Chief’s message:

Happy Memorial Day weekend

We appreciate all of you in our armed forces and those who have supported our troops and families through the years. We take a moment to reflect, remember, and honor those who have made the sacrifices and served our country.

Highlights of the week:

Bloomfield, Frazier-Mills & Landstrom Receive 2025 SOM Faculty Awards

The School of Medicine 2025 Faculty Awards were presented on Monday, May 19th at a reception held in the Great Hall of the Trent Semans Center. The faculty awards honor outstanding contributions in teaching, research, clinical care, professionalism, and service, celebrating the excellence and dedication of faculty members who embody the School’s mission and values. We are thrilled to share the following Duke Heart awardees:

Gerald Bloomfield, MD, MPH, associate professor of medicine in cardiology, received a Research Mentoring Award for Mentoring Excellence in Health Services Research. This award recognizes excellence in mentoring across clinical, translational, population health, and basic sciences. Bloomfield is associate director for research at Duke Global Health Institute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Camille Frazier-Mills, MD, professor of medicine in cardiology, was awarded a Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award, which honors faculty who demonstrate compassion, clinical excellence, and respect in patient care. Frazier-Mills is an electrophysiologist and serves as vice-chief in the division of cardiology.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew Landstrom, MD, PhD, associate professor of pediatrics in cardiology, received the Ruth and A. Morris Williams Jr. Faculty Research Prize, which honors faculty who demonstrate compassion, clinical excellence, and respect in patient care. Landstrom is a principal investigator in the Duke Cardiovascular Research Institute and serves as director of the Duke Pediatric Research Scholars Program for Physician-Scientist Development.

 

 

 

 

 

 

For a full list of awardees, please visit: https://duke.is/9/4t8v

Congratulations, Camille, Jerry, and Andrew, on these well-deserved awards!

 

Study Suggests Dosing of Heart Failure Medication Can Be Safely Simplified

An estimated 32 million people globally have heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, a condition where the lower left chamber of the heart does a poor job of pumping blood to the rest of the body.

While there are approved medications for the condition, not all providers escalate patient doses to target levels, increasing the risk of adverse events, hospitalizations and death.

In a study led by a Duke scientist – presented at a late-breaking research session on May 17 at the 2025 European Society of Cardiology conference and to be published May 20 in the European Journal of Heart Failure – researchers found patients could safely start vericiguat (a medication for heart failure with reduced ejection fraction) at a dose of 5 mg instead of the conventional 2.5 mg starting dose, streamlining the process to reach target dosing from three steps to two. 

The study was funded by Bayer AG and Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC, a subsidiary of Merck & Co., Inc. Both companies are makers of vericiguat.

Stephen Greene, MD, is the corresponding author of the study and associate professor of medicine in cardiology in the Duke University School of Medicine. He said reducing the steps to target dosing could help overcome clinical inertia.

“In real-world practice, most patients never achieve the target doses of recommended heart failure medications,” Greene said. “Despite clinic visit after clinic visit, medication changes are relatively rare. If titration of heart failure medications is rare in clinical practice, then it stands to reason that reducing the number of titration steps would give our patients a better chance to ultimately achieve target dosing.”

The study enrolled 106 patients across seven countries who started the 5 mg dose of vericiguat over the course of two weeks. The researchers compared safety and tolerability of the higher dose group with those of study participants receiving the current dosing standard. The study found safety measures for both groups to be comparable, with more than 9 out of 10 patients safely tolerating initiation of vericiguat at the higher 5 mg starting dose.

“I think simplicity is the key when we talk about implementation of heart failure medications in clinical practice,” Greene said. “Real-world settings come with logistical challenges, and oftentimes clinics are very busy with limited appointment availability and limited available time per patient. These factors unfortunately set a stage for clinical inertia and for patients to go without important medication changes. Simplifying the way that we initiate and titrate heart failure medications may help overcome this and improve the quality of care our patients receive.”

In addition to Greene, study authors include Stefano Corda, Ciaran J. McMullan, Giovanni Palombo, Christina Schooss, Vanja Vlajnic, Katrin Walkamp, and Michele Senni.

 

Patel Interviewed by Dean Klotman on Role of Philanthropy

Dean Klotman recently spent time interviewing Manesh Patel, MD for a School of Medicine video related to how philanthropy has helped to support cardiovascular research and care throughout Duke Heart. Check it out here!

 

CRU Celebrates Clinical Research Day & Launches List of Studies

The Heart Center Clinical Research Unit (CRU) celebrated Clinical Trials Day on May 20th.  Clinical Trials Day is an opportunity to pause in reflection, recognition, and admiration of all that has been accomplished thanks to clinical trials and the people behind them. We are grateful for and appreciate all the hard work done to give our patients the opportunity to participate in clinical trials at Duke.

 

 

 

Additionally, the Heart Center CRU has created a Currently Enrolling Research Studies list to deliver providers with the most up-to-date information about research studies in the Heart Center. Arranged primarily by therapeutic area, providers can click in that area and see a list of all currently enrolling studies with a short description, the principal investigator, and upcoming studies. Descriptions will eventually include key inclusion/exclusion criteria listed as well as the primary coordinator’s name and contact information.

We hope this will provide more enrollment opportunities for patients, in addition to ensuring our Heart Center providers know all the research clinical trial options available. You can access the list by scanning the following QR code or following this link. Providers will soon start seeing this QR code in patient care areas.

The Heart CRU team is excited to share this information with everyone in order to increase our research opportunities. If you have any questions, please reach out to Krista Camuglia.

 

Annette Winkler Retiring Effective May 30

After 33 years of service at Duke Health, Annette Winkler has announced her plans to retire at the end of May. Annette first joined the Duke Cardiology Intensive Care Unit in 1992 after moving from Michigan. She provided top-notch clinical care, established herself as a leader, and won the Friends of Nursing Award in 2005. She has given presentations at the Premier Health Care Conference, American Heart Association Get With the Guidelines Conference, Duke Quality & Safety Conference, National Cardiovascular Data Registry National Conference, and American College of Cardiology STEMI Simulation.

Since 2007, Annette has worked with the Center of Excellence as the STEMI coordinator and Transcatheter Valve Therapy database manager. She has served as a Team Lead, building knowledge and serving as a resource across all heart registries. She has been a driving force in our STEMI processes and has overseen TAVR data since the beginning of the program in 2012.

As Dr. Chris Granger recently said at Annette’s last STEMI committee meeting, “Annette has led collaborative, constructive, interdisciplinary quality improvement around an opportunity to save lives.”

She has brought professionalism and humor to all her efforts. When you pass by the stained glass art near the 7^th floor elevators at Duke North, take a moment to think of Annette who helped craft the piece.

We thank Annette for all her contributions and will truly miss her!

 

Kudos to Cath Lab Early Start Teams!

Kudos to our Cath Lab team at Duke Hospital! Over the past several months, a number of team members have volunteered to come in for “Early Start” days in order to complete cases ahead of the usual shift. We recognize that team members are going above and beyond in order to care for patients and help with the case load — many of these instances occurring in addition to our Saturday Caths pilot program.

We are deeply appreciative of the many staff members and attendings who have participated to support exceptional and timely patient care and we are proud of the team and how they work together. A very special hat tip to Tony Van for coordinating care across rooms — no easy feat. Thank you, all!

 

Thomas Presents at Duke Health Leadership Summit

Dr. Kevin Thomas served as a presenter on May 19, 2025 at the LeadForward Summit for Duke Health leaders titled Our Duke Health Pledge.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nenadic Wood wins EP Course Jeopardy

Ivan Nenadic Wood, one of our second-year cardiovascular disease fellows, attended an EP mapping course in Minneapolis, MN last weekend. He learned a lot and shared that there was a Jeopardy competition at the end. Ivan’s team ended up winning with a question Ivan answered correctly about a chest x-ray of a patient with persistent left SVC syndrome and a pacemaker.

He attributes getting the correct answer because he saw a similar case in clinic with Kevin Jackson.

Way to go Ivan!

 

Yamanaka, Osude Presented CGRs

Thank you to everyone who joined us on Monday and Tuesday evening last week for Cardiology Grand Rounds. We had two excellent presentations!

