Mirvat Alasnag, MD, FSCAI
Email: mirvat@jeddacath.com
Current Institution: King Fahd Armed Forces Hospital, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Training Institution: Loma Linda University Medical Center, California, USA & Detroit Medical Center, Michigan, USA
Specialty Areas: Peripheral Vascular Interventions, Coronary Interventions with Circulatory Support Systems & Cardiac Computed Tomography
Research Focus Areas: Epidemiologic patterns of cardiovascular risk factors (in particular in Middle Eastern populations)
Extracurricular Interests: Travel, Reading & Soccer
Why did you decide to become an interventional cardiologist?: As a fellow in training, I was always fascinated by how skilled hands combined with refined wires and devices could open an abruptly occluded vessel and save a patient's life or limb. Moreover, I realized that the reward is instantaneous. I knew then, that the cathlab is my passion.
What is the most challenging aspect of your day-to-day life as an interventional cardiologist?: Being young and a female, it is a daily challenge to gain my patients' confidence. Most of our patients have associated a doctor with a stereotypical image of an old man with grey hair. To overcome it, I've learned to tailor my approach to each patient individually. Open dialogue, communicating management plans, addressing their concerns & expectations before any procedure are usually enough to establish trust. On follow up, these patients come to me very appreciative and grateful. That makes the daily challenge worth it.
What is the professional accomplishment you are most proud of?: I joined an established & reputable team of cardiologists in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. They were the first to implant drug eluting stents in patients and to do percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasties with Cribier in the Kingdom. I'm proud of being able to add my own footprint to this team. I started a cardiac computed tomography program & we now hold an annual level II training course. As for the cathlab, we now use the Impella 2.5 circulatory support device and perform complex peripheral interventions (below the knee, carotids, etc) with different debulking/atherectomy devices. Most importantly, we maintain a very friendly and cooperative atmosphere despite the complexity or acuity of the cases.
What is your ultimate professional goal?: It is really two parts. One, I would like to increase the awareness of both physicians and the public on women and heart disease. Women are still more concerned by breast cancer although heart disease is the number one killer. As medical care professionals, we must educate our community. My other goal, is to set an example for other women doctors and encourage them to venture into the field of cardiology. Finding a balance between family and work is a constant challenge. Understanding the risks including radiation exposure takes courage. I hope I can instill some motivation in young graduates that will allow them to pursue a career in cardiology.
Ariel Duran, MD
YES IT'S TRUE! WIN HAS MALE MEMBERS TOO!
Role in WIN: Dr. Duran helped to organize a WIN session during a 2012 SOLACI regional program in Montevideo, Uruguay with fellow WIN members Doctors Carolina Artucio and Ivana Duro.
Email: dr.arielduran@gmail.com
Current Institution: University Hospital, Montevideo School of Medicine, URUGUAY
Medica Uruguaya Hospital, Montevideo, URUGUAY
Training Institution: Dante Pazzanese Cardiology Hospital, Sao Paulo, BRAZIL
Specialty Areas: Interventional Cardiology
Research Focus Areas: Radiation Protection
Extracurricular Interests: Tennis, History
Why did you decide to become an interventional cardiologist?: I always thought that cardiac surgery was too aggressive. Myocardial revascularization achieved by less invasive methods is my goal.
What is the most challenging aspect of your day-to-day life as an interventional cardiologist?: Improving cardiac health in my patients.
What is the professional accomplishment you are most proud of?: When I see one or our papers published in a "top" journal.
What is your ultimate professional goal?: Leave a legacy in younger people to continue with this great work with clear goals: ethics, professionalism, effort and never forget that the patient is the main purpose.
