Chief’s message: European Cardiology Meeting, New Faculty Profiles, and One week to Heart Walk
Hopefully many of you are getting a restful Labor Day weekend. This weekend also has had the European Society of Cardiology meeting in London with many of our faculty and fellows presenting. We will share highlights and updates in upcoming weeks from the meeting where the science, the interaction with colleagues, and the ability to think about the future of cardiovascular care has been invigorating. (some photos included)
This week we also start our new faculty highlight series with Dr. Samantha Minc joining our vascular surgery division. We are excited to have her join. Finally, we are one week away from the AHA heart walk next Sunday – please sign up, come out and enjoy that day with a walk and support for the AHA. Pets, kids, grandparents – all welcome.
Highlights of the week:
Minc Among Newest Faculty to Join Duke Heart & Vascular
Samantha Minc, MD, MPH joined Duke’s vascular surgery faculty as of August 12. She is an alumna of Tufts University, where she received a BA in anthropology with a minor in astrophysics, and went on to earn her MD. She earned both a Certificate of Research in Health Disparities and a Master of Public Health from the University of Chicago. She trained in general surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital, and in vascular surgery at the University of Chicago. Minc joined us from West Virginia University at Morgantown where she served as associate professor in the Division of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery.
Minc’s research focus is on health disparities and the application of community-engaged research principles to prevent amputation in patients with diabetes and vascular disease. Her current NIH-funded research is focused on creating a community-based intervention to allow vascular surgeons to collaborate with community providers and patients in high-risk rural areas to provide education, coordinate care, and empower communities to reduce amputation rates and decrease disparities.
She will primarily see patients at Duke Regional Hospital where she is serving as the site lead for Vascular Surgery, and will be responsible for leading DRH strategic initiatives including threatened limb optimization and hemodialysis access. Nationally, Minc serves on the Society for Vascular Surgery Patient Safety Organization’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and is a member of the Research Advisory Committee of the Vascular Quality Initiative.
Welcome to Duke, Sam!
As of August 1, additional new faculty members within Duke Heart & Vascular are:
Araba Ofosu-Somuah, MD, recently completed a fellowship in Interventional Cardiology with the University of North Carolina Health System. She officially joined our cardiology faculty on August 12.
Karen Flores Rosario, MD, a recent graduate of our Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology fellowship program, officially joined the cardiology faculty on August 19.
Willard Applefeld, MD, a recent graduate of our Cardiovascular Disease fellowship program and the 2024 recipient of the annual Brandt and Belinda Louie Award. He officially joined the cardiology faculty on Friday, Aug. 30.
Stay tuned for additional profiles on Araba, Karen, and Willard in an upcoming Pulse.
Duke Cardiac Ultrasound Program Graduation Held
Congratulations to the following students who graduated last weekend from the Duke Cardiac Ultrasound Certificate Program:
Mariah Byington, Madison Kidd Daniel, Alexandra King, Sarah Lahie, Anna Lise McGowan, Vy Nguyen, Morgan Osborne, and Ashton Webster.
Speakers included Manesh Patel, Anita Kelsey, Richard Palma, and Joseph Kisslo as well as Osborne and McGowan, who each spoke as representatives of their class.
The annual Outstanding Service Awards for Clinical Instructors were presented to Dylan Davis and Janay Key. The Joseph Kisslo Outstanding Student in Cardiac Ultrasound award was given to Anna Lisa Mc Gowen.
We are very pleased to announce that we again had a 100 percent pass rate for national certification. Three of our graduates have taken positions here at Duke and the rest are spreading out to Charlotte, Tennessee, Cleveland, Oregon, and Florida.
Earlier this year, three of our graduates were recognized nationally with scholarships and grant awards to attend the 35th annual American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) Scientific Sessions, held June 14-15 in Portland, OR.
Morgan Osborne received the Cardiac Credentialing International (CCI) Aaron White Scholarship. This is the second consecutive year a student from our program has received this award. Congratulations, Morgan!