Monday’s presenter was Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, senior investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease and the L.K. Whittier Foundation Investigator in Stem Cell Biology at the University of California, San Francisco. He presented on Recent Progress in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS) Cell Research and Application. Tuesday’s presenter was Duke cardiovascular fellow Nkiru Osude, MD, who presented All Hands on Deck: The Necessary Path Toward Improving Quality in Healthcare.

Thanks for the excellent presentations!

 

This Week: CGR Presenter will be Manasi Tannu, MD

Please join us on Tuesday, May 27 at 5 p.m. for Cardiology Grand Rounds with Manasi Tannu, MD. Her topic is Post MI Inflammation and Emerging Therapies.

 

DUHS Leadership & Campus Updates:

Carter Appointed President, COO, of Duke Regional

Jason Carter has been named President and Chief Operating Officer of Duke Regional Hospital (DRH), effective immediately. The announcement was made on May 19th by Greg Pauly, MHA, Group President, Duke University Health System and President of Duke University Hospital.

“Jason has served as interim president and COO of Duke Regional for the past six months and done so with tremendous steadiness, focus, and care,” Pauly said. “His thoughtful, people-first leadership and clear operational insight have helped guide DRH forward, and I’m excited he’ll continue in this role permanently.”

Carter joined Duke Health in November 2023 as COO of DRH and quickly became an integral part of the leadership team. He brings 20 years of health care leadership experience and a deep understanding of what it takes to lead high-performing teams in complex systems. He’s passionate about creating an environment where every team member feels supported, valued, and equipped to deliver outstanding care.

“Stepping into this role permanently is both a humbling and inspiring moment for me.” Carter shared. “Every day, I’m reminded of the strength, heart, and resilience of our DRH teams, and I’m energized by the opportunity to shape our future together. As we enter a new chapter together, my vision is to build on what we’ve achieved and stay rooted in the values that define us: collaboration, innovation, and unwavering service to our community.”

Congratulations, Jason!

 

Page Retiring; Perrier Named AVP HR

On Friday, May 23, Greg Pauly, president of Duke University Hospital announced that Deborah Page, chief human resources officer for DUH, will retire effective June 30. Deborah has been a vital leader and an unwavering champion of compassionate care within our hospital for more than 25 years. Her dedication, insight, and steadfast commitment have left a lasting impact on our community and culture. Deborah will be deeply missed by colleagues and friends alike. Please join us in wishing her all the best as she embarks on this exciting new chapter of her life.

Anita Perrier will be joining Duke University Hospital as the associate vice president of human resources, effective June 1. In this vital leadership role, Anita will strategically organize and lead the delivery of HR services across DUH operations, providing critical support that empowers our leaders to put our people first and provide an exceptional team member experience. She will work in close collaboration with our DUH HR business partners, entity HR leaders, and DUH senior leadership to help align HR solutions with key business initiatives—supporting volume growth, building culture, and developing our team members. She is joining us from Mass General Brigham, where she most recently served as their vice president of human resources, patient care services & operational excellence.

Please join us in congratulating Deborah on her well-earned retirement and in warmly welcoming Anita to Duke University Hospital and the Duke Health team. We look forward to the leadership, insight, and collaborative spirit Anita will bring as we continue to advance excellence in patient care, research and education.

 

Campus Road and Utility Projects, Summer 2025

Ongoing utility and building projects will bring adjustments for pedestrians, motorists and Duke Transit this summer. Much of the work is related to upgrades and renovations to decades-old buildings funded largely through philanthropic donations. Here’s a look at the road and utility work Duke Facilities Management will oversee this summer and how it will affect vehicular and pedestrian traffic on campus: Duke Today story. 

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

May is: American Stroke Month, Jewish Heritage Month, and National Asian Pacific American Month

May is also: Celebrating Each Other month at Duke

June is Men’s Health Awareness Month

June 9-15: Men’s Health Week

Cardiology Grand Rounds

May 27: Post MI Inflammation and Emerging Therapies with Manasi Tannu, MD. 5 p.m., Zoom only.

If you missed any of our CGR’s from the past year, all Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

• 2025 CGR Recordings
• 2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

May 28 & 30: No Core Curriculum Conferences will be held.

June 4: HF/Tx with Aubrie Carroll. Noon, DMP 7E39.

June 6: EP Case Presentation with Hannah Schwennesen and Jemi Galani. Noon, Zoom.

June 11: DHP with Mugdha Joshi. Noon, DMP 7E39.

June 13: Program Review with Anna Lisa Chamis. Noon, Zoom.

June 18: Board Review with Paula Rambarat and Nishant Shah. Noon, Hybrid: DMP 7E39 and Zoom.

June 20: No conference

June 25: TBD.

June 27: Returning Fellows Orientation with Anna Lisa Chamis. Noon, Zoom.        

 

Upcoming Duke Heart CMEs

The following CME activities, sponsored by Duke Heart, have been scheduled. Registration coming soon; now open for June 7^th symposia.

• June 7, 2025: Duke Heart Failure Symposium (live event at Durham Convention Center in Durham). Registration is required.
• October 4, 2025: Duke Cardiac Sonography Symposium (live event at Trent Semans Center)
• October 31, 2025: 17th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium (live event at Durham Convention Center)

 

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership, please 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: 

 

May 16 — Stephen Greene

HCP Live/Don’t Miss a Beat podcast (Apple podcasts)

Navigating the ATTR-CM Care Landscape, with Ahmad Masri, MD

 

May 16 — Junjie Yao (Biomedical Engineering)

AOL.com

New light-activated heart tissue revolutionizes heart repair

 

May 17 — Audrey Blewer (Family Medicine/Community Health)

EMS1

CPR confidence fills in the missing link in cardiac arrest survival

 

May 19 — Stephen Greene

HCP Live

Vutrisiran Lowers Cardiovascular Events, Mortality in HELIOS-B Analysis

 

May 20 — Duke Health

Becker’s Hospital Review

The 25 most human health system brands (#14)

 

May 20 — Harry Severance

Medpage Today

The UnitedHealth CEO Is Resigning. That Won’t Fix Patient Outrage.

 

May 20 — Taylor Pennigar (Nursing) and Marissa Pentico (OESO)

WFLB 96.5 (Laurinburg, NC)

Too Much Sitting Tied to Heart Disease and Muscle Loss, Studies Find

 

May 21 — Duke University Hospital

Becker’s ASC Review

The top 1% cardiology research hospitals in US: Avant-garde

 

May 21 — Stephen Greene

tctMD

TITRATE-HF: Use of GDMT for HF Is Getting Better but Still Not Ideal

 

May 22 — Radha Kachhy

Tyla.com

Little-known heart attack symptom common among women that might be completely ignored

 

May 22 — Nishant Shah

Cosmopolitan

Beta Blockers Can Calm Your Nerves Before a Big Event—Here’s What You Need to Know

 

Highlights of the week:

Duke Heart Earns 6^th MVRR Center Award

We are thrilled to announce that our mitral valve program has earned the 2025 Mitral Valve Repair Reference (MVRR) Center Award  — it is the sixth consecutive year for this recognition from the Mitral Foundation.

Mitral valve repair is one of the most challenging heart operations, but the results for patients with degenerative mitral valve disease can be outstanding, with improved survival and few long-term complications. The recommended treatment for degenerative mitral valve disease is mitral valve reconstruction, as opposed to valve replacement with a bioprosthetic or mechanical valve because valve repair is associated with improved survival and fewer long-term complications. Many patients who would benefit from repair receive replacement valves, with higher rates of death or complications within five years after surgery. 

Based on 2024 data (the 2025 list is not yet publicly available), Duke was one of only 22 centers in the U.S. recognized by the Mitral Foundation as having the volume and outcomes needed to qualify as an MVRR Center.

The MVRR Center designation recognizes those centers that have a demonstrated record of superior clinical outcomes, as well as an ongoing commitment to reporting and measuring quality and outcome metrics specific to mitral valve repairs. It also serves to promote the availability of such MVRR Centers to improve geographic access for patients across the U.S.

Congratulations to our extraordinary mitral valve team and Drs. Don Glower, Jeff Gaca, Brittany Zwischenberger, Andrew Wang, and our MitraClip team for the outstanding work they are doing for all of our mitral patients!

 

Blazing Receives Clinical Excellence Award

Congratulations to Mike Blazing, MD, associate professor of medicine in cardiology! Blazing is one of seven Department of Medicine (DOM) faculty members selected as 2025 inductees to the DOM’s Clinical Excellence Society.

