During this year's DCAcademy Winter Meeting, the participants, ranging from early-career researchers to leading experts, were brought together to explore the current trends in cardiovascular research. The meeting offered a mixture of scientific lectures, inspirational talks, group work and individual oral presentations. The meeting was held on the Oslo Ferry travelling to the Norefjell Conference Centre in Norway.

Highlights from this year’s comprehensive programme

This year’s programme included a variety of sessions including parallel workshops on grant writing and scientific lectures. The lectures offered participants a multitude of different perspectives including insights into atrial fibrillation and its chronic progression, underlying mechanisms and the latest advances in treatment options. Moreover, perspectives on thermal stress in a changing climate and the future of animal research were also explored. Both sessions engaged the audience giving the participants a lot to reflection upon.  

Many of the participants highlight the interactive workshops and specifically the focus on grant writing as essential parts of the meeting. To this scientific assistant, Samantha A. G. San Martín from University of Copenhagen says: “The highlight for me was the parallel workshops, especially the one focused on grant writing. The session was incredibly approachable and engaging, with facilitators who created a friendly and open space that encouraged active participation. It made a topic that can often feel intimidating feel accessible and even enjoyable”.

Throughout the four days, the early career researchers also explored a communication challenge focusing on how to tackle real-world media issues of cardiovascular misinformation.

Tackling real-world media issues through a communication challenge

While sailing through the waters of Skagerak, participants closely examined the question from this year’s communication challenge: “How do we as scientists tackle cardiovascular misinformation?”. Throughout the four days, participants worked in smaller groups on how to tackle real-world media issues while focusing on improving the public’s understanding of cardiovascular research. On the final day, 8 creative solutions – such as public campaigns - were presented by the groups. This provided the participants more practical experience into how to disseminate their research to a wider audience in layman terms.

Bridging basic researchers and clinicians

One of the cornerstones of DCAcademy meetings is to bring basic researchers and clinicians together, offering participants the opportunity to connect and collaborate across research areas and career stages. During this meeting, participants from different research areas and countries exchanged ideas and forged collaborations. Christina D. Bruce, Postdoctoral Researcher from The University of British Columbia - Okanagan and The University of Innsbruck, reflects on the collaborative nature of the meeting: “I think this is a crucial step towards effective scientific knowledge translation and the meeting did a fantastic job of providing a space where basic researchers and clinicians could communicate and share information”.

To this, Samantha A. G. San Martín adds: “I believe it's not only valuable, but essential. Bridging basic and clinical research creates a more complete understanding of complex health challenges. It allows basic scientists to better grasp real-world clinical needs and provides clinicians with insights into the underlying mechanisms that could inspire new therapeutic approaches. Similarly, the opportunity to interact with researchers from different scientific fields is incredibly enriching”.

Thus, bridging the gap between basic and clinical research is therefore an important part of creating better understanding, more valuable research and inspiring new ideas in cardiovascular research.

A collaborative approach

From Copenhagen to Norway on the Oslo Ferry, this meeting facilitated a collaborative approach where participants were offered new perspectives on current trends in cardiovascular research. Samantha A. G. San Martín states: “What truly sets this meeting apart is the sense of openness and inclusion across all levels of experience. There's a genuine atmosphere of collaboration, where early-career researchers and senior scientists interact as equals. Everyone seems eager to share ideas, give feedback, and engage in meaningful discussions”.

These final remarks by Samantha A. G. San Martín sum up the most essential points of the DCAcademy Winter Meeting 2025 namely to facilitate a gathering point where researchers of all stages of experience can participate in open discussions and exchange ideas fostering strong professional connections.  Overall, the 4 days were enlightening and inspirational and we look forward to next year’s winter meeting.

Save the date for next year’s Winter Meeting

If you are interested in joining next year’s DCAcademy Winter Meeting, keep an eye out for the event on our DCAcademy calendar. The meeting will once again take place at the Oslo Ferry and Norefjell Conference Center in Norway on 24-28 February 2026.