Junko Honye, MD, FSCAI
Email: hone-circ@umin.ac.jp
Current Institution: Director, Imaging Laboratory, Cardiovascular Center, Fuchu Keijinkai Hospital, Tokyo, Japan
Training Institution: Nihon University Itabashi Hospital, Japan
Specialty Areas: General Cardiology, Interventional Cardiology
Research Focus Areas: Intravascular Imaging, PCI
Extracurricular Interests: Japanese history
Why did you decide to become an interventional cardiologist?: I wanted to be able to treat patients on my own
What is the most challenging aspect of your day-to-day life as an interventional cardiologist?: Use of intravascular imaging
What is the professional accomplishment you are most proud of?: Receiving recognition as a pioneer of IVUS-guided PCI
What is your ultimate professional goal?: Educating others on intravascular imaging
Sohah N. Iqbal, MD
Email: sohahiqbalmd@gmail.com
Current Institution: New York University Medical Center, New York, NY, USA
Training Institution: Harvard Medical School, MD
Columbia Medical Center for Internal Medicine Residency
NYU Medical Center for Cardiovascular Diseases Fellowship and Interventional Fellowship
Specialty Areas: Coronary Disease, Evaluating and treating heart failure in the cath lab, Women's coronary artery disease, South Asian heart disease
Research Focus Areas: Women presenting with MI without obstructive CAD, South Asian heart disease, Secondary prevention after MI
Extracurricular Interests: Consulting for various health websites, Dancing (salsa and tango), Travel
Why did you decide to become an interventional cardiologist?: I was lucky enough to work with Dr. Elazar Edelman at Harvard-MIT the year that drug eluting stents were first available, and researched stent design and drug delivery polymers with him. Realizing the fast paced advancements in interventional cardiology got me hooked.
What is the most challenging aspect of your day-to-day life as an interventional cardiologist?: Making the judgement calls. At the end of the day, we all acquire the technical skills, but it's the clinical decisions on how and when to use those skills that sets the great interventionalists apart from the good ones.
What is the professional accomplishment you are most proud of?: Honestly, it's the times in the lab when I used both my skill sets and my judgement to help patients in life and death situations. Also, presenting my research on women with MI and non obstructive coronary disease at my first national conference was a highlight in my professional life.
What is your ultimate professional goal?: My passion is education. I'm trying to think outside the box so that I can use my skills and knowledge as an interventional cardiologist and reach out to the masses regarding heart disease and prevention. In the lab, I hope to mentor the upcoming generations, continue to increase my skill sets, and to progress in leadership.
Vijay Kunadian MBBS, MD, FRCP, FACC, FESC
Email: vijay.kunadian@newcastle.ac.uk
Current Institution: Institute of Cellular Medicine, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Newcastle University and Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundations Trust, United Kingdom
Training Institution: Freeman Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK;
University Hospital North Durham, Durham, UK;
The James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, UK;
TIMI/PERFUSE Angiographic Core Lab, Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston MA, USA.
Specialty Areas: Coronary intervention, Acute and emergency PCI, intravascular imaging, Coronary physiology
Research Focus Areas: I am currently involved in a number of research projects evaluating strategies to improve cardiovascular outcomes in high-risk patients with coronary artery disease. Other research areas include microvascular disease, women and heart disease, contrast nephropathy.
Extracurricular Interests: Hiking, cooking, gardening, singing, traveling.
Why did you decide to become an interventional cardiologist?: Heart disease remains the biggest killer. During my cardiology training, the significant impact of PCI and primary PCI on quality of life and survival influenced my decision to take on interventional cardiology. The ability to do what we do as interventionists without opening the chest, and performing fine/delicate procedures on a beating heart in a patient who is awake attracted me to choose this sub-specialty. I had the privilege to be trained by some of the best trainers and mentors (both in UK and US) who supported me in this endeavor.
What is the most challenging aspect of your day-to-day life as an interventional cardiologist?: In day-to-day life, one can get carried away too much with work because it is so exciting and each case is different that time and day seem to pass away too quickly.
What is the professional accomplishment you are most proud of?:
- Becoming an interventional cardiologist and gaining this position in one of the largest cardiac centre in the UK and also gaining an academic position in one of the most prestigious academic organizations in the UK, which as a female I feel extremely proud of and am very grateful to the opportunities that I have received along the way.