Annually, the DOM recognizes faculty who exemplify exceptional dedication to patient care, innovation in clinical practice, and the training of future physicians. Membership in the Department’s Clinical Excellence Society honors individuals who have demonstrated outstanding clinical skill, leadership, and commitment to advancing the practice of medicine. These clinicians are selected for their impact on patient outcomes, contributions to clinical innovation, and efforts to mentor and support the next generation of healthcare providers.

Blazing was nominated by cardiology division chief Manesh Patel, MD, who wrote “Dr. Blazing is not just reserved for the many faculty members who seek him out as their doctor, but open to any patient with a cardiac problem. He has modeled his professional practice as the standard, always taking on the hardest patients and toughest assignments in the best interest of patients and Duke’s cardiology practice. His communication with patients is effortless, and he always finds a way to connect with his patients, focusing on their needs, allowing him to direct them to optimal, evidence-based care.”

Congratulations, Mike! Well-deserved!

 

New Cardiovascular Funding Awards, April 2025

Congratulations to the following faculty members in the Division of Cardiology who received new funding award notifications in April:

Sponsored research:

• Robert McGarrah III has received a sub-award (1OT2HL156812-01) through the DCRI-Duke-Site for a project entitled “RECOVER-ENERGIZE.”

Industry Sponsored Clinical Trials:

• James Daubert has received an award from Rocket Pharmaceuticals, Ltd for a project entitled “The Natural History of Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy with Pathogenic PKP2 Variants (PKP2-ACM): An observational cohort study.” Total funding will be $201,026.
• Marat Fudim has received an award from AstraZeneca AB for a project entitled “A Phase III, Randomised, Double-blind Study to Evaluate the Effect of Balcinrenone/Dapagliflozin, Compared with Dapagliflozin, on the Risk of Heart Failure Events and Cardiovascular Death in Patients with Heart Failure and Impaired Kidney Function.” Total funding will be $232,815.
• Christopher Granger has received an award from Alnylam Pharmaceuticals for a project entitled “KARDIA-6 CVOT SUA.” Total funding will be $17,952,477.
• Schuyler Jones has received an award from Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation for a project entitled “V-Intervention.” Total funding will be $41,317,740.
• Michel Khouri has received an award from Moleculin Biotech, Inc. for a project entitled “MB-108 (Core Lab).” Total funding will be $2,029,841.
• Daniel Mark has received an award from Cytokinetics, Inc. for a project entitled “Comet-HF Health Economics.” Total funding will be $1,407,475.
• Andrew Wang has received an award from Lexicon Pharmaceuticals for a project entitled “SONATA-HCM A Randomized, Double-blind, Placebo-controlled, Parallel-group, Multicenter Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of SOtaglifloziN in symptomATic obstructive And non-obstructive Hypertrophic CardioMyopathy (SONATA-HCM).” Total funding will be $207,376.

Congratulations to all!

 

Duke Heart EKG Team Competes in DUH “Feud”

Congratulations to Duke Heart’s EKG Support Unit for sending a team to compete in Duke Hospital’s “Team Feud” on May 8, 2025! Team Feud is one of many events taking place across Duke this month and is modeled after the television game show “Family Feud.” The competition took place in Duke South Amphitheater and was hosted by emcee Jonathan Bae, MD, associate professor of medicine and a hospitalist at Duke.

The Five Heart Beats included EKG Support Unit team members Lyka Woods; Bernice Whitaker; Kimberly Starkey; Russ Burnett, and Denita Green (shown L-R, above).

“I am so thankful that my team and I got to participate in Team Feud during Celebrating Each Other month,” said Starkey, clinical operations supervisor of the EKG Support Unit at Duke University Hospital. “Times like this allow us to step away from our busy daily tasks to enjoy some fun. We had an amazing time, we won our round and we can’t wait to do it again!”

The Five Heart Beats competed against the Divine Interventions, a group of staff members from Duke Hospital’s Chaplain Services and Education team, and our Duke Heart EKG specialists won the round.

Solid work!

 

Senthil Selvaraj, MD: Improving HF Outcomes Through Metabolic Research

For Senthil Selvaraj, MD, a heart failure physician-scientist in the Duke Heart Center, and an assistant professor of medicine in the Duke Molecular Physiology Institute and the Division of Cardiology, the path to improving care for patients with heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF) starts with a deceptively simple question: what does the heart and skeletal muscle actually use for fuel—and can we change that? 

HFpEF affects more than half of all people with heart failure and is notoriously difficult to treat. These patients retain normal pumping function but still experience debilitating symptoms like shortness of breath and reduced ability to exercise. 

“HFpEF is a systemic problem,” Dr. Selvaraj explains. “It’s not just the heart. It’s also skeletal muscle, blood vessels, and the body’s metabolism.”

Recent studies have shown that failing hearts rely more heavily on ketones, a type of energy source the body normally produces in small amounts during fasting or metabolic stress. Inspired by that discovery, Dr. Selvaraj began testing whether raising ketone levels on purpose—through exogenous ketone drinks—could help HFpEF patients function better.

He recently led a clinical trial known as “KETO-HFpEF”, published in JACC: Heart Failure, which tested the effects of a single dose of ketone therapy vs. placebo in patients with HFpEF. The study did not show improvements in exercise performance, but the treatment led to several potentially beneficial physiologic changes, such as lower heart pressures, shifts in metabolism away from carbohydrate utilization, and increased heart rate during exercise.

“These findings were intriguing,” he says. “We didn’t see a direct improvement in exercise capacity, but we saw a lot of changes that may be relevant.”

From Proof-of-Concept to Longer-Term Impact

Selvaraj is now preparing to launch a new trial to test whether longer-term ketone supplementation might do what a single dose could not. The upcoming study, supported by a Swann Lee Award through the Duke School of Medicine, will follow 20 HFpEF patients over an eight-week period using a crossover, double-blind, placebo-controlled design. Participants will receive a commercially available ketone drink, (R)-1,3-butanediol (KetoneIQ), and undergo testing to evaluate changes in exercise capacity, cardiac function, metabolic health, and vascular stiffness. This research team includes Heart Center faculty Drs. Svati Shah, Robert Mentz, and Neha Pagidipati.

“Exercise intolerance in heart failure is driven by multiple overlapping issues,” he says. “That’s why we’re investigating ketone therapy—which has the potential to address several pathophysiologies at once.”

Selvaraj also studies how the heart consumes fuel in real time. In a translational research project at Duke, he and his colleagues collect paired blood samples from the arteries and veins of the heart to measure what nutrients the heart consumes. This work, done in collaboration with Drs. Marat Fudim, Imran Islam, Zach Loring, and Dan Friedman, helps map the heart’s metabolic profile across the spectrum of cardiovascular health.

Research with a Broader Purpose

Selvaraj traces his interest in heart failure back to his third year of medical school, when he first began working in the field. His early work focused on large-scale clinical trial data, but he has since shifted toward leading his own investigator-initiated studies—smaller in scale, but rich in mechanistic insight.

He credits much of his growth as a researcher to the mentorship of Dr. Svati Shah and sees his current work as part of a broader effort to redefine how metabolic therapies are used in cardiovascular disease.

“Ketones are a natural substrate, something our bodies already make,” he says. “If we can harness that safely and effectively, we may be able to offer patients a new option—one that works across systems, not just on the heart alone.” Beyond ketone therapy, altering metabolism with other therapies (i.e. SGLT2 inhibitors and GLP-1 receptor agonists) has already underscored the relevance of this line of inquiry.

(This story was published May 7 by the Dept. of Medicine.)

 

Hernandez, Spaeder Present PTC Grand Rounds

On Friday, May 16, Adrian Hernandez, MD, MHS professor of medicine in cardiology and executive director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute, joined Jeffrey Spaeder, MD, MBA, chief medical and scientific officer at IQVIA, to present the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory’s (PTC) Rethinking Clinical Trials Grand Rounds lecture. Their presentation was entitled, “Pivoting Clinical Trials Into a New and Evolving World.”

Hernandez serves as co–principal investigator of the NIH Pragmatic Trials Collaboratory Coordinating Center.

 

This Week: CGRs on Monday with Yamanaka, Tuesday with Osude

Don’t forget to join us for a special Cardiology Grand Rounds session on Monday evening, May 19^th. Our guest will be Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, senior investigator at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease and the L.K. Whittier Foundation Investigator in Stem Cell Biology at the University of California, San Francisco. His CGR topic is Recent Progress in Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPS) Cell Research and Application.

