Join us on Cape Cod in Massachusetts!
October 19-23, 2025

Registration and Abstracts submission sites are now open!!

Regarding the Administration’s draft Fiscal Year 2026 budget for the Department of Health and Human Services:

As drafted, the proposed budget would cut about one-third of the agency’s discretionary spending and effectively devastate our nation’s research, scientific, and public health infrastructure.

The draft proposal is dangerous and devastating. It would put our nation’s health and security at risk by defunding, and in some cases eliminating, vital programs that monitor and defend against infectious and chronic disease, battle opioid and mental health epidemics, protect the public against environmental and occupational health threats, reduce preventable injuries, address public health emergencies and deliver high-quality care to veterans, seniors, and other Americans. These cuts will also seriously undermine our ability to remain a global leader in developing the next generation of treatments and cures for cancer and other diseases.

Excerpt from a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee.  NAVBO was one of 534 organizations to sign onto the letter.  Full letter available here.

Image from the lab of Ke Yuan, Boston Children's Hospital. 

While pericytes are important regulators of capillary function and homeostasis, the lack of specific markers has hampered the investigation of pericyte biology. Our study identifies Higd1b as a unique and specific gene marker for pulmonary pericytes, enabling the identification of two pericyte subtypes and their contribution to vascular remodeling in hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension.
• HIGD1B is a unique gene marker for pulmonary pericytes that is more specific than CSPG4 and PDGFRB.
• Higd1b-CreERT2 knock-in mice allow fate mapping experiments for pericytes in the lung, heart, and other organs.
• Single-cell RNAseq analysis in human and murine lungs suggests the presence of two HIGD1B+ pericyte subtypes.
• Upon hypoxia, type 1 pericytes remain quiescent in the capillary network, while type 2 PCs upregulate vimentin and smooth muscle cell marker expression and accumulate in the arterioles.

Congratulations to the 2024 NAVBO and MCS Travel Award Recipients