Postdoc fellow Dr. Helena Smith's presentation entitled "Comparative Effectiveness of Drug-coated Balloons in Dysfunctional Hemodialysis Circuits in Medicare Beneficiaries" received the award for Top Oral Abstract at the 2026 Vascular Access Society of the Americas (VASA) symposium in Salt Lake City, UT.
Dr. Smith's study utilizes Medicare data to report on real world outcomes (clinical effectiveness and safety) of drug-coated vs. uncoated balloon angioplasty for arteriovenous fistulas. Her work was co-mentored by Dr. Mohamad Hussain, a Vascular and Endovascular Surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Associate Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and Dr. Secemsky.