Yamanaka is a co-recipient of the 2012 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering that mature cells can be reprogrammed into a stem cell state, offering a way to generate pluripotent stem cells without using embryos. He shared the prize with Sir John B. Gurdon of the Gurdon Institute at the University of Cambridge.

On Tuesday evening, May 20, we’ll hear from Duke cardiovascular fellow Nkiru Osude, MD, who will present The Solution: Quality in Healthcare. 

Both sessions begin at 5 p.m. More details under Upcoming Events, below.

 

 

 

 

New NIH Public Access Policy Effective July 1, 2025

Researchers holding federal funding should be aware of critical updates to the NIH Public Access Policy that will take effect on July 1, 2025.

Originally scheduled to go into effect on December 31, 2025, these changes have been expedited by the federal government, and it is imperative that researchers understand and comply with the new requirements to avoid jeopardizing their current and future funding opportunities.

Key Changes to Note:

• Immediate Submission to PubMed Central: Researchers must submit their Author Accepted Manuscripts to PubMed Central without delay. This ensures that research is accessible to the public as soon as possible.
• No Embargo Period: There will no longer be an embargo period for journals. Full-text must be made publicly available in PubMed Central upon publication.
• Impact on Funding: Non-compliance with these new requirements could affect current and future funding opportunities, including grant renewals. It is crucial to adhere to these guidelines to maintain funding status.
• No Cost to Authors: Authors can submit their manuscript files to PubMed Central at no cost, regardless of whether they have published open access or not.

Researchers with NIH funding are encouraged to take this matter seriously and make the necessary preparations to make sure their manuscripts accepted for publication on or after July 1, 2025 comply with the new NIH Public Access Policy.

For more information on the NIH Public Access Policy compliance submission process, please see Duke Medical Center Library & Archives’ NIH Public Access Policy Guide. If you have any questions or need assistance, do not hesitate to reach out to the NIH Public Access Policy team at the Medical Center Library (nihpublicaccesscompliance@duke.edu).

 

DUHS Updates:

Padilla Appointed DUHS CNSBOO

Blanca “Iris” Padilla, PhD, MBA, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, FAANP has been appointed as the new Chief Nursing Strategic Business Operations Officer (CNSBOO) at Duke University Health System.

In this role, Padilla will be pivotal in shaping the strategic direction of nursing services, ensuring alignment with economic, financial and business objectives and driving innovation in transforming models of patient care, workforce management, and financial sustainability.

Padilla is an Associate Professor at the Duke University School of Nursing with extensive experience in trauma-critical care, emergency department, and primary care. Her education includes a PhD from the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, a postdoctoral fellowship from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from Elon University.

Congratulations, Iris!

 

Empowerment Through Innovations Launched by DUHS NPCS

DUHS Nursing and Patient Care Services (NPCS) is excited to launch Empowerment Through Innovations — a new systemwide initiative created to spark real change from the frontlines. All nursing and patient care services teams are invited to share ideas that can improve how we deliver care, support our teams, and solve everyday challenges. The program recognizes the everyday innovators across Duke Health, one idea at a time. It embodies our commitment to Put People First by listening and seeking out new ideas. It also reflects our pledge to Be Clear and Empower by trusting the values and perspectives of those closest to the work and turning ideas into action.

Do you see something that could be better? Visit the Empowerment Through Innovations intranet site to learn more and submit your ideas.

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

May is: American Stroke Month, Jewish Heritage Month, and National Asian Pacific American Month

May is also: Celebrating Each Other month at Duke

  

Cardiology Grand Rounds

 May 19: Recent Progress in iPS Cell Research and Application with Nobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka of the Gladstone Institute for Cardiovascular Disease; the University of California, San Francisco, and Kyoto University. 5 p.m. DN 2002 or via Zoom.

 May 20: The Solution: Quality in Healthcare with Nkiru Osude. 5 p.m., Zoom only.

If you missed any of our CGR’s from the past year, all Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

• 2025 CGR Recordings
• 2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

 

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

May 21: HF/Tx with Cosette Champion. Noon. In-person. DN 2001

May 23: EKG with Neil Freedman. Noon. Zoom only.

May 28: EP with Hannah Schwennesen and Jemi Galani. Noon, in person. DMP 7E39.

May 30: TBD  

           

Upcoming Duke Heart CMEs

The following CME activities, sponsored by Duke Heart, have been scheduled. Registration coming soon; now open for June 7^th symposia.

• June 7, 2025: Duke Heart Failure Symposium (live event at Durham Convention Center in Durham). Registration is required.
• October 4, 2025: Duke Cardiac Sonography Symposium (live event at Trent Semans Center)
• October 31, 2025: 17th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium (live event at Durham Convention Center)

 

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership, please 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: 

May 9 — Duke Health

WFMY News 2 (Greensboro, NC)

Branson’s mission: Filling Duke’s treasure box with hope and joy

May 9 — Stephen Greene

Espanol News

Los beneficios de los inhibidores de SGLT2 para HF afirmados en un estudio grande en el mundo real

May 12 — Audrey Blewer

The Kansas City Star

Fast action from bystanders can improve cardiac arrest survival. Many don’t know what to do

May 13 — Sean Pokorney

Medscape

Self-Administered Etripamil Cuts Emergency Department Visits for Paroxysma

May 13 — Duke University Hospital/Duke Raleigh Hospital

Becker’s Hospital Review

377 top hospitals for patient experience: Healthgrades

May 13 — Duke University Health System

Winston Salem Journal

Three major healthcare providers vying to build hospital in

Alamance. Residents can offer their thoughts on June 18.

May 14 — Duke Heart Network

WHKY

Frye Regional Celebrates 50th Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement

May 14 — Robert Califf

Cath Lab Digest

Robert M. Califf, MD, Shares His SCAI 2025 Keynote Summary

May 15 — Marat Fudim and Joanna Kipnes (hospitalist & PRMO)

Cardiovascular Business

Duke specialists to detail the benefits of treating heart failure with Barostim

May 16 — Manesh Patel

Daily Herald (Chicago)

‘Cough CPR’ is a social media myth

 

Chief’s message:

Happy Mother’s Day & Graduation Season Begins

  

To all the moms and mom-figures throughout our team, we wish you a very happy Mother’s Day, and to any of our team members with graduates in their midst – it’s the start of graduation season (this weekend is Duke University’s)–  so congratulations to all!

 

In Memoriam: Robert A. Waugh, MD, Associate Professor Emeritus of Medicine in Cardiology

We are saddened to share that our dear friend and colleague, associate professor emeritus of medicine in cardiology, Dr. Robert Andrew Waugh died yesterday, May 10, 2025, at Hillcrest Convalescent Center in Durham where he had been residing. He was 85.

Waugh’s work while at Duke included the use of patient simulation and computers in medical student and graduate medical education, the use of noninvasive technologies in the evaluation of patients with heart disease, and the role of stress and behavior modification in the care and evaluation of patients with known or suspected heart disease. He assisted Joe Kisslo in establishing echocardiography at Duke, along with the Cardiac Diagnostic Unit.

He had a number of collaborations during his time at Duke, including one with the University of Miami School of Medicine’s Medical Training and Simulation Laboratory to advance and further the use of patient simulators, including Harvey (the cardiopulmonary patient simulator, shown left) and computer modeling in medical training. He served on a multicenter consortium of educators and physicians to develop and evaluate multimedia teaching programs specifically for cardiovascular disease, and later across a variety of medical sub-specialties. He also partnered with Dr. James Blumenthal’s Behavioral Medicine Laboratory at Duke as a collaborator on clinical trials centering around the relationships between exercise, weight loss, and blood pressure, and the role of mental stress and ischemia in patients with known coronary artery disease.

“Bob had just completed his fellowship when I came to Duke in 1972 — he was in the same fellowship class as Galen Wagner and a year behind Bob Rosati,” said Joseph Kisslo, MD, professor of medicine in cardiology at Duke. “Shortly thereafter, Bob went into the Navy and was stationed at Bethesda. He tried private practice for a year in Virginia after the Navy and then returned to Duke when Galen Wagner served as the acting chief of cardiology while Andy Wallace was on sabbatical.

