Learning from Europe’s Leading Heart Experts

By Dirk Hoffman

The course was created to encourage the discovery of science and support the next generation of cardiovascular researchers, by offering an immersive, high‑quality training experience that combines core concepts with hands‑on laboratory work in leading European research centers, according to the ESC. 

The course is structured across three weeks: 

• June 10-14:  One week of in-person training in Nice, France, to cover genetics, molecular biology, preclinical models, regenerative medicine, research methodology, mentoring and regulatory affairs
• July–December: Two weeks of hands-on learning during a placement in a leading European laboratory. Participants will benefit from practical immersion, working on real-world cardiovascular research through supervised projects and skills development

Rolland says he first learned about the opportunity through John M. Canty Jr., MD, SUNY Distinguished Professor of and Albert and Elizabeth Rekate Professor of Medicine, who was a member of his PhD dissertation committee.

He notes his doctoral training with Canty and his PhD mentor, Brian R. Weil, PhD, associate professor of physiology and biophysics, helped expose him to a strong international network of cardiovascular researchers, including collaborators and leaders affiliated with the European Society of Cardiology.

“That broader network helped me recognize how valuable this course could be at this stage of my career.”

Rolland says the application process was distinctive in that it asked applicants to clearly articulate their scientific direction rather than simply summarize prior accomplishments. The central prompt was essentially: “If you were running a lab today, what would you be studying?”

The question pushed him to consolidate his prior work in cardiovascular physiology, ischemia–reperfusion injury, and systemic inflammation into a clear future research vision.

“My goal is to understand ischemia–reperfusion injury not only as damage to an isolated organ, but as a systemic vascular disease,” Rolland says. “By integrating models of stroke, acute myocardial infarction, and cardiac arrest, I hope to identify conserved inflammatory and vascular pathways that drive secondary organ dysfunction and long-term cardiovascular morbidity.”

The ESC Fund course is designed to provide intensive theoretical and methodological training across major areas of cardiovascular basic science, including molecular mechanisms, preclinical models, systems biology, pharmacology, and translational approaches, Rolland notes.

Rolland says he feels his participation “will help deepen my foundation in the molecular, genetic, and vascular mechanisms that regulate cardiovascular disease.”

Rolland sees the two-week laboratory placement as an important part of the opportunity.

“I hope to gain exposure to advanced vascular biology techniques, systems-level approaches, and specialized tools used to study blood flow and vascular function during and after ischemic injury,” he says. “Just as importantly, I hope to build durable international collaborations and learn how cardiovascular discovery is approached across European research centers, including how basic science findings are translated toward therapeutic development.”

Rolland will learn which host institution and laboratory he has been paired with at the end of the seminar in June.

Rolland’s current role at the Jacobs School in is in the Neurovascular Protection Lab of Marc Halterman, MD, PhD, professor of neurology.

“I study how ischemic stroke affects organs beyond the brain, particularly the lungs. This is often described as the stroke–lung axis,” he says. “After a stroke, inflammatory and vascular signals released from the injured brain can contribute to lung injury, pneumonia, respiratory failure, and worse outcomes for patients.”

His work focuses on understanding how stroke disrupts pulmonary vascular integrity and inflammatory balance. More broadly, Rolland is interested in how different forms of ischemia–reperfusion injury, including stroke, myocardial infarction, and cardiac arrest, can trigger systemic vascular dysfunction and contribute to complications that worsen recovery for patients.

“The long-term goal is to identify therapeutic strategies that interrupt these damaging inter-organ responses, improve outcomes after major cardiovascular events, and help translate mechanistic discoveries into clinically meaningful therapies,” he says.

Rolland says Halterman has been “an outstanding mentor during this transition into my postdoctoral career.”

“He has challenged me to think more independently, to ask larger mechanistic questions, and to approach cardio- and cerebrovascular disease through a systems-level lens that connects technical innovation with clinically relevant problems,” he says.

“Importantly, he has created an environment that values rigorous discussion, scientific creativity, and systems approaches to complex research problems.”