San Antonio, TX
San Antonio, TX – 2026 USCAP Meeting Recap
San Antonio delivered. Between the riverwalk, the breakfast tacos, the perfect weather, and the sheer amount of cardiovascular pathology packed into a few days, USCAP 2026 was one for the books.
The biggest moment of the meeting was the recognition of Dr. Mary Sheppard with the SCVP Distinguished Achievement Award. Her award lecture was extraordinary, the kind that reminds you why you went into this field in the first place and makes you feel both motivated and slightly underachieving at the same time. If you were not there, you missed something special. Congratulations Dr. Sheppard, truly well deserved.
Our Companion Society Meeting this year tackled cardiac devices, and it was fantastic. Dr. Renu Virmani walked us through coronary artery stents, Dr. Robert Padera covered left ventricular assist devices, and Dr. Atsuko Seki rounded things out with prosthetic valves. The room was packed, the presentations were top notch, practical, and high yield, and everyone left feeling like they actually learned something, which is all you can ask for.
The Young Investigator Award this year went to Dr. Faye Casimiro from Massachusetts General Hospital for her work on cardiac SARS-CoV-2 viral persistence in decedents with Long COVID. It was a truly impressive multi-institutional study from the RECOVER autopsy cohort and genuinely important work. All of the Young Investigator presentations this year were outstanding, with strong representation from across the country, and if this is the future of cardiovascular pathology, we are in very good hands.
The Evening Specialty Conference, “Pulse Points: A Primer on Vascular Pathology,” was a highlight of the entire USCAP meeting. Drs. Carla Giordano, Marc Halushka, Charles LeDuc, and Bihong Zhao put together a session that was educational, engaging, and a great showcase for what our specialty brings to the table, with a nice mix of foundational concepts and practical takeaways. Well done to all four.
The Open Mic session was once again a highlight, with interesting, challenging, and occasionally humbling cases, lively discussion, and just enough diagnostic disagreement to keep things entertaining. It continues to be one of the most engaging parts of the meeting and probably one of the few places where you can feel both confident and completely unsure within the same five minutes.
Poster sessions in both cardiovascular and autopsy pathology were strong this year, with a lot of solid work and great conversations. As usual, there were several posters that made you stop, take a picture, and tell yourself you will look into that topic later, knowing full well you might or might not.
We also heard from Editor-in-Chief Dr. Joseph Maleszewski, who shared updates on the Journal of Cardiovascular Pathology and where things are headed. There is a lot to look forward to, and it is exciting to see the direction the journal is taking.
And then there was the banquet. Biga on the Banks on the San Antonio Riverwalk was a success, with great food, great atmosphere, and a much needed opportunity to sit down, relax, and talk about something other than slides for a little while.
Overall, USCAP 2026 was a really strong meeting for our field. Great science, great people, and just the right amount of chaos that comes with trying to see everything, talk to everyone, and still make it to the sessions on time.
Next year we head to Vancouver, British Columbia. It will be gorgeous, it will be rainy, and it will be another great meeting. Pack a jacket. See you there!