Mariah Byington received a 2024 Alan D. Waggoner Student Scholarship award, given annually by the ASE Foundation. Anna Lisa McGowen received the Katanick Student Scholarship Award, established in honor of Sandy Katanick, RN, RVT, CAE for her more than 25 years of service as CEO of the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission. The Katanick Award, given annually by the ASE Foundation, recognizes the highest-ranking Waggoner scholarship applicant in the country. Congratulations, Mariah and Anna Lisa!
This is the 3rd consecutive year that students in our program have received these top honors. Impressive!
Congratulations to each of our graduates and to our gifted instructors and program leaders. We are so excited for all of you!
ICYMI: Fajardo Study Published in JCF
Please join us in congratulating Johana Fajardo and colleagues on their newly published research paper, “Clinical Outcomes of Chronic Intravenous Inotropic Support in Cardiac Amyloidosis” published online in the Journal of Cardiac Failure on Aug. 21.
Fajardo, clinical services director of the Duke Precision Cardiomyopathy Program, conducted the study along with colleagues from MedStar Washington Hospital, Georgetown University School of Medicine, and Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis while she was with MedStar Washington Hospital.
Congratulations, Johana! We are thrilled to have you with us at Duke helping to advance our care of patients!
Hitting With Heart Tournament Results
We had a terrific turnout of fans supporting last weekend’s Hitting with Heart Annual Softball tournament! Thanks to all who joined us.
We are pleased to announce the overall champions for 2024: Duke Health Engineering & Operations. Congratulations!
The tournament included 13 teams vying to become our 8th trophy winners. Teams represented a range of areas across Duke Health: teams from DMP, DUH, Duke Birthing Center, DRAH Sleep Lab, Vascular IR, and E&O.
Huge kudos to Jessica Seabrooks and Jason Stokes, who have been outstanding co-planners for the annual tournament since its beginning! A very special shout-out to Jessica Seabrooks and her husband Claude, Annie Jaeger, Ashley Anderholm, and Stephanie Stokes (who filled in for Jason) who helped manage the day. Stephanie did a great job filling in for Jason, who unfortunately had to miss the tournament due to illness.
We are excited to announce the tournament raised approximately $1500.00 to support Duke’s fundraising effort for next weekend’s AHA Triangle Heart Walk. Great job everyone and congrats once again to Duke Health E&O!
CVRC Gets Visit from Local AHA Team
Duke’s Cardiovascular Research Center invited presenters from the Triangle American Heart Association (AHA) to meet with them this past week so they could learn 
how to support local AHA efforts and how the national AHA helps to support Duke.
Jake Williams, development director, and Allison Gubitz, senior development director, both of the Triangle AHA joined a regular CVRC team gathering on Wednesday afternoon in the CARL building. Drs. Howard Rockman and Doug Marchuk each shared the important positive impact AHA funding has had on their labs and careers.
Many thanks to Maria Price-Rapoza, executive director of the CVRC, for welcoming the AHA to speak to the group!
Heart Walk 2024 – Next Weekend!
The 2024 Triangle Heart Walk is next weekend, Sunday, Sept. 8 at PNC Arena. Please note the Walk will take place earlier this year – we’re kicking things off at 9 a.m. when all festivities will open to teams and other supporters. The walk itself will take place at 10:30 a.m.
The Triangle chapter of the American Heart Association is still accepting registrations for volunteers who would like to help out at the Walk – if you or anyone you know is interested please check out the online form located here. Duke volunteers who register using their Duke email address can be stationed at the Kids Zone, which Duke Heart is sponsoring.
Yes, you can still join Manesh Patel’s team: Duke Heart and Sole!
The 2024 Heart Walk will be a terrific event – and it’s a wonderful way to support our cardiovascular patients and their families. Together, we are making a significant impact.
To see some of the many reasons Duke team members are participating this year, please check out this recent story posted on Duke Health Now: “Why I walk” featuring stories about experiences with heart disease by Heart Walk Coaches across the Health System.
Cardiovascular disease hits home for so many of us. Thanks to all who are participating next weekend!
Shout-out to Hughes!
