The Foundation Hosts Third Annual Nicholas T. Kouchoukos Research Day

On Tuesday, November 14, 2023, The Foundation for Barnes-Jewish Hospital hosted the third annual Nicholas T. Kouchoukos Research Day with our partners at the Washington University Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. This event honors Dr. Kouchoukos’s legacy as a pioneering researcher and clinician and provides a forum for current Washington University cardiothoracic trainees to share their innovative research.

During an engaging afternoon on the Washington University School of Medicine campus, attendees learned about the remarkable impact of this division — not just in St. Louis, but nationally — and enjoyed a lecture by visiting speaker Mark D. Rodefeld, MD, professor of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine and Riley Hospital for Children.

Following the lecture, the afternoon featured presentations on leading-edge research from four current cardiothoracic trainees:

• “Maintenance of Lung Graft Tolerance is Dependent on Continuous Recruitment of Foxp3+ Cells to Allografts” by Dr. Louisa Bai, postdoctoral research fellow
• “Fibrotic Progression from Acute Cellular Rejection is Prevented in Absence of Secondary Lymphoid Organs in a Mouse Model of Chronic Lung Allograft Dysfunction” by Dr. Katsutaka Mineura, postdoctoral research associate
• “Recipient Interleukin-I Beta Drives G-CSF Secretion and Mobilization of Immunosuppressive Myeloid Cells after Lung Transplantation” by Dr. Yuhei Yokoyama, Postdoctoral Research Associate
• “Efficacy of a Surgical Cardiac Ablation Clamp using Nanosecond Pulsed Electric Fields: An Acute Porcine Model” by Dr. Jakrapham Yu, Postdoctoral Research Scholar

After the presentations concluded and a jury deliberated, the third annual Nicholas T. Kouchoukos, MD, Research Fellow Award was awarded to Dr. Jakrapham Yu.

The Foundation thanks everyone who participated in this year’s event, and we express our appreciation for the significant philanthropic legacy Dr. Kouchoukos continues to provide for our region and the country. To learn more about the career of this trailblazer in cardiothoracic surgery, you are welcome to revisit this feature from 2018.