Flora Sam, MD

Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of 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.

Publications

  • Published 8/18/2026

    Baker HE, Belle-Oladeji T, Andreasson M, Christie RM, Hyatt KJ, Wang X, Borlaug BA, Sam F. Assessing left atrial systolic contribution via pressure-volume loops in murine HFpEF. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2026; 13:1919465. PMID: 42682806.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 7/17/2026

    Polhemus DJ, Butt A, Resch C, Tsai K, Batra VA, Yan S, Mulay A, Drachenberg C, Sam F, Goodchild TT, Lefer DJ, Meddeb M, Margulies KB, Bedi KC, Sharma K, Koleini N, Ravandi A, Kass DA. Integrated Myocardial and Plasma Lipidome Across the Human Obesity-Heart Failure Spectrum. Res Sq. 2026 Jul 17. PMID: 42523454.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/31/2025

    Valero-Muñoz M, Saw EL, Pimentel DR, Gower AC, Srinivasa S, Zanni MV, Toribio M, Grinspoon SK, Sam F. Molecular insights in HIV-associated cardiac dysfunction. Commun Med (Lond). 2025 Dec 31; 6(1):87. PMID: 41476135.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 9/26/2025

    Valero-Muñoz M, Cooper HL, Li S, Saw EL, Wilson RM, Kusminski CM, Scherer PE, Sam F. Metabolic dysregulation in the heart in obesity-associated HFpEF. Front Cardiovasc Med. 2025; 12:1678992. PMID: 41079580.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 9/11/2025

    Yu Z, Chen Y, Miranda O, Qi M, Zhang M, Feng N, Ryan TP, Schloot NC, Chen Y, Sam F, Wang L. Association of Long-Term Body Mass Index Variability With the Development of Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction and Heart Failure With Reduced Ejection Fraction Across Patterns of Weight Change. J Am Heart Assoc. 2025 Sep 16; 14(18):e039976. PMID: 40932106.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 94 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Member, Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute
    Boston University
  • Graduate Medical Sciences Educator and Mentor (Primary Mentor of Graduate Students)
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences

Websites

Education

  • University of the Witwatersrand, MD

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