Dr. Martin Delivers Keynote at the 13th Annual CVRI Symposium
April 9, 2026 | Baylor College of Medicine — Houston, TX
Yesterday, the Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI) at Baylor College of Medicine hosted its 13th Annual Research Symposium at Cullen Auditorium, bringing together leading investigators from across the Texas Medical Center and beyond for a full day of science and discovery. Among the highlights of this year's program is a keynote address by Dr. Martin, the Vivian L. Smith Chair in Regenerative Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine and the distinguished keynote speaker for the Texas Medical Center. Dr. Martin is Vice Chairman of the Department of Integrative Physiology at BCM and Director of the Cardiomyocyte Renewal Laboratory at the Texas Heart Institute at Baylor College of Medicine.
A Career Dedicated to Cardiac Regeneration
Our lab has spent more than two decades unraveling the molecular mechanisms that govern heart growth, repair, and regeneration. His pioneering work on the Hippo-YAP signaling pathway has fundamentally reshaped our understanding of how the heart responds to injury and, critically, how we might coax it to heal itself. From uncovering the role of the Hippo pathway kinase cascade in restricting cardiomyocyte proliferation to demonstrating that targeted YAP activation can drive robust cardiac renewal in preclinical models, his research program bridges fundamental discovery science and translational medicine. Recent work from the Martin lab has extended these insights into new territory, connecting Hippo-YAP biology to fibrosis, atrial fibrillation, and congenital heart disease, including hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS), while advancing gene therapy strategies to bring cardiac regeneration from bench to bedside.
Dr. Martin’s Introductory slide for his keynote talk
Why This Keynote Matters
The annual CVRI Symposium is one of the premier cardiovascular science gatherings in Houston, and this year's program reflects the breadth and ambition of the field. Dr. Martin's keynote anchors a lineup that also features a distinguished national keynote from Alfred L. George, Jr., M.D., Chairman of Pharmacology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, along with presentations from a diverse slate of confirmed speakers, including Michael Bround, Mark Herman, Gabriel Loor, Bradley McConnell, Francesca Polverino, Christina Tringides, Huaizhu Wu, and Bing Yu.
Looking Ahead
As the field moves closer to clinical translation of cardiac regenerative therapies, Dr. Martin's keynote is a reminder of the power of basic science to transform patient care. His work continues to set the pace for an entire discipline, and yesterday's symposium is an opportunity for the Houston cardiovascular research community to celebrate that progress and chart the path forward together.
For more information about the CVRI Symposium, contact cvri@bcm.edu or visit the symposium page.