“He was the supreme clinician and cared dearly about teaching our medical students about heart disease,” Kisslo added. “Bob was very instrumental in the beginning of the original stress echo and Holter monitoring lab and he was a big help to me in establishing echo at Duke, and then the Cardiac Diagnostic Unit. Without Bob, the cooperative entity of the CDU would have never worked — he was the ultimate “team player”. One of the saddest days I’ve ever had was when Bob told me he was stopping clinical practice because he just couldn’t manage anymore.”

Born on Christmas Day, 1939 (the very same day as Galen Wagner!), Waugh would earn his medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1966. His survivors include his wife, Carol Ann; their daughter, Dianna Joseph of Georgia, and a grandson, William.

We extend our deepest condolences to his family, friends, and former colleagues.

We are grateful to the following faculty members for sharing their thoughts and memories of Dr. Waugh with us:

“Bob Waugh was a great guy and excellent cardiologist. One of my favorites. I interviewed with Bob for Cardiology Fellowship. It just so happened that at the time I was the resident on the cardiology consult service and he was the Attending. So I showed up with my suit and folio ready for an interview. He looked at me and said ‘Let’s go round’ and we saw all the consult patients that afternoon.” — Sunil Rao, MD, Director of Interventional Cardiology at NYU Langone

“Bob was unique among us. Great laugh and very skilled as a clinician and an educator. I was in need of an echo tech and Bob pitched a guy that he had worked with in the Navy. I thought, ‘Just what I need… an old drinking buddy of Bob’s.’ But, of course, Roger [Harsh] was one of the best hires ever.” — Ken Morris, MD

“He was so much fun to have around. Loved his laugh.” — Mark Donahue, MD

“A great educator! He was so fun to read echos with.” — Mike Sketch, MD

“He was one of the greats.” — Tom Povsic, MD

“Dr. Waugh was a gifted educator, beloved by everyone who interacted with him. He taught generations of medical students, residents and fellows EKGs and physical exam using Harvey, the cardiology patient simulator. He taught, inspired and mentored me to pursue a career as a cardiology clinician- educator. I will be forever grateful.” — Anna Lisa Chamis, MD

“Another of the founders of the Duke Cardiology Division has passed. Bob Waugh was the consummate clinician and teacher at Duke. He loved teaching so much that he helped develop a manikin named “Harvey” in an effort to educate everyone from med students to faculty on how to properly perform a physical exam. Named after Proctor Harvey of Georgetown fame, the Duke cardiology manikin was located on the seventh floor. Pulsations and apical movements were incorporated along with the auscultatory heart sounds heard at differing locations on the torso. One could select the murmurs associated with any structural heart ailment. His passion for teaching and his devotion to the housestaff and fellows were boundless, even though he began his career at Duke as a basic scientist. His office was the story of legends, as he was a hoarder of first magnitude- books and magazines were stacked sky-high everywhere. Despite that, he always knew where everything was, and everyone was always welcome to come and chat about just about anything at any time. He was a wonderful listener, a friend to all, and had opinions on everything. Bob was truly one of the giants in cardiology that built the Duke program. His kindness, humor, teaching prowess, and clinical competence made him one-of-a-kind. He was the best. He will be greatly missed by all of us who benefited from his presence and influence..” – Tom Bashore, MD

“I first saw Bob Waugh on a video as a medical student at Emory – introducing the Harvey training manikin. When I met him, it became clear that Bob was a caring clinical role model for all of use who had to privilege of knowing him.  Duke Cardiology and Duke Medicine benefited from his love of teaching, easy going style, and most importantly dedication to being a great clinician.  Despite having his  desk piled high with articles and books, he would always make time to listen to a case or just provide advise. He will be missed.”  Manesh Patel, MD

Reminder: Culture Pulse Survey!

Please take part in the (very quick!) Culture Pulse Survey which runs through tomorrow, May 12. You can access the survey here. By participating, you can help system leadership to better understand the current culture here at Duke Health. Your voice matters, so please participate – it’s quick, confidential, and will go a long way in helping leadership pave the way for an even stronger Health System.

With participation, you may even win a great prize! Five team members across the health system who complete the Culture Pulse survey will be randomly selected to win a pair of Duke men’s basketball tickets, a pair of tickets to a DPAC production, or four tickets for a Durham Bulls baseball game!

Please visit the Culture Pulse page to learn more.

Thank you!

 

AATS 2025 Duke Highlights

The 105th annual meeting of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) was held May 2-5, 2025 at the Seattle Convention Center in Seattle, WA.

Thomas D’Amico, MD, the Gary Hock Distinguished Professor of Surgery and Section Chief for General Thoracic Surgery at Duke along with Maral Ouzounian, MD of Toronto General Hospital were the Program Directors for the AATS — well done, Tommy! Several faculty members served on program committees for this year’s event, including Carmelo Milano, MD (Adult Cardiac Program Committee); Joseph Turek, MD (Congenital Program Committee), and Betty Tong, MD (Thoracic Program Committee).

Highlights from Duke presenters included:

• A presentation on optimal strategies for neuroprotection during aortic surgeries which require circulatory arrest, given by Edward P. Chen, MD;
• Publication of outcomes of children undergoing partial heart transplant, co-authors included Joe Turek, MD; and a
• Presentation on the Duke Donation After Circulatory Death (DCD) heart transplant outcomes, given by cardiothoracic surgical resident, Abigail Benkert, MD

We are especially delighted to share that surgical research fellow, Dr. Krish Dewan, won the prestigious C. Walton Lillehei Resident Forum prize for cardiac gene therapy work conducted in the laboratory of Dawn Bowles, PhD, assistant professor in surgery.

The Lillehei award is named for C. Walton Lillehei, MD, PhD, known as the father of open heart surgery. Lillehei forever changed the face of cardiac surgery through his research, groundbreaking developments and innovative techniques. In 1952, Lillehei participated in the world’s first successful open heart surgery at the University of Minnesota, and in 1954, he headed the first successful open heart surgery using cross-circulation. Lillehei himself was well decorated, having received such honors as the Bronze Star for World War II service in Italy, the 1955 Lasker Award, the Order of Health Merit Jose Fernandez Madrid by the government of Colombia in 1959, the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement in 1968, induction in 1993 into the Minnesota Inventors Hall of Fame, and the 1996 Harvey Prize in Science and Technology. The AATS honors his legacy and contributions by selecting a resident researcher each year as the recipient of his namesake award for their own cutting-edge breakthroughs and research efforts.

Congratulations to all!

 

Made for This Campaign

As we mentioned last weekend, the Made for This campaign for philanthropic support of Duke’s missions was held last weekend with board members from across Duke and Duke Health. The capstone event of the weekend was a discussion that took place on Saturday with former men’s basketball coach, Mike “Coach K” Krzyzewski. We were able to get some photos of him with Manesh Patel, MD and Craig Albanese, MD from their panel discussion on leadership, innovation and advances at Duke Health.

 

 

Upadhya Receives Excellence in Education Award

Congratulations to Bharathi Upadhya, MBBS, associate professor of medicine in cardiology! She is one of thirteen Department of Medicine faculty members to receive the 2025 Excellence in Education Award. The DOM recognizes and appreciates the hard work and dedication of its outstanding faculty and their enduring commitment to the education of its fellows, residents, and students. The annual Excellence in Education Award recognizes a faculty member in each division for excellent teaching and commitment to the education and professional development of Duke trainees.

Dr. Upadhya is recognized as an outstanding teacher and committed educator of trainees giving high-yield lectures to cardiology fellows, sonographers, and sonography students. Additionally, she is a gifted bedside clinician-educator.

Congratulations, Bharathi! Well-deserved!

 

 

Neha Pagidipati, MD: Diminishing Fragmented Care & Shaping New Leaders in Research

Neha Pagidipati, MD, MPH, associate professor in the Division of Cardiology, is working to improve care fragmentation and inspire the next generation of researchers.  She’s a cardiovascular prevention specialist dedicated to finding therapies that work for all patients through her combined interests of public health and clinical medicine.

“Obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol are just some of the factors that contribute to heart disease, and I enjoy helping people manage those aspects on an individual basis by lifestyle modification and using effective medications. But I also really enjoy thinking about how to improve those risk factors on a population level,” Dr. Pagidipati said. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States.

