Jean Wassenaar, MD PhD
jeanwassenaar.bsky.social
Jean Wassenaar, MD PhD
@jeanwassenaar.bsky.social
physician scientist, cardiologist, mom x 4, peloton addict, aspiring foodie, budding gardener.
Obesity is a major risk factor for HFpEF. Join me in learning about a new HFpEF model that Valero-Munoz et al developed to study how adipose tissue changes in a 🐁 model and human patients🚶‍♂️in this month's #JACCBTS @jaccjournals.bsky.social . 🧵: 1/8
September 5, 2025 at 12:41 PM
Reposted by Jean Wassenaar, MD PhD
Jonesborough nurse’s heart attack-pregnancy journey leads to Vanderbilt Women’s Heart Center news.vumc.org/2025/07/21/p...

#teamwork #cardioobstetrics
@scadalliance.bsky.social
Jonesborough nurse's heart attack-pregnancy journey leads to Vanderbilt Women's Heart Center
Patient's medical journey highlights the need for women to be vigilant about heart health when pregnant or thinking about becoming pregnant.
news.vumc.org
July 24, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Balancing the risk for clotting and bleeding is constant challenge for cardiologists, so I was very excited to see in this month’s #JACCBTS work on targeting different parts of the coagulation cascade (Factor 11, FXI) to reduce bleeding risk while lowering risk for thrombosis. 🧵: 1/8
July 15, 2025 at 9:48 PM
Reposted by Jean Wassenaar, MD PhD
This #FINEHEART pooled analysis, published in #JACC, demonstrated that finerenone significantly reduced the risk of new-onset atrial fibrillation/atrial flutter across the CKM spectrum. www.jacc.org/doi/10.1016/... #AFib
Finerenone Reduces New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation Across the Spectrum of Cardio-Kidney-Metabolic Syndrome: The FINE-HEART Pooled Analysis
www.jacc.org
April 30, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Reposted by Jean Wassenaar, MD PhD
🚨Last day to secure Advanced Registration rates for ACC Care of the Athletic Heart!

Virtual seats still available for the Hybrid meeting

To learn the latest in #SportsCardio from the experts who authored the recently updated guidelines, register today

acc.org/Education-and-…
April 30, 2025 at 11:23 PM
I’ll always remember the first congestive hepatopathy patient I took care of as an intern @vumc.bsky.social. The pathology was so different from anything else, so when I saw an article on this in this month’s #JACCBTS I couldn’t wait to learn more about it. (🧵: 1/10) @jaccjournals.bsky.social
May 1, 2025 at 1:44 AM
Another early AM conference run with @djfehrenbach.bsky.social at #APS2025 along the Baltimore inner harbor! @apsphysiology.bsky.social
April 26, 2025 at 7:14 PM
In summary, @spfisterer.bsky.social and co-authors created a semi-automated way to predict how variants in the LDLR gene will affect cholesterol and CVD risk, to tackle the ever-growing VUS problem! Read more in this month’s #JACCBTS! @jaccjournals.bsky.social 🧵:8/8
March 3, 2025 at 10:29 PM
Finally, the authors used their new classification to categorize variants in UKBB and found that the patients with variants categorized as loss of function or defective had higher cholesterol and more CVD, whereas ClinVar and In Silico predictions were less robust. 🧵:7/8
March 3, 2025 at 10:26 PM
This type of classification would potentially recategorize many of the variants (including majority of the VUS’s) currently in ClinVar for the LDLR gene. 🧵:6/9
March 3, 2025 at 10:25 PM
Based on LDL uptake and LDLR expression, they categorized each variant to different functional groups. 🧵:5/9
March 3, 2025 at 10:24 PM
For each variant, they evaluated LDL content and LDLR presence under 3 different conditions (lipid rich, lipid poor, and lipid poor + statin). 🧵:4/9
March 3, 2025 at 10:23 PM
They then created a library of 350+ plasmid constructs each a VUS within LDLR (A), confirmed it with NGS (B), transfected LDLR KO cells with each construct (C), and imaged each cell with confocal 🔬 and analyzed both the LDL and LDLR content of each cell (D). 🧵: 3/9
March 3, 2025 at 10:20 PM
The authors first created a reporter cell line by knocking out the LDL receptor (LDLR) in the HepG2 liver cancer cell line (left) then stably transfected these cells with a GFP-labeled LDLR (right).🧵: 2/9
March 3, 2025 at 10:18 PM
Ever get back a genetic report and dread seeing the words “Variant of Unknown Significance (VUS)”😱? The # of VUSs are escalating as more patients get sequenced – join me in learning about how @spfisterer.bsky.social and colleagues are helping tackle the VUS problem 🧬 in this month's #JACCBTS🧵:1/9
March 3, 2025 at 10:14 PM
Reposted by Jean Wassenaar, MD PhD
Wondering if your study section cancelled? I update this sheet daily. As of today, 56/124 study sections that should have met since Jan 2, 2025 have "not met as scheduled." docs.google.com/spreadsheets...
2025 Study section tracking
docs.google.com
February 24, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Reposted by Jean Wassenaar, MD PhD
Francis Collins, the NIH Director for 12 years, led the Human Genome Project and other NIH efforts for 32 years, resigned today. Key words from his resignation letter
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/01/u...
March 1, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Reposted by Jean Wassenaar, MD PhD
During Rare Disease Week, patients and advocates were in D.C. for an event with the NIH, FDA, and HHS to highlight work being done on treatments and cures. It was abruptly canceled. Why? The administration fired the people organizing this important event and advancing this work.
March 1, 2025 at 11:14 PM
Felt really unmotivated to go to work today (Mondays are my VA clinic) because of the "Five Things that You Did Last Week" email over the weekend. But then I convinced a veteran to try to quit smoking. I'll take that small victory.
February 24, 2025 at 7:23 PM
going to be relying on this heavily this week as I plan a resubmission. 😩
Excited to introduce Thoughtcrime Checker! This simple text editor highlights any words on the Trump administration's "banned" list. Remove these words from your NSF/NIH grants and see if you can avoid the Thought Police!
brad7280.github.io/thoughtcrime...
@theo.io @xkcd.com @byscottdance.com
February 18, 2025 at 7:27 PM
Reposted by Jean Wassenaar, MD PhD
In this month’s issue of #JACCBTS, Brambilla, et al. explore the role of platelet function in long COVID. Read below ⬇️ to see what they found! 🧵
1/n
@jeffhsumd.bsky.social @jaccjournals.bsky.social @vascularimmuno.bsky.social @jeanwassenaar.bsky.social
January 27, 2025 at 11:44 PM
PSA to fellow cyclists: I have finally found the solution for biking to work in 20F mornings, after trying 2 different pair of "windproof" gloves, double gloving, and still having frozen fingers by the time I get there... nitrile lab gloves underneath the cycling gloves is 👌.
December 3, 2024 at 4:07 AM
Reposted by Jean Wassenaar, MD PhD
Come join a community of enthusiastic scientists exploring the intersection of immunology and cardiovascular disease!

go.bsky.app/ErKF727
November 17, 2024 at 6:45 PM