We received the following note this week regarding cardiology fellow Seamus Hughes. It was originally shared with Schuyler Jones and Anna Lisa Crowley, who shared it with us:
“Good morning! I’m reaching out to you to share with you some extraordinary work by one of our diagnostic fellows, Seamus Hughes.
I’m sure you heard about our call case Monday evening – we were paged out a few moments after clocking out from our scheduled day of work for a STEMI and ultimately worked that case until 0130 the next morning. This patient was initially asymptomatic, but was found to have a 100% proximal RCA occlusion and after shooting the coronaries became bradycardic and hypotensive, which he remained for the majority of the case. During that time, we defibrillated at least six times, placed a TVP and then an IABP, started dopamine and later norepinephrine, intubated, fixed, placed a MAC and leave-in Swan, did a right heart catheterization, debated ECMO cannulation and placed an RP Flex.
Seamus was the CCU Fellow that night, and he did something that I have not seen another CCU Fellow do – he stayed the entirety (over six hours!) of the case with us, and was in the room in lead, helping titrate drips, managing the IABP, assisting with calling additional resources and monitoring our patient. Even with his assistance, Sarah and I were without a free moment – I cannot stress enough that there is absolutely no way that we would have been able to provide that level of care without his assistance.
We want to make sure he gets the praise he deserves!” — Grateful, Melissa Rogan
Excellent teamwork, Seamus – way to go!
Registration Now Open: Cardiac Imaging Symposium
Registration is now open for the Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium being held at the Trent Semans Center on October 12. You can access registration here and further down under ‘Upcoming Events & Opportunities.’ Course directors are Drs. Sreekanth Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey.
Forbes Names DUHS Among North Carolina’s Top Workplaces for 2024
Duke University and Duke University Health System have been named to the Forbes 2024 list of “America’s Best Employers By State.” The list recognizes workplaces where employees feel satisfied and that are considered desirable destinations for workers in the state.
“This recognition is a testament to the exceptional dedication and compassion of our Duke Health talent force,” said Duke University Health System Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Rhonda Brandon. “It reflects our steadfast commitment to putting our people first and our pride in knowing that they choose Duke Health as their preferred workplace and care provider.”
Earlier this year, DUHS was also included on the Forbes 2024 list of “America’s Best Employers for Women,” and its “America’s Best Employers for Diversity” list.
Thank you to all of our team members and leaders who make our organization an amazing place to work!
New to NC? Register to Vote!
Are you new to North Carolina, or have you moved to the Triangle area from elsewhere in the state? Don’t forget to register to vote!
Find all the information you need about registering to vote and voting in upcoming elections at these websites:
North Carolina State Board of Elections
Durham County Board of Elections
Orange County Board of Elections
Wake County Board of Elections
Thank you!
2024 Flu Campaign
The 2024 Duke Flu Campaign launches on Thursday, Sept. 19.
Deadline for immunization compliance: October 29 at 10 a.m.
- DUHS Flu Ordering Survey Link (peer to peer)
- Access to OESO Vaccination Report: cachafeiro@duke.edu
- Questions? StopTheFlu@duke.edu
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
Cardiology Grand Rounds
Our regular CGR season has ended. We will resume later this month. All Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:
NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!
CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference
Sept. 4: NO CONFERENCE. Interview Day.
Sept. 6: Hemorrhagic Shock Management with Nazish Hashmi. Noon, via Zoom.
Sept. 11: EP Fellows’ Case Presentation with Nishkala Shivakumar and Mugdha Joshi. Noon, DMP 2W96.
Sept. 13: No Conference. Interview Day.
Sept. 18: HF/TX Fellows’ Case Presentation with Jemi Galani. Noon, DMP 2W96.
Sept. 20: Bradyarrythmia with Sana Al-Khatib. Noon, via Zoom.
Sept. 25: No conference. Interview Day.
Sept. 27: DHP Fellows’ Case Presentation with Joshua Sink. Noon, via Zoom.
2024 Annual Stead Tread 5K
Join the Duke Department of Medicine Internal Medicine Residency Program on Saturday, September 21 at 9 a.m. for the annual Stead Tread 5K Run/Walk, to be held at Solite Park, 4704 Fayetteville Rd, Durham. All proceeds will benefit the Lincoln Community Health Center, a federally qualified health center dedicated to meeting the healthcare needs of medically underserved patients in Durham.
