Three from Cardiology named to new Duke Health Scholars and Duke Health Fellows program
This inaugural program was created with a transfer of funds from the Duke University Health System. Its aim is to support the research efforts and enhance the academic success of early to mid-career clinician-scientists in School of Medicine clinical departments.
Duke Health Scholars are generally more established and will receive substantial awards to expand their research in new directions. Duke Health Fellows will receive a smaller research discretionary fund and expert mentoring tailored to their interests and career aspirations.
Award recipients were nominated by their department chairs and selected through peer review. Receipt of these awards recognizes both past achievements and future potential for continued success as clinician-scientists. Svati Shah from Cardiology was named a Duke Health Scholar, and Sudar Rajagopal and Chris Holley were named Duke Health Fellows. Please join me in congratulating the scholars and fellows.
Irish Cardiac Society honors Magnus Ohman
Irish Cardiac Society recently honored Magnus Ohman with the Stokes Medal for the international contribution to cardiovascular science by an Irish medical school graduate. This is the same Stokes of Stokes-Adam attacks, and Cheyne-Stokes respiration. The honor recognizes the tremendous impact Magnus has had in cardiovascular medicine.
Duke Cardiology Fellows Authors Op-Ed Piece in NY Times Saturday
The New York Times ran an OP-ED piece by our cardiology fellow Haider Warraich on Saturday on-line and in print. The article, On Assisted Suicide, Going Beyond ‘Do No Harm’, discussed issues around assisted suicide with consideration and review around current clinical practice. This was also run with reference to the ballot item in Colorado on the same item. Haider also had a book coming our in the spring titled “Modern Death.” We will have more on this in the future issues of the Pulse.
Women and Heart Disease - “Wrap her heart in red”
Contributed by Melissa Dubert
“We had our first annual “Wrap Her Heart in Red” community outreach event yesterday, which was made possible by the grant that Duke received from WomenHeart, the National Coalition for Women with Heart Disease and Edwards Lifesciences. It was a great event held at the 21c Hotel in downtown Durham during which we had a Health Fair with screenings and workshops including Support for the Caregiver, Understanding and Managing Your Heart Medications, Managing Heart Disease with Healthy Nutrition and The Journey of Surviving Heart Disease. This was followed by a luncheon with a welcome address from Mary McGowan, the President of WomenHeart, a dance performance, a keynote speech by Koren Underdue, Survivor Testimonials, and a Panel Discussion with Duke Cardiologists: Ann Marie Navar, Neha Pagidipati, myself and Wei Jiang (psychiatry-cardiology). There was also a moving tribute to Kim Marotta, one of Duke’s WomenHeart Champions and unfailing advocate of women for heart disease, who recently passed away. Her parents were in attendanceto share her story and legacy. 113 women attended and 30+ volunteers who helped make this event a success.
Through this grant we also had a similar event in February 2016 for Heart Month and in March 2016 we started a monthly Support Group for Women with and at Risk for Heart Disease that takes place the second Thursday of every month at Teer House from 6:30-8pm. During these group sessions we have had lectures on a Heart-Healthy Diet, Exercising with Heart Disease, Cardiac Medication Management, Mental Health and Stress Reduction, and a Heart-Healthy cooking class that have all been well attended. These groups are open to all Duke patients and their caregivers.”
If you see Melissa and colleagues please thank them for their great work.
Visiting Latin American Doctors:
On October 20th and 21st, Program Directors Adrian Hernandez, MD, MHS and Renato Lopes, MD, MHS, PhD, hosted 50 cardiologists from Latin America and Canada for a twoday DCRI Education Learning Lab focused on heart failure. The program, presented by Duke faculty, provided a comprehensive overview of the clinical aspects of heart failure management and care and explored the heart failure research pipeline. The Learning Lab featured case presentations focused on complications in heart failure, panel discussions on real-life situations and didactic presentations highlighting the latest in heart failure treatments and research. Participants also toured the Same-Day Access Heart Failure Clinic, Duke Heart Center and Duke’s legendary campus. The program was developed by DCRI Education and supported by Novartis with the goal of sharing best practices and igniting dialogue between different countries, aligning them in common care goals. DCRI Education led by Tracy Wang aims to create data-driven, data-proven educational initiatives that meet identified gaps in care and accelerate the adoption of the latest research into practice.
TCT meeting last week in DC
This week we had several current and former Duke Cardiology members at the TCT meeting in DC. A broad range of topics from improving the manner in which we conduct trials (FDA town hall lead by Mitch Krucoff), to innovative trials in under-represented populations (Wayne Batchelor former Duke Fellow) were presented. Plenty of important conversations were also carried out outside of the meeting with many current and former Duke Cardiology members.
Please remember to come to the Duke Heart / DCRI reception on Sunday.