiRST Committee, whose mission is to promote the interests of fellows, residents and early career leaders. “During my years of general cardiology and advanced imaging training at University of Virginia, I became more and more involved in the women’s cardiovascular health program, both from clinical and research standpoints,” Dr. Hosadurg said. She explained that it was a combination of this training, her existing interest in advanced plaque and pericoronary adipose tissue (PCAT) analysis, and strong encouragement from several mentors — including Patricia Rodriguez Lozano, MD, MS and Todd C. Villines, MD, MSCCT — which collectively prompted her application. “This award was really both very humbling and an honor to receive,” said Dr. Hosadurg. “I am grateful to Drs. Chinnaiyan, SCCT and all the reviewers for their recognition and support of our proposed project, which is trying to fill important gaps in what we know about women’s CV health risks.” SCCT will present the award to Dr. Hosadurg at the opening session of the SCCT Annual Scientific Meeting (SCCT2025), which takes place at 8:00am ET on Friday, July 18 at the Palais de Congres, Montreal, QC, Canada. Thanks to Drs. Chinnaiyan and its donors — Cristina Fuss, MD, PhD, FSCCT; Ron Blankstein, MD, MSCCT; Anjali Chelliah, MD, FSCCT; Maros Ferencik, MD, PhD, MSCCT; Jill Jacobs, MD, MS-HQSM, FSCCT; Omar Khalique, MD, FSCCT; Ronen Rubinshtein, MD, FSCCT; Ahmad Slim, MD, FSCCT and Eric Williamson, MD, PhD, MSCCT — the Chinnaiyan Catalyst Award recipient receives a $7,500 prize, complementary SCCT2025 registration, travel reimbursement of up to $1,500, three nights’ accommodation and a plaque. Dr. Hosadurg will also present an on-demand webcast discussing her project. SCCT will also provide a travel grant of $2,500 to support Dr. Hosadurg’s attendance at a future SCCT ASM to present a poster or talk based on a submitted abstract of early results. “This is quite a forward-thinking initiative, and I am sure it will result in significant scientific advances in this space by supporting more early career researchers like me in the future,” Dr. Hosadurg said. ### About the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography Founded in 2005, the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) is the international professional society devoted to improving health outcomes through effective use of cardiovascular computed tomography (CCT). SCCT is a community of physicians, scientists and technologists from over 85 countries advocating for access, research, education and clinical excellence in the use of CCT. For more information, please visit https://scct.org. About the 20th Annual Scientific Meeting of SCCT (SCCT2025)
SCCT2025 – the preeminent meeting focused on cardiovascular CT – will be held July 17 - 20, 2025 in Montreal, Canada. The SCCT Annual Scientific Meeting is designed to engage physicians, trainees, technologists and healthcare professionals in a complete overview of the cardiovascular CT field. Planned sessions are targeted for all levels, from new practitioners to experienced providers. Sessions range from general overviews to state-of-the-art research and expert discussions. For more information, please visit https://scct.org/SCCT2025. |
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