From the BCVS Chair.

A Proud History In July 2019, the American Heart Association (AHA) Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science (BCVS) will celebrate its 20th anniversary. For this first News and Views: From the BCVS Chair for Circulation Research, I thought it would be most appropriate to provide a brief history and mission statement of the AHA BCVS Council. In 1924, 6 leading cardiologists across the nation—Drs Lewis A. Conner, Robert H. Halsey, Hugh D. McCulloch, Robert B. Preble, Joseph Sailer, and Paul D. White—founded the AHA in New York City. Originally, the organization was called the Association for the Prevention and Relief of Heart Disease. At the time, little was known about the root pathobiology, risk factors, or treatment of heart disease. These visionary physicians recognized the deep need for a national organization and platform that would enable the free exchange of knowledge, with a goal of providing more effective treatment of patients with heart disease. Since then, AHA has evolved into the leading organization for dissemination of information on cardiovascular disease, with guidelines and protocols representing the standard of care across the world. The Council of BCVS emerged from the AHA as a result of a successful merger of 2 leading AHA Councils/Sections: the Council/Section on Circulation and the Council/Section on Basic Science. The Council on Circulation was originally established in 1935 as the Section for the Study of the Peripheral Circulation and was among the initial 13 AHA Sections. Dr George E. Brown served as the founding Chairman of the Section although sadly he did not live to attend the first meeting held in 1936. To honor Dr Brown’s tremendous contribution, the George E. Brown Memorial Lecture was established in 1937 with an inaugural lecture by Dr Walter B. Cannon on factors affecting vascular tone. Today, BCVS Council continues this tradition, and thus far 77 internationally renowned leaders in cardiovascular research have given this lecture in Dr Brown’s honor. Almost 2 decades later, in 1953, the Council/Section on Basic Science was founded. The same year, the AHA launched Circulation Research, one of their flagship journals. With the growing recognition of overlapping interests and synergy between the Council on Circulation and the Council on Basic Science, these groups officially joined on July 1, 1999 to form the council on BCVS. This joint venture has made BCVS the third largest council within the AHA, with currently ≈4000 members from 45 countries. The high level of basic, translational, and clinical research performed by BCVS members is highlighted annually at the AHA Scientific Sessions, as well as at the annual BCVS summer scientific meeting. The BCVS annual summer scientific conference was initiated by a group of council members with a common scientific interest in molecular cardiovascular biology. This gathering has emerged as a must go-to cardiovascular meeting and attracts both trainees and independent investigators. The 2016 BCVS Scientific meeting attracted >550 attendees from 22 countries, and the 2017 conference will be focused on Omics approaches to cardiovascular biology, Big Data analysis, and emerging technologies for biomedical research. The BCVS Scientific Sessions 2017 will be held in Portland, Oregon, an ideal summer destination with mild weather and beautiful surroundings to spur both scientific discussions and outdoor activities.