She is one of several providers that treats patients through Duke’s Cardiometabolic Prevention Clinic. “It’s a multidisciplinary clinic that aims to provide coordinated care to the highest risk and most complex patients in the health system,” Dr. Pagidipati said. The team is comprised of cardiologists, endocrinologists, hepatologists, and nephrologists.

“This is practicing medicine the way all of us want to practice medicine. We get to work together with other clinicians and take care of patients in the best way possible,” she said. They refer and coordinate with each other often to prevent vulnerable patients from being overlooked. “Patients who have multiple cardiometabolic issues tend to see many different providers, and that care can be very fragmented, which is worse quality care,” Dr. Pagidipati said. But it also poses a problem for patients themselves.

“They’re just one person trying to manage all of their issues. But they’re going to many different clinicians who may or may not be telling them the same thing,” she said.

Dr. Pagidipati helped build the program which patients have been able to access through a variety of Duke clinics, including the South Durham Clinic, for the last eight years. “Having providers practice in different clinics is helpful because some locations are more convenient for patients than others,” she said.

“I think I always knew I wanted to be a physician,” Dr. Pagidipati said. Both her parents were doctors, and that exposed her to medicine early. She briefly considered other career paths, but a trip to India during her sophomore year in college confirmed her decision to pursue medicine.

“After doing public health work there and studying cardiovascular disease prevention in women, I realized health care was something that I was meant to do,” she said.

Dr. Pagidipati fell in love with cardiology as a fourth-year medical student at Harvard University School of Medicine after doing a cardiology critical care unit rotation at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “It was the first time in my life that I remember thinking, ‘I would actually pay to be allowed to work every day in the CCU,” Dr. Pagidipati said.

It’s also where her interest in women’s health broadened and her desire to improve maternal health outcomes deepened. “Women are at just as much as risk of cardiovascular disease as men. Cardiovascular disease is the number one killer in women, just as it is in men, yet heart disease in women tends to be under-recognized and undertreated,” Dr. Pagidipati said.

Addressing that disparity is another part of what drives her to improve care for her patients.

“There are aspects to women’s cardiovascular health that are different from the cardiovascular health in men that need additional focus and research,” Dr. Pagidipati said. “Unfortunately, women are not included in many cardiovascular trials and have largely been underrepresented in them for a long time, and I don’t think that has served anyone well,” she said.

After graduating from medical school, she completed Brigham and Women’s Hospital Internal Medicine Residency and Global Women’s Health Fellowship Program’s and earned a Master of Public Health from Harvard University.

Dr. Pagidipati has remained at Duke’s School of Medicine since completing a cardiology fellowship in 2017. “A critical piece of staying in an academic center is growing the next generation of investigators and clinicians,” she said. While mentorship isn’t something she set out to do, it’s become a large part of her life.

“The single most rewarding thing about being a doctor is taking care of patients. It’s an integral part of who I am, but I absolutely love and value the research and education aspects as well,” Dr. Pagidipati said. She was selected as an Associate Program Director of the Duke Clinical Research Institute Fellowship Program in 2018.

“It’s becoming increasingly harder to become a researcher, and we need people going into research because our medical enterprise doesn’t work without them,” she said. “I enjoy fostering that interest and teaching trainees that it can be done successfully and in a way that gives them a balance in their lives and clinical work.”

(This story was published April 14 by the Dept. of Medicine)

 

McGuire Presents CGR on GLP-1 Receptor Agonists

We had an excellent Cardiology Grand Rounds on Tuesday evening with former Duke cardiology trainee Darren McGuire, MD of UT Southwestern. He presented, “Getting to the heart of the matter: GLP-1 receptor agonists and CV disease” — if you missed it, you can check it out here: https://warpwire.duke.edu/w/HdgIAA/ (Duke NET ID is required). 

 

 

 

 

 

Avery Ongman Featured by SOM

Congratulations to Avery Ongman, a student in our Cardiac Ultrasound Certificate Program — she is one of 14 students from across the School of Medicine’s education and training programs highlighted in their 2025 Student Graduation Profiles series.

Avery was recently named one of the 2025 Waggoner scholarship award winners by the American Society of Echocardiography. You can find her profile here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DUHS Updates:

Construction in Parking Garage 2 (PG2)

Construction began on level two of Duke University Hospital’s Parking Garage 2 last week. Travel lanes will remain open for motorists, but you may encounter minor changes in traffic patterns. This work will continue for approximately six weeks. Please maintain a safe speed and watch for workers and pedestrians as you drive through the garage. Please do not remove the barriers in these areas.

Please allow additional time for your commute morning, as delays are anticipated and may impact your arrival.

 

Leadership Changes

Joanna Lowery has been promoted to Vice President of Support Services. With over 15 years of leadership experience—including the past eight in healthcare—Joanna is known for her strategic vision and operational excellence. In her most recent past experience, Joanna served as a leader at Aramark, an industry leader in hospitality management. As AVP at Duke, she has streamlined many processes and engaged other departments to improve turn-around times and solutions to expedite throughput.  In early 2025, she led DUH to its first-ever compliant inspection on the initial attempt, earning recognition from the Fire Marshal. Her results-driven leadership continues to strengthen our support services.

Bryan Mallory, Vice President for Medicine, Surgery, Critical Care and Dialysis (MSCC) will be responsible for Emergency Services at DUH. In his expanded role, Bryan will be responsible for strategic planning, day-to-day operations, financial and resource management of the Emergency Department, Clinical Evaluation Unit, and Emergency Preparedness. He will continue to partner and collaborate with providers, nursing, and support teams across the hospital.  Bryan has more than 15 years of healthcare experience across several organizations and specialty areas. Since returning to Duke in 2017, he has served as a vice president for several service lines, including Ambulatory, Children’s, and MSCC. Bryan began his career in healthcare as an EMT and volunteer rescue squad member. 

Congratulations, Joanna and Bryan!

 

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

May 6-12: National Nurses Week

May 12: International Nurses Day

May is: American Stroke Month, Jewish Heritage Month, and National Asian Pacific American Month

May is also: Celebrating Each Other month at Duke

 

Cardiology Grand Rounds

May 13: Somatic Mutations and Cardiovascular Disease with Jess Regan. 5 p.m. DN 2002 or via Zoom.

If you missed any of our CGR’s from the past year, all Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

• 2025 CGR Recordings
• 2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

 

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

May 14: DHP with Tess Allan. Noon. In-person. DMP 7E39.

May 16: Pericardial Disease with Nishant Shah. Noon. Zoom only.

May 21: HF/Tx with Cosette Champion. Noon. In-person. DN 2001

May 23: EKG with Neil Freedman. Noon. Zoom only.

May 28: EP with Hannah Schwennesen and Jemi Galani. Noon, in person. DMP 7E39.

May 30: TBD  

           

2025 Joseph C. Greenfield Visiting Professor of Medicine Lecture Series

May 9: Medicine and Mindset: Exploring New Targets and Re-Imagining the Clinical Encounter with Lidia Schapira, MD, FASCO, Professor of Medicine, Oncology with Stanford Medicine. 8 a.m., DN 2002.

July 25: Topic TBD with Amy S. Oxentenko, MD, Professor of Medicine with Mayo Clinic. 8 a.m., DN 2002.

 

Upcoming Duke Heart CMEs

The following CME activities, sponsored by Duke Heart, have been scheduled. Registration coming soon; now open for June 7^th symposia.

• June 7, 2025: Duke Heart Failure Symposium (live event at Durham Convention Center in Durham). Registration is required.
• October 4, 2025: Duke Cardiac Sonography Symposium (live event at Trent Semans Center)
• October 31, 2025: 17th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium (live event at Durham Convention Center)

 

Have news to share?

If you have news to share with the Pulse readership, please 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: 

May 5 — Jonathan Piccini

tctMD

Studies Spotlight Safety Concerns With Pulsed-Field Ablation for AF

May 5 — Audrey Blewer (Family Med/Community Health)

Public Good News

Bystanders can improve cardiac arrest survival. Here’s how.

