The American Heart Association will honor Dr. Annet Kirabo, D.V.M., Ph.D., FAHA, with the 2026 Joseph A. Vita Award at its Scientific Sessions 2026, to be held Nov. 6-9 in Chicago. Kirabo, a professor of medicine at Vanderbilt Health, is internationally recognized for discovering how immune activation and inflammation contribute to high blood pressure, a finding that has reshaped cardiovascular science.
Named after the late Joseph A. Vita, M.D., founding editor of the Journal of the American Heart Association, the award is presented annually to a scientist whose research has significantly advanced cardiovascular biology or health within the past five years. Recipients are selected by the editors-in-chief of the Association's 14 peer-reviewed journals, celebrating work that transforms or changes the direction of cardiovascular science.
Kirabo's groundbreaking research demonstrated that lipid oxidation-derived protein adducts act as neoantigens that trigger antigen-presenting cell activation, T-cell responses, vascular dysfunction, and hypertension. This discovery fundamentally changed the understanding of how the immune system regulates blood pressure. Her laboratory now combines immunology, vascular biology, genomics, metabolomics, and single-cell technologies to identify new therapeutic strategies for cardiovascular and kidney disease.
"Dr. Annet Kirabo exemplifies the spirit of the Joseph A. Vita Award, which recognizes research that changes the direction of cardiovascular science," said Manesh R. Patel, M.D., FAHA, the American Heart Association's 2026-2027 volunteer president. "Her pioneering discoveries represent a paradigm shift in cardiovascular biology, reshaping our understanding of hypertension by revealing how immune activation and inflammation drive cardiovascular disease."
With more than 230 scientific publications and sustained National Institutes of Health funding, Kirabo has established new directions in cardiovascular science. She has served on the editorial board of the Hypertension journal since 2018 and as an associate editor of Circulation Research since 2019. A dedicated mentor, she has trained dozens of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-career investigators, many of whom have gone on to faculty positions and independent research careers.
"I am deeply honored to receive the Joseph A. Vita Award from the American Heart Association, an organization that has supported my career from my predoctoral and postdoctoral fellowships through my development as an independent investigator," Kirabo said. "Scientific discovery, mentorship and advancing new treatments for cardiovascular disease have been the primary focus of my career, and it is both rewarding and humbling to be recognized for it."
The award will be presented during the Opening Session on Saturday, Nov. 7. Additional multimedia is available on the right column of the release link. For more information about the American Heart Association, visit heart.org or stroke.org.
