Bram Hunt, ARCS Scholar 2018-19, was the podium presentation winner at the Utah Biomedical Engineering Conference in September, 2025.  He also recently received word that his paper “Are drivers recurring or ephemeral? Observations from serial mapping of persistent atrial fibrillation“ was accepted for publication in EP Europace.  This is a major milestone for Bram, representing the culmination of the lion's share of his PhD research. The article is open access so anyone can view it here: https://academic.oup.com/europace/article-abstract/26/11/euae269/7825796 

From Bram:  "In our study, we investigated whether certain areas in the heart, known as "drivers," that cause persistent atrial fibrillation (a type of irregular heartbeat) remain stable over time. We used dogs with induced atrial fibrillation and mapped their heart activity at different intervals over six months. Our findings revealed that some drivers reappeared in the same locations, particularly in the left atrium, suggesting these areas might be effective targets for treatment. Additionally, we observed that these recurring drivers were associated with structural changes in the heart, such as fibrosis (scarring).

Overall, our results suggest that targeting these stable drivers could enhance treatments for atrial fibrillation. We emphasize the importance of understanding the long-term behavior of these drivers to develop better strategies for managing this heart condition."

Bram is waiting for word on one more publication and then will be finishing up his degree in early 2025.  According to Bram, “ARCS support as been invaluable for helping me push through and get this work done.”  Congratulations, Bram!