May 6 — Emily D’Agostino (Population Health)

The Carolinian News

Meeting Patients Where They Are: NC Mobile Medicine in rural NC

May 6 — Adrian Hernandez

WRAL

NC House OKs bill expanding access to ivermectin despite lack of hard evidence

May 8 — Stephen Greene

tctMD

STRONG-HF Analysis Quantifies Gains From Rapid Uptake of GDMT

May 8 — DUH CTICU

Healthcare Purchasing News

AACN’s Healthy Work Environment Standards Implemented at Duke University Hospital’s CTICU

Chief’s message:  Made for This – Duke Campaign Kick off and planning for our future

Another busy spring week as we had a DHIP leadership summit with a room of some of our health system and physician/clinician leaders and teams working on our future strategies.  The meeting was led by Matt Barber and Simon Curtis and we will work to ensure we that presentation to all of our Cardiovascular Service Line faculty.  Included is a picture from the summit where they highlight the importance of new patient visits over several years and impact on some of the cardiovascular growth metrics.

Additionally, this week we had our heart center leadership councils spring meeting – led by our Council Chair – Bob Keegan.  I was able to have a fireside chat with Adrian Hernandez and discuss the ways to make research and knowledge to practice more widespread.  We have a story below on that.  We also had the kick off the Duke Campaign for philanthropic support for our missions – entitled Made For This.  We had several events including a Friday night dinner and Saturday Discussion with Coach K that was the capstone of the weekend.  It was great to see so many parts of our health system/school of medicine working together to improve health from discover to delivery.  We will have more on this work in the upcoming months.

Ravi Karra also gave medicine Grand Rounds on the multi-specialty and team based care we provide those with sarcoidosis at Duke.

Finally – our some of our CT surgical colleagues were at the ATS meeting this weekend and we will hear about that in upcoming weeks.  We are excited to announce below Betty Tong as our Section Chief for General Thoracic Surgery.

Highlights of the week:

Tong Named Section Chief, General Thoracic Surgery Effective July 1

We are pleased to share that, following an extensive national search, Betty Tong, MD has been promoted to the position of Section Chief for General Thoracic Surgery effective July 1, 2025. She will take over this position from Thomas D’Amico, MD, who will begin a sabbatical in July.

Dr. Tong completed her undergraduate education at Georgia Tech University with a degree in mechanical engineering. She then completed medical school at Duke University and general surgery training at the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. She returned to Duke for her residency training in CT Surgery and also received a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in 2009. In 2008, she was brought on as an Assistant Professor in the CT Surgery Division here at Duke University. She has developed a tremendous practice in surgical treatments for lung cancer and minimally invasive approaches to thoracic surgery. She has spearheaded our lung cancer screening program and served as the Director of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Quality Review of the General Thoracic Program. In 2020, she was promoted to Associate Professor with Tenure.

Dr. Tong has demonstrated great academic productivity with more than 130 publications. In addition, she serves as an Associate Editor for the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. She is a member of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. In addition, Dr. Tong brings important leadership experience as she also serves as the Cardiothoracic Residency Program Director. She has been a champion for the promotion of women in thoracic surgery, both within our own training program and through her involvement in national societies. Acknowledging this, she was named the inaugural recipient of the Extraordinary Women in Cardiothoracic Surgery Award in 2023; this award is co-sponsored by the STS and Women in Thoracic Surgery (WTS) to recognize outstanding women surgeons specializing in the CT space.

In summary, Betty is an outstanding member of the section and will now assume leadership as the Section Chief. Please join us in welcoming Betty to this important role and congratulating her on this achievement.

 

Celebrating Nurses!

National Nursing Week launches on Tuesday, May 6, and runs through May 12. It’s a time to recognize our entire team of Duke Health nurses for their many professional accomplishments and contributions to the care of our patients.

Our Duke Heart & Vascular nurses are foundational to providing best-in-class care to our cardiovascular, vascular, and thoracic patients. Thank you for all you do to care for patients, partner in advancing research, drive excellence across our quality and safety measures, and provide support for daily demands as they arise.

We have an incredible team of nurses throughout Duke Heart & Vascular. Happy Nurses Week!

 

Thakkar Receives Young Investigator Award

Congratulations to Duke Cardiology fellow Aarti Thakkar! We learned this week that she is the recipient of the NewAmsterdam Pharma Young Researcher Award for her project, Reshaping the Curve: Health-System Interventions to Improve Disparities in Lipid Management. This project leverages a remote lipid monitoring system to identify and treat high-risk individuals with elevated LDL cholesterol within the Duke Health System.

The Young Researcher Award was created by NewAmsterdam Pharma Medical Affairs to provide young investigators with the means to explore research in metabolic diseases. It will provide $50,000 per year for up to two years of project support. Thakkar’s primary mentors are Nishant Shah and Neha Pagidipati.

Way to go, Aarti!

 

Heart Team Demos Heart Dissections at DA

A team from Duke Heart was invited to teach cardiac anatomy and perform pig heart dissections to 7^th graders at Durham Academy this week. The team included several Duke cardiac sonographers (Danny Rivera, Dallas Gardner, Eddy Sandoval, Melissa Lefevre, Ashlee Davis, Emily Schanze), several cardiology fellows (Jessica Regan, Jonathan Hanna, Jawan Abdulrahim) and cardiology attendings (Svati Shah, Nishant Shah, Willard Applefeld).

The team reports that the experience was really fun and the students were excited and grateful to get to see their first real heart!

Nicely done, team!

 

Reminder: Culture Pulse Survey, Now through May 12

Please take part in the (very quick!) Culture Pulse Survey which launched this week and runs through May 12. By participating, you can help system leadership to better understand the current culture here at Duke Health. Your voice matters, so please participate – it’s quick, confidential, and will go a long way in helping leadership pave the way for an even stronger Health System.

The survey, which can be accessed on any computer or mobile device, will make it easier than ever to share your feedback. Look for an email (dated April 28) with your survey link; you can also visit the Culture Pulse page to learn more.

Thank you!

 

Celebrating Each Other Month

Craig Albanese kicked off DUHS’s first Celebrating Each Other Month with an appreciation message and video to all team members:

Hi team,

Every day, your hard work, and the service that you provide to those who come to us for hope, health, and healing inspires me and countless others.

While our appreciation extends beyond any special day, week, or month, May at Duke University Health System is Celebrating Each Other Month. This is a special time to recognize you and reaffirm our culture of putting people first. 

Click here for a video message and to learn more about ways we can celebrate one another.

Please know how proud we are of you and the great joy it gives us to celebrate you —today, throughout this month and in every moment you bring our mission to life.

With gratitude,

Craig Albanese, MD, MBA

Chief Executive Officer

Duke University Health System

 

Spring HCLC meeting held

The Spring meeting of the Duke Heart Center Leadership Council (HCLC) was held Friday morning, May 2 at the J.B. Duke Hotel and Conference Center ahead of an all-School of Medicine and Duke Health Boards and Councils afternoon of programming.

The HCLC heard updates from Manesh Patel, Carmelo Milano, and Jill Engel, as well as Adrian Hernandez who provided updates from the Duke Clinical Research Institute, and from Jacob Klapper and Brittany Zwischenberger, who updated the HCLC on Duke CT Surgery’s robotics program.

 

Karra Delivered MGR

Ravi Karra delivered Medicine Grand Rounds on Friday, May 2. His topic was Sarcoidosis@Duke: A Granular View. The recording was not yet available this weekend, but will appear here once ready.

 

Structural Heart Disease Symposium Held

The Duke Heart Structural Heart Disease Symposium was held on April 26, 2025, at the Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans Center. We had more than 115 people registered as well as solid industry support from Abbot, Edwards Lifesciences, and Medtronic. Topics covered included TAVR, SAVR, asymptomatic severe aortic stenosis, assessment of RV function and tricuspid regurgitation, TEER for primary MV regurgitation, and many others.

Speakers included Kevin Harrison, Amit Vora, Chad Hughes, Adam Williams, Fawaz Alenezi, Brittany Zwischenberger, Zachary Wegermann, Andrew Vekstein, Rich Krasuski, Andres Pineda Maldonado, Sreekanth Vemulapalli, Andrew Wang, and several former Duke fellows including Sharif Halim, Adam Banks, Angela Lowenstern and Ezequiel Munoz Gonzalez.

Great work, all!

 

DUHS Updates:

Duke Hospitals Earn ‘Straight A’ Grades for Patient Safety in Leapfrog Survey

Duke University Hospital, Duke Regional Hospital, and Duke Raleigh Hospital, a campus of Duke University Hospital, have again received top scores for patient safety from The Leapfrog Group, an independent nonprofit organization led by the nation’s leading employers and private health care experts.

