Daniel Schwade Araujo, a dedicated PhD candidate and Vanier Scholar under the mentorship of Dr. Todd Duhamel, competed recently as one of four finalists for the Vascular 2023 Trainee Research Award competition in the Clinical Sciences category. His presentation, titled “Examining the associations between components of the senior fitness test and metabolic syndrome risk in older females” took place late October in Montreal, QC.
“To our knowledge this is the first time that a St. Boniface Hospital Research trainee has been selected as a finalist for the Clinical Sciences stream of the Trainee Research Award,” noted Dr. Duhamel.
Daniel’s research was highlighted along with MD/PhD students from the University of British Columbia, the University of Alberta and Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Harvard University.
Vascular 2023, Canada’s premier cardiology conference, is hosted by the Canadian Cardiovascular Society in collaboration with leading organizations such as the Canadian Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Canadian Venous Thromboembolism Research Network (CanVECTOR), Diabète Quebec, Diabetes Canada, and Thrombosis Canada. With a substantial number of abstracts accepted for presentation, including 129 under the Clinical Sciences stream, only four exceptional abstracts, including Araujo’s, were selected as finalists for the Trainee Research Award.
Araujo’s achievement as a finalist, competing alongside representatives from prestigious institutions like MIT/Harvard, not only marks a personal honour but also stands as a testament to the high calibre of research conducted at St. Boniface Hospital Research.
Derived from the WARM Hearts study, a comprehensive multi-disciplinary project involving 1,018 participants, carried out over three years despite challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Araujo has been actively involved in this research project from its inception.
Araujo believes that forthcoming studies stemming from the WARM Hearts project will yield further insights into the mechanisms underlying cardiovascular disease and frailty in older adults. Additionally, this research has the potential to identify novel targets for the prevention and management of chronic conditions prevalent in this demographic.