Episode 5 Dr. Ganesh V. Halade "A Journey Through Resolution Biology: SPMs in Cardiac Repair, Diet, and Chronic Inflammation" Welcome to the SPM Podcast, the podcast about Specialized Pro-Resolving Mediators. Subscribe, leave a comment, and share this episode with anyone interested in inflammation resolution, heart health, and cutting-edge resolution science. Episode Summary: In this insightful episode, we welcome Dr. Ganesh V. Halade, a leading cardiovascular scientist and expert in inflammation-resolution biology. Dr. Halade shares his remarkable journey from growing up in a farming family in India surrounded by nature and curious about healing to becoming a tenured professor whose research is reshaping our understanding of how the body actively turns off inflammation. He explains Specialized Pro-Resolving Mediators (SPMs) and details how these endogenous lipid mediators (derived from omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids) orchestrate the safe resolution of inflammation, promote tissue repair, and prevent progression to chronic diseases like heart failure. Guest Bio: Dr. Ganesh V. Halade, PhD, is a tenured Professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at the University of South Florida’s (USF) Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute in Tampa, Florida. Originally from India, he earned his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Mumbai. He completed postdoctoral training at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio with mentors Gabriel Fernandes and Merry Lindsey before advancing his career at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and now at USF. His lab focuses on Specialized Pro-Resolving Mediators (SPMs), the spleen-heart connection, lipidomics, cardiac repair after heart attacks, heart failure (including HFpEF), and the links between diet, metabolism, aging, and unresolved inflammation. He has also expanded into colon cancer research togetherwith Dr. Timothy Yeatman of USF Morsani, investigating how dietary fats and failed resolution drive chronic disease. Key Topics Covered: ”What SPMs (resolvins, lipoxins, maresins, protectins) are and how they actively drive resolution, clear debris, promote repair, and prevent fibrosis. The spleen-heart axis and the central role of macrophages in cardiac healing.Impact of diet, omega-3/omega-6 balance, seed oils, ultra-processed foods, obesity, aging, and other factors on SPM pathways. Research on heart failure, cardiorenal syndrome, sex differences, and translational findings. Recent and ongoing work linking unresolved inflammation and lipid dysregulation to colon cancer. Future directions in resolution pharmacology and “resolution medicine. Resources Mentioned: The lab of Dr. Halade https://2102045666.github.io/HaladeLab/index.html USF Health Heart Institute – Dr. Ganesh Halade faculty profile https://health.usf.edu/medicine/heart-institute/faculty/ghalade Dr. Halade's landmark Lancet paper on SPM in cardiac repair and heart failure https://www.thelancet.com/journals/ebiom/article/PIIS2352-3964(22)00176-1/fulltext Paper on Colon Cancer together with Dr. TimothyYeatman https://www.usf.edu/news/2024/how-ultra-processed-foods-may-drive-colorectal-cancer-risk.aspx