The upcoming Vascular Annual Meeting (VAM), held on June 4-7 in New Orleans, will see Jason T. Lee, MD, and Claudie Sheahan, MD, at the forefront of its educational programming. Both have stepped into pivotal roles, with Lee serving as VAM program chair and Sheahan taking on the position of postgraduate education committee (PGEC) chair following the conclusion of last year’s conference.
Lee, chief of vascular surgery at Stanford, has attended VAM since his time as a surgery resident and continues to show enthusiasm for the latest scientific discoveries within the specialty.
“I've had the fortunate opportunity to be on the program committee in various positions for over a decade and have watched this meeting continue to get better providing education, larger in scope and more inclusive for all members,” said Lee. “I’m honored to have the chance to work on the program directly this year with many amazing volunteers and the support staff from the SVS.”
In 2025, Lee will celebrate his 25th anniversary attending VAM. Throughout the years, he has felt a strong desire to be present at the meeting, not only to witness the advancements in cutting-edge science and technology that can impact practices and research but also to emphasize the importance of highlighting and networking with the younger, up-and-coming professionals in the field.
According to Lee, themes to expect at the VAM 2025 are essential for the "modern and contemporary vascular surgeon." Abstracts submitted by SVS members will shape the programming, including new innovations and outcomes related aortic disease, peripheral vascular disease (PAD), carotid disease, hemodialysis access, venous disease, wound care and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, the latter of which will be featured in a set of papers on Saturday morning.
“The VAM program is only as good as what the membership submits. This year, we received 849 submissions for the 62 available spots in the program. We take our responsibility seriously to ensure that the program is current and the process is fair and transparent and reflects the important clinical and research work our members are engaged in,” said Lee.
The abstract selection for the VAM is a blinded, peer-reviewed process that allows for the submission of a wide range of topics covering the entirety of the vascular specialty.
Beyond the scientific abstracts presented, this year's VAM program will include innovative workshops, networking and social events, including "SVS Connect" at VAM: Welcome to New Orleans. A highlight will be the keynote session with Jim Craig, the goaltender for the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team, known for the "Miracle on Ice" victory. Both events are scheduled for Wednesday night during VAM.
“I want VAM to be the can't miss event of the year for all individuals connected to vascular surgery, and I hope our membership will all make plans to attend and encourage other partners and mentees to attend. Our committee’s vision for VAM25 builds on the years of creative changes to the annual meeting and to have something meaningful for every attendee, whether it be the latest science, newest techniques, topics important to vascular practice, interactive sessions with our industry partners, learning about vascular surgery as a career choice, or simply to re-connect with colleagues,” said Lee.
Sheahan, from the Louisiana State University School of Medicine, has served on the PGEC committee for the last three years and shares the same vision as Lee for enhancing the science at the VAM while serving as PGEC chair.
This year’s postgraduate sessions will cover five core topics: aortic, venous, peripheral vascular disease, dialysis access and cerebrovascular disease. In addition the program will include a dialysis summit, sessions on deep venous obstruction, “My Worst Cases,” and a women’s section symposium highlighting aortic dissection.
New this year is a trauma program featuring “Ted Talk” type presentations. Sheahan sees this as a standout session for attendees, as well as an Education Summit featuring the leaders of vascular education in the United States.
“It’s very effective when you have a speaker so passionate about a topic. Making a complex topic appear simple and concise is very difficult to do, and some of the leading experts in our country in vascular trauma and education will deliver that in these new forums,” said Sheahan.
Another potential highlight for this year’s VAM will be a parenthood session called “Carrying the Weight: Parenthood in Vascular Surgery”. All aspects of parenthood will be featured from the perspective of the vascular surgeon, including trainees, those in private practice and academic practice, with topics around same-sex couples, single couples, single parents and the male and female perspective to parenting and vascular surgery.
“This interview style session is going to no doubt provide a lot of great discussions that will make the audience get very involved and, hopefully, learn a lot,” said Sheahan. “I feel it will be tough to keep the session on time because the discussion will be robust.”
As the PGEC chair, Sheahan aims to ensure that everyone attending VAM can find a topic that resonates with them, regardless of their level of experience or practice type. Her objective is to ensure that the time, money and effort invested by attendees is meaningful and worthwhile.
“During my tenure as PGEC chair, my goal is to make sure that we give our membership the highest level content at our annual meeting,” said Sheahan. “Expert content delivered by experts is the overriding principle, and the material should be the most up-to-date information available.”
For more information about VAM’s programming, visit vascular.org/onlineplanner.