The “A” scores for Leapfrog’s spring 2025 survey are part of the group’s Hospital Safety Grades Assessment, issued to hospitals every six months. This is the only hospital ratings program focused exclusively on preventable medical errors, infections, and injuries that kill more than 500 patients a day nationally. Hospitals earn the elite “Straight A” distinction after achieving an “A” safety grade in at least five consecutive cycles.

“Earning a ‘Straight A’ from Leapfrog is a powerful endorsement of our unwavering commitment to patient safety and excellence across all three Duke Health hospitals in the Triangle,” said Thomas Owens, MD, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Duke University Health System. “This recognition reflects the dedication of our clinicians, staff, and volunteers, whose hard work ensures that our patients receive the highest level of care in a safe environment. We are proud of their efforts and grateful that Leapfrog continues to recognize Duke Health as a national leader in patient safety.”

Duke Health’s hospitals were among nearly 3,000 hospitals surveyed across the country. Fewer than 32% of hospitals nationwide received an “A” hospital safety grade for spring 2025. In North Carolina, Duke University Health System hospitals in the Triangle were among 35 hospitals to achieve the grade.

Twice each year, The Leapfrog Group collects and analyzes data based on more than 30 national performance measures of errors, accidents, injuries, and infections, as well as systems hospitals have in place to prevent harm. The letter grades assigned to hospitals help people make informed decisions to protect themselves and their families.

Comparisons of hospital scores locally and nationally are available at www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.

 

Duke Moves Forward with Strategic Realignment and Cost Reduction Program

In a proactive move to support its research, clinical care, and teaching missions, Duke launched a university-wide strategic realignment and cost reduction program in March. During a university-wide webinar held Wednesday, April 30, university leaders shared a progress update with Duke faculty and staff. 

“To assure we are best positioned to continue to support our missions, we believe it is critical to take appropriate actions sooner rather than later to lower costs and strategically realign our operations against lower federal funding levels going forward,” said Daniel Ennis, Duke’s executive vice president.

By mid-April, Duke had already taken steps to reduce spending by prioritizing cost reductions in administrative operations. In addition, Duke has suspended all capital spending on new buildings, renovations, and other capital projects that are not fully funded or deemed essential. Duke is also carefully reviewing administrative programs that serve the entire university, including technology adoption, off-campus real estate, and on-campus space consolidation.

A study is also underway to assess how certain changes to the university’s benefits may generate savings while protecting the program’s strong competitive position. Ennis made clear, however, that Duke will roll out its regular fiscal year-end performance review and salary merit increase program and that it does not have plans to change the university’s Children’s Tuition Grant.

During Wednesday’s webinar, Ennis and Antwan Lofton, vice president for human resources, shared an update on the types of employment-related actions Duke is and will be taking in the coming weeks.

While the university is assessing changes to programs and operations in a proactive and values-driven way, Ennis said, he added it is impossible to address the scope of threats to the university’s federal funding without making changes to staffing levels.

The university is pursuing several employment actions now in hopes of reducing the scale of involuntary separations later this summer. The measures include a staff hiring freeze and elimination of vacant positions, and a voluntary separation incentive program. Deans, vice presidents, and vice provosts are working with managers to determine which staff will be eligible for the voluntary separation program.

“We understand that these decisions are difficult, and we are fully aware of the stress that uncertainty can have within our community,” Lofton said. “We are working closely with our leaders to make these decisions about staffing as quickly as possible as we continue to move Duke forward.”

Duke faculty and staff can find more information on these measures at updates.duke.edu. Additional information and resources are available for Duke Health faculty and staff here.

“This is an incredibly hard moment,” Ennis said after the webinar. “But each decision is being made with input and discussion about how to best address these challenges while ensuring we continue the standard of excellence that has defined this institution for the last 100 years and will define what we accomplish for the next 100 years.”

 

Celebrating Jewish Heritage and Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage in May

Jewish Heritage Month is a time for learning, reflection, and connection. It reminds us of the profound impact Jewish individuals and communities have had on every facet of society – from the arts and sciences to leadership and education. Duke has a strong and active Jewish community with support available through the Freeman Center for Jewish Life. 

This month, we also recognize and celebrate the more than 6,800 Asian American and Pacific Islanders who work at Duke and make valuable contributions to our missions every day. There are events and activities being held throughout the month to foster greater cultural awareness and understanding, including installation of an AAPI mural in Room 218 of Perkins Library that was created by Duke employees.

Upcoming Events & Opportunities

May 1-7: Perfusion Week

May 6: Nurses Day

May 6-12: National Nurses Week

May 12: International Nurses Day

May is: American Stroke Month, Jewish Heritage Month, and National Asian Pacific American Month

May is also: Celebrating Each Other month at Duke

 

Cardiology Grand Rounds

May 6: The Nuts and Bolts of Evidence-based Preventive Cardiometabolic Care with Darren McGuire. 5 p.m. DN 2002 or via Zoom.

If you missed any of our CGR’s from the past year, all Duke Cardiology Grand Rounds recordings are housed on Warpwire. To access recordings please visit:

• 2025 CGR Recordings
• 2024 CGR Recordings

NET ID and password are required. Enjoy!

 

CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference

May 7: Intro to MRI with Han Kim. Noon. In-person. DMP 7E39                             

May 9: VAD Education and Emergency Response Update for Cardiology Fellows with Stephanie Barnes. Noon. Hybrid — Zoom and DMP 2W91

May 14: DHP with Tess Allan. Noon. In-person. DMP 7E39.

May 16: Pericardial Disease with Nishant Shah. Noon. Zoom only.

May 21: HF/Tx with Cosette Champion. Noon. In-person. DN 2001

May 23: EKG with Neil Freedman. Noon. Zoom only.

May 28: EP with Hannah Schwennesen and Jemi Galani. Noon, in person. DMP 7E39.

May 30: TBD  

           

2025 Joseph C. Greenfield Visiting Professor of Medicine Lecture Series

May 9: Medicine and Mindset: Exploring New Targets and Re-Imagining the Clinical Encounter with Lidia Schapira, MD, FASCO, Professor of Medicine, Oncology with Stanford Medicine. 8 a.m., DN 2002           

 

Upcoming Duke Heart CMEs

The following CME activities, sponsored by Duke Heart, have been scheduled. Registration coming soon; now open for June 7^th symposia.

• June 7, 2025: Duke Heart Failure Symposium (live event at Durham Convention Center in Durham). Registration is required.
• October 4, 2025: Duke Cardiac Sonography Symposium (live event at Trent Semans Center)
• October 31, 2025: 17th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium (live event at Durham Convention Center)

 

CTSI Research Symposium to Focus on Strengthening Rural Health

May 8: Strengthening Rural Health: Research, Access to Care, and Community Collaboration. 12:30 to 2 p.m., Chesterfield Building, 701 W. Main St., Durham, NC.

Panelists will offer in-depth discussion about the importance of including rural communities in research, as well as strategies to overcome barriers to participation. Topics will include social drivers of mental health and the role of faith communities in addressing maternal mental health in rural communities.

To learn more and to register, please visit https://ctsi.duke.edu/news/ctsi-research-symposium-focus-strengthening-rural-health.

 

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: 

April 28 — Audrey Blewer (Family Medicine & Comm. Health)

The Washington Post

What to know to save a life: The key to heart attack survival

April 28 — Theresa McDonnell (SVP, Chief Nursing Exec)

ICT & Health

We see our nurses as architects for the future of healthcare

April 29 — Brian Mac Grory (neurology)

AHA Newsroom

$1M awarded to research link between cardiovascular risk reduction, GLP-1 use

April 29 — Sean Pokorney

HCP Live

Self-Administered Etripamil Nasal Spray Treats Tachycardia, Study Suggests

April 29 — Robert Califf

Bloomberg Television/The Close

FDA Layoffs & Food Safety (Part 1)

April 29 — Robert Califf

Bloomberg Television/The Close

FDA Layoffs & Food Safety (Part 2)

April 30 — Audrey Blewer

KFF Health News

Fast Action From Bystanders Can Improve Cardiac Arrest Survival. Many Don’t Know What To Do.

April 30 — Duke University & Health System

Indy Week

Duke University Aims to Cut 10 Percent of Budget in Response to Federal Funding Threats

May 1 — Duke University & Health System

News & Observer

Duke University to begin employee buyouts as federal funding cuts loom