Flora Sam, MD
Professor, Medicine
Biography
Dr. Sam is the present Director, ad interim, of the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute. She is an advanced heart failure clinical cardiologist and a physician-scientist. She is a translational researcher and the PI of her NIH funded lab. She is an expert in cardiac myocyte biology and in mechanisms of myocardial remodeling in cardiomyopathy, both in humans and animal models. She is a recognized expert in “heart failure with preserved ejection fraction” (HFpEF) /diastolic heart failure and “heart failure with reduced ejection fraction” (HFrEF)/systolic heart failure and cardiomyopathies.
The Sam lab is focused on three major areas of investigation:
1) Pro-inflammatory and pro-fibrotic mechanisms that mediate cardiac remodeling in heart failure, cardiac hypertrophy and hypertension.
2) Investigating the relationship between matrix markers and heart failure in humans with cardiac amyloid and scleroderma.
3) Investigating cross talk between adipocyte-derived factors, myokines and cardiokines in heart failure.
Other Positions
- Member, Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute, Boston University
- Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students), Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences
Websites
Education
- University of the Witwatersrand, MD
Publications
- Published on 10/17/2023
Valero-Muñoz M, Sam F. Endothelin-1: Is it Time to "Biomark" the Cardiac-Tumor-Treatment Nexus in Breast Cancer? JACC CardioOncol. 2023 Oct; 5(5):701-703. PMID: 37969651.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 1/23/2023
El-Adili F, Lui JK, Najem M, Farina G, Trojanowska M, Sam F, Bujor AM. Correction: Periostin overexpression in scleroderma cardiac tissue and its utility as a marker for disease complications. Arthritis Res Ther. 2023 Jan 23; 25(1):11. PMID: 36691037.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 12/1/2022
Saw EL, Werner LD, Zamani P, Chirinos JA, Valero-Muñoz M, Sam F. Skeletal muscle phenotypic switching in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2022; 9:1016452. PMID: 36531739.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 11/11/2022
El-Adili F, Lui JK, Najem M, Farina G, Trojanowska M, Sam F, Bujor AM. Periostin overexpression in scleroderma cardiac tissue and its utility as a marker for disease complications. Arthritis Res Ther. 2022 Nov 11; 24(1):251. PMID: 36369212.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 8/25/2022
Valero-Muñoz M, Saw EL, Hekman RM, Blum BC, Hourani Z, Granzier H, Emili A, Sam F. Proteomic and phosphoproteomic profiling in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Front Cardiovasc Med. 2022; 9:966968. PMID: 36093146.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 6/9/2022
Roh J, Hill JA, Singh A, Valero-Muñoz M, Sam F. Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: Heterogeneous Syndrome, Diverse Preclinical Models. Circ Res. 2022 Jun 10; 130(12):1906-1925. PMID: 35679364.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 4/8/2022
Valero-Muñoz M, Sam F. A misdirected conundrum in translational HFpEF research. J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2022 Jul; 168:1-2. PMID: 35405105.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 9/14/2021
Pandey A, Shah SJ, Butler J, Kellogg DL, Lewis GD, Forman DE, Mentz RJ, Borlaug BA, Simon MA, Chirinos JA, Fielding RA, Volpi E, Molina AJA, Haykowsky MJ, Sam F, Goodpaster BH, Bertoni AG, Justice JN, White JP, Ding J, Hummel SL, LeBrasseur NK, Taffet GE, Pipinos II, Kitzman D. Exercise Intolerance in Older Adults With Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction: JACC State-of-the-Art Review. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2021 09 14; 78(11):1166-1187. PMID: 34503685.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 8/19/2021
Valero-Muñoz M, Oh A, Faudoa E, Bretón-Romero R, El Adili F, Bujor A, Sam F. Endothelial-Mesenchymal Transition in Heart Failure With a Preserved Ejection Fraction: Insights Into the Cardiorenal Syndrome. Circ Heart Fail. 2021 09; 14(9):e008372. PMID: 34407636.
Read at: PubMed - Published on 3/1/2021
Saw EL, Ramachandran S, Valero-Muñoz M, Sam F. Skeletal muscle (dys)function in heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. Curr Opin Cardiol. 2021 03 01; 36(2):219-226. PMID: 33394707.
Read at: PubMed
View 73 more publications: View full profile at BUMC