The event draws 300+ participants annually and is named in honor of former Dept. of Medicine Chairman Dr. Eugene Stead (1947-1967), and his legacy of community service and contributions to the Duke and Durham communities.
Entry Fees
For participants 13 and older, registration is $35 per person. For Lincoln patients and children 12 years and younger, registration is free.
Deadlines
Sign up by Friday, September 1 and you are guaranteed to receive a t-shirt. After September 1, t-shirt size and availability are not guaranteed.
Register and/or Donate
Visit steadtread.org to register. Can’t join us on September 21? Stead Tread also accepts individual and corporate donations of any amount (steadtread.org/donate). Contributions of $90 or greater are recognized on our website and at the event.
Questions?
For questions or additional information, contact Caroline Sloan, MD, assistant professor, Division of General Internal Medicine.
Catalyzing Climate Connections: Researcher Forum
Date: Thursday, October 10, 2024 
Time: 3:30-6:30 p.m.
Venue: Great Hall, Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Center for Health Education
Please register soon. Questions? Contact Blake Tedder.
The Office of Climate & Sustainability and the Climate Commitment Advisory Council invite the Duke research community to mark calendars for the Catalyzing Climate Connections Researcher Forum, a dynamic three-hour event designed to spark creativity and collaboration among Duke’s climate researchers and those interested in linking their research into the climate space. This forum will feature moderated panel conversations that explore broad climate research themes from multiple disciplinary perspectives.
Attendees will also participate in engaging table conversations, offering the opportunity for deeper discussions and networking. With refreshments provided, there will be ample time for informal interactions and idea exchanges.
Who Should Attend:
- Faculty, postdocs, and graduate students from all university schools and units
- Researchers and staff interested in expanding their research into the climate space.
Goals of the Event:
- Foster relationships and connectivity among Duke researchers.
- Inspire fresh ideas and creativity in addressing climate change.
- Spark new lines of research by emphasizing idea generation over specific expertise.
- Facilitate connections between climate and health researchers.
Why Attend?
This forum is a unique opportunity to build connections, inspire new lines of research, and effectively address the challenges of climate change. Don’t miss out on the chance to be part of this exciting event!
New Faculty Orientation
October 22 & 23: 2024 School of Medicine Academic New Faculty Orientation, Trent Semans Center. Registration is required. Questions? Contact the SOM Office for Faculty at facdev@dm.duke.edu.
All faculty hired in the past three years are welcome to attend. While content specifically targets newer faculty, many topics apply to all faculty regardless of career stage.
Duke Heart Fall 2024 CME Courses
The following symposia will be held this fall:
October 12: Duke Cardiac Imaging Symposium at Trent Semans Center, 7:55 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Course directors are Drs. Sreekanth Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey.
November 1: the 16th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium at Durham Convention Center, 8:00 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. Course directors are Dr. Terry Fortin and Dr. Jimmy Ford (of UNC).
Registration has recently opened for both events, as indicated by the links above. Questions? Contact Christy Darnell.
Have news to share?
If you have news to share with the Pulse readership contact Tracey Koepke, director of communications for Duke Heart & Vascular at tracey.koepke@duke.edu. We would love to hear about your latest accomplishments, professional news, cool happenings, and any events or opportunities that may be of interest to our team. Please call with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged. Submissions by Noon on Wednesdays will be considered for weekend inclusion.
Duke Heart in the News:
August 23 — Rajesh Swaminathan
tctMD
Study Supports Cost-effectiveness of Renal Denervation for Hypertension
August 24 — Nia Schwann Mitchell (internal medicine)
The Star (Malaysia)
Looking at high blood pressure complication risks when it comes to drugs
August 24 — William Kraus
Primecia (Venezuela)
¿Por qué el maní sin sal es un snack saludable?
August 26 — Renato Lopes
tctMD
AUGUSTUS Analysis Clarifies Antithrombotic Choice for ACS in AF Patients
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