Dr. Zainab Mahmoud to be honored at American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2025
Zainab Mahmoud, M.D., M.Sc., an assistant professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, and Zhao Zhang, Ph.D., an assistant professor at the University of Texas (UT) Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, will receive the inaugural Jack Sarver Prize in Clinical Science and Jack Sarver Prize in Basic Science, respectively, at the American Heart Association’ Scientific Sessions 2025. The meeting, to be held Nov. 7-10, 2025, in New Orleans, is a premier global exchange of the latest scientific advancements, research and evidence-based clinical practice updates in cardiovascular science. The awards will be presented during dinner events of the Council on Clinical Cardiology and the Council on Basic Cardiovascular Sciences on Saturday, November 8, 2025.
The Jack Sarver Prize in Clinical Science and the Jack Sarver Prize in Basic Science were established through a gift to the American Heart Association in honor of Jack Sarver who died of heart disease in 1979 at the age of 58. The Sarver family’s struggle against heart disease began in the paternal family line generations before his birth. Childhood memories of the young father’s struggle have motivated the family to “end the heritage of heart disease.”
Dr. Mahmoud is recognized for her abstract entitled, “Aspirin Prophylaxis for Preeclampsia Prevention in Nigeria: A Mixed Methods Study.” Noting that more women die in Nigeria around the time of childbirth than in any other country in the world and that preeclampsia is a leading cause of these deaths, her study assessed aspirin use among at-risk pregnant women and explored ways to overcome obstacle to improve treatment options. Mahmoud concluded that addressing barriers that included poor dissemination of guidelines, limited provider and patient awareness, delayed prenatal care and cost, this evidence based, low-cost intervention could significantly reduce maternal morbidity and mortality in Nigeria and other high-burden settings.