- To be selected as one of three Finalists for the prestigious TCT Thomas J Linnemeier Young Investigator award in 2010.
- It also gives me immense joy to see the medical students that I supervise in Newcastle, write and publish manuscripts in Cardiology journals even before they graduate out of Medical School.
What is your ultimate professional goal?: To be the best that I can be to provide the highest quality of care to my patients, to deliver the highest quality of clinical research that will ultimately impact clinical outcomes among patients with heart disease and to encourage, support/mentor the future generation of cardiologists.
Florencia Rolandi, MD
Email: florencia.rolandi@gmail.com
Current Institution: Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires - CENPEC - Buenos Aires, Argentina
Training Institution: Italian Hospital of Buenos Aires, Argentina
Specialty Areas: Clinical Cardiology
Research Focus Areas: Clinical Cardiology - CAD, women's heart disease
Extracurricular Interests: Cooking, Running
Why did you decide to become a clinical cardiologist?: Ever since I chose to be a doctor as a child, I imagined myself running into the emergency room. Today, after several years, I believe that clinical cardiology offers different possibilities such as conducting clinical research, working on ambulatory practice and if you prefer, you can keep running into the emergency room.
What is the most challenging aspect of your day-to-day life as a clinical cardiologist?: Perhaps the most difficult challenge is to combine professional development with my responsibilities as a woman, especially motherhood. And while it is not easy, I think the satisfaction I receive at home and at work is well worth the effort.
What is the professional accomplishment you are most proud of?: Receiving my Masters in Clinical Effectiveness (UBA-Harvard)
What is your ultimate professional goal?: To give a TEDx talk on women's heart disease (TO SEE FLORENCIA'S TEDx Rio Delaplata TALK ON WOMEN AND HEART DISEASE CLICK HERE)
Kimberly A. Skelding, MD, FSCAI
Email: kaskelding@geisginer.edu
Current Institution: Geisinger Health System, Danville, PA, USA
Training Institution: William Beaumont Hospital & Mayo Clinic
Specialty Areas: Interventional Cardiology, Structural Heart Disease
Research Focus Areas: TAVR, New stent platforms, STEMI
Extracurricular Interests: Running, Traveling, Attending concerts & shows, Taking care of my 1 year old son
Why did you decide to become an interventional cardiologist?: Love procedures, love the immediate gratification of treating a STEMI patient and now love replacing valves!
What is the most challenging aspect of your day-to-day life as an interventional cardiologist?: Fitting it all in... Too many things to do and not enough hours in the day.
What is the professional accomplishment you are most proud of?: Starting a TAVR program, helping to start the Transradial Committee at SCAI, helping to start the Early Career groups at SCAI, AHA and ACC
What is your ultimate professional goal?: To be remembered as providing excellent patient care, providing mentorship to young women and being able to appropriately balance work and home life.
Joanna Wykryzkowska, MD
Email: joannawykrzykowska70@gmail.com
Current Institution: Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, NL
Training Institution: Harvard Medical School, Boston MA and Thoraxcenter Erasmus MC, Rotterdam NL
Specialty Areas: Interventional cardiology
Research Focus Areas: Treatment of bifurcation lesions, intravascular imaging, vulnerable plaque research
Extracurricular Interests: Tennis, Running, Skiing, Attending art exhibits, and more recently my 14 months old daughter
Why did you decide to become an interventional cardiologist?: I loved the logic of the cardiovascular system and enjoyed the excitement but also strategy of interventional procedures. I decided to pursue it as a career when I did a 1 month cath lab rotation at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston as a third year Harvard Medical student.
What is the most challenging aspect of your day-to-day life as an interventional cardiologist?: It's the challenge but also the fun of it; balancing the research aspects and busy clinical practice as well as family life.
What is the professional accomplishment you are most proud of?: Having my fellow publish his first papers with me as he mentor and senior author.
What is your ultimate professional goal?: Becoming one of the leaders in interventional cardiology and coming up with the 5th or 6th revolution in interventional cardiology.