{"674908":{"#nid":"674908","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Physicist Flavio Fenton Awarded Lectureship for Heart Arrhythmia Research","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EFlavio Fenton,\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/strong\u003Ea professor in the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003ESchool of Physics\u003C\/a\u003E, has been awarded the\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.hrsonline.org\/about-us\/awards-scholarships\/douglas-p-zipes-lectureship-award\u0022\u003EDouglas P. Zipes Lectureship Award\u003C\/a\u003E by the Heart Rhythm Society for his groundbreaking research on arrhythmias. The award \u201chonors a scientist or clinician who has made a significant and unique contribution to the field of cardiac pacing and electrophysiology.\u201d Only one Lectureship is awarded each year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/physics.gatech.edu\/news\/we-heart-physics-flavio-fenton-cardiac-rhythms-chaos-and-mission-end-arrhythmias-0\u0022\u003EFenton uses physics to better understand how the heart functions\u003C\/a\u003E \u2014 or malfunctions, as in the case of arrhythmias.\u0026nbsp;Arrhythmias happen when a heart beats irregularly, and too slow or too fast. These contractions are cued by electrical signals \u2014 electrical signals that he has spent the last thirty years uncovering.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cI am extremely honored and grateful to have been selected for this award,\u201d Fenton says. \u201cIt is really a privilege to join the list of recipients of this award, so many of whom I have long admired and whose research has formed and inspired me since my early days as a researcher. It is particularly meaningful for me to be recognized for my contributions to the study of cardiac arrhythmias by a society predominantly composed of medical doctors, especially given the unusual circumstance of a physicist receiving such an honor.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Ch3\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EPhysics at the heart of it\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/h3\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EBy\u0026nbsp;\u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.quantamagazine.org\/can-math-and-physics-save-an-arrhythmic-heart-20230712\/\u0022\u003Eleveraging mathematical and computational models\u003C\/a\u003E, along with conducting experiments, Fenton unravels the dynamics of voltage and calcium waves in the heart, and how their instabilities relate to arrhythmias \u2014 in particular the unique spiral waves associated with them. By combating these spiral waves with specifically-tailored electrical shocks, he has developed gentler, less-damaging methods than those traditionally-used in current defibrillators, which he hopes can be clinically applied in the future.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003EFenton\u2019s contributions to the field have also included new methods to visualize and study arrhythmias experimentally and the development of theoretical and computational tools, increasing the accessibility of cutting-edge computer simulations aimed at personalizing heart treatments.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp dir=\u0022ltr\u0022\u003E\u201cI would like to dedicate this award to my mentors and collaborators\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EAlain Karma\u003C\/strong\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003ESteve Evans\u003C\/strong\u003E,\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003ERobert Gilmour,\u003C\/strong\u003E and\u0026nbsp;\u003Cstrong\u003EElizabeth Cherry\u003C\/strong\u003E, as well as to all my students whose contributions have been invaluable and with whom I have had so much fun doing research,\u201d he says. \u201cThis award is a testament to our collective work.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe award recognizes \u201chonors a scientist or clinician who has made a significant and unique contribution to the field of cardiac pacing and electrophysiology,\u0022 and recognizes Fenton\u0027s groundbreaking research, which uses physics to better understand how the heart functions \u2014 or malfunctions, in the case of arrhythmias.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"Fenton has spent the last 30 years using physics to better understand how the heart functions, and has made groundbreaking contributions to the field."}],"uid":"35599","created_gmt":"2024-05-28 15:57:33","changed_gmt":"2024-05-28 16:22:00","author":"sperrin6","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2024-05-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2024-05-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"674077":{"id":"674077","type":"image","title":"Fenton (center) with students Henry Chionuma, Evan Rheaume, Jimena Siles-Paredes, Casey Lee-Trimble, and Ilja Uzelac","body":null,"created":"1716913143","gmt_created":"2024-05-28 16:19:03","changed":"1716913143","gmt_changed":"2024-05-28 16:19:03","alt":"Fenton (center) with students Henry Chionuma, Evan Rheaume, Jimena Siles-Paredes, Casey Lee-Trimble, and Ilja Uzelac","file":{"fid":"257547","name":"Screenshot 2024-05-28 at 9.16.20\u202fAM.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/05\/28\/Screenshot%202024-05-28%20at%209.16.20%E2%80%AFAM.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/05\/28\/Screenshot%202024-05-28%20at%209.16.20%E2%80%AFAM.png","mime":"image\/png","size":5295118,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/05\/28\/Screenshot%202024-05-28%20at%209.16.20%E2%80%AFAM.png?itok=SUZleHYD"}},"674078":{"id":"674078","type":"image","title":"Fenton delivering his lecture this May.","body":null,"created":"1716913143","gmt_created":"2024-05-28 16:19:03","changed":"1716913143","gmt_changed":"2024-05-28 16:19:03","alt":"Fenton delivering his lecture this May.","file":{"fid":"257548","name":"Screenshot 2024-05-28 at 9.16.44\u202fAM.png","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/05\/28\/Screenshot%202024-05-28%20at%209.16.44%E2%80%AFAM.png","image_full_path":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2024\/05\/28\/Screenshot%202024-05-28%20at%209.16.44%E2%80%AFAM.png","mime":"image\/png","size":3098163,"path_740":"http:\/\/hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2024\/05\/28\/Screenshot%202024-05-28%20at%209.16.44%E2%80%AFAM.png?itok=0BqrF1_I"}}},"media_ids":["674077","674078"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"126011","name":"School of Physics"}],"categories":[{"id":"138","name":"Biotechnology, Health, Bioengineering, Genetics"},{"id":"146","name":"Life Sciences and Biology"},{"id":"150","name":"Physics and Physical Sciences"},{"id":"135","name":"Research"}],"keywords":[{"id":"192249","name":"cos-community"},{"id":"76941","name":"w"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWritten by \u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:sperrin6@gatech.edu\u0022\u003ESelena Langner\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}