Highlights of the week:
Vekstein Joins Duke CT Surgery Faculty
We are pleased to share that Andrew Vekstein, MD, joined our cardiovascular and thoracic surgery faculty as of July 1. Vekstein will focus his clinical practice on aortic and adult cardiac surgery. He completed his undergraduate education at Duke University, then attended medical school at Case Western Reserve University and was awarded AOA designation. He subsequently was accepted into the Duke Integrated 6-year CT Surgery residency and is the third graduate from the program.
He plans to complete an additional Aortic Surgery fellowship with Drs. Chad Hughes and Chandler Long, the directors of the Duke Aortic Center. He has already published extensively with more than 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts, seven book chapters, and multiple national meeting podium presentations. Consistent with his interest in clinical research, he will have membership in the Duke Clinical Research Institute and has already been awarded the Duke Heart Center Leadership Council Award to study cognitive function of patients after surgeries with circulatory arrest.
“Andrew is one of the brightest and most academically driven trainees that I have worked with, but at the same time, he is the consummate gentleman and team player,” says Carmelo Milano, MD, Joseph and Dorothy Beard Professor of Surgery and Division Chief, Cardiothoracic Surgery at Duke.
Please join us in congratulating Andrew and welcoming him to the faculty!
Al-Khatib Receives Patient Advocacy Award
Congratulations to Sana Al-Khatib! This weekend she was awarded the Eric N. Prystowsky, MD Advocate for Patients Award by StopAfib.org during their annual Get in Rhythm. Stay in Rhythm. Atrial Fibrillation Patient Conference, a symposium geared specifically to patients. The meeting is being held this weekend (August 8-10, 2025) in Dallas, TX, and via livestream.
The Eric N. Prystowsky, MD Advocate for Patients Award recognizes a healthcare professional who has demonstrated outstanding service to atrial fibrillation patients and their families. Al-Khatib is a clinical electrophysiologist as well as the fellowship program director and cardiovascular research program leader of the Duke Clinical Research Institute Fellowship Program.
Prystowsky, for whom the award is named, is considered one of the world’s foremost experts on AFib. He is currently Director of the Cardiac Arryhthmia Service at Ascension St. Vincent in Indianapolis. He completed his cardiology and clinical electrophysiology training here at Duke.
“It is a great honor to be the recipient of this special award and to be among distinguished individuals who have received this award previously including Hugh Calkins, MD; Emelia Benjamin, MD; Vivek Reddy, MD; and Andrea M. Russo, MD to mention a few,” said Al-Khatib. “I am so grateful for this recognition by an amazing patient advocacy group.”
Congratulations, Sana — well-deserved!
A Week of Firsts for Heart Center CRU: The Fast and The Furious
We are excited to share the latest updates from the Heart Center Clinical Research Unit. This week, three studies enrolled their first patients:
V-INTERVENTION: Schuyler Jones and Manesh Patel, with Erin Campo, primary research coordinator. Concept: Inclisiran in peripheral artery disease. Start-up was very fast – around three months, according to Marat Fudim. First patient enrolled within days of activation, with more in the pipeline.
This is a 1:1 randomized study of patients undergoing successful coronary or peripheral intervention. 6,000 total patients planned. Patients can be treated with other lipid-lowering therapies, including statins and ezetimibe.
“Dennis Narcisse, MD, approached and enrolled the first patient at Duke on the first day of study activation. The participant was the 2nd patient in the study nationally. Erin Campo is the primary coordinator for V-INTERVENTION. She is doing a great job – as we have 5-6 patients planned for enrollment over the next 7-10 days,” according to Schuyler Jones.
ULTRA-HFIB-REDO: Ultrasound-Based Renal Sympathetic Denervation as Adjunctive Upstream Therapy During Atrial Fibrillation – REDO Ablation Procedures: A Pilot Study: Jonathan Piccini and Schuyler Jones, with Jessye Davis, clinical research coordinator. Concept: Renal nerve ablation at the time of AFib ablation with the hope for additive benefit of this approved neuromodulation technology on AFib recurrence.
This is a 2:1 randomization to renal sympathetic denervation via ultrasound-based renal sympathetic denervation versus control after redo AF ablation in patients with hypertension. The study is actively enrolling.
Comet HF: Adam DeVore and Elizabeth McChesney, along with clinical research coordinator Kim Biever, enrolled their first patients within a few weeks of activation. Concept: Omecamtiv Mecarbil in HFrEF.
V INTERVENTION and Comet HF are both DCRI-led studies with an accelerated path to activation.
Artwork courtesy of budding AI creator Marat Fudim, MD.
Keep up the excellent work, everyone!
Reprogramming Scar Tissue to Heal the Heart: Hodgkinson Receives NHLBI R01 Award
Each year, nearly one million people in the United States experience heart attacks that leave permanent damage to cardiac muscle. Once the heart forms scar tissue in response to injury, there are few options to reverse the loss of function. But what if that scar tissue could be transformed back into healthy, contractile heart muscle?
That is the question driving the research of Conrad Hodgkinson, PhD, associate professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology. With a new R01 award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health, totaling close to $2 million, Dr. Hodgkinson is working to bring cardiac regeneration closer to clinical reality.
The NHLBI-funded project, titled Novel approaches for cardiac reprogramming: Exosome delivery of reprogramming miRNAs and repressor targeting siRNAs, focuses on a strategy called cellular reprogramming. The goal is to convert fibroblasts, cells that form scar tissue after a heart attack, into cardiomyocytes —the cells responsible for generating force and maintaining the heartbeat.
“We are essentially reprogramming scar tissue to regenerate the heart,” Hodgkinson said. “There’s no real cure for a heart attack today. You can stop it, you can prevent more damage, but there’s no way to replace the muscle that’s lost. Our work is about changing that.”
Hodgkinson and his colleagues were the first to demonstrate that a set of four microRNAs—collectively dubbed “miR combo”—could convert fibroblasts into cardiomyocytes in vitro. While early results were promising, recovery of heart function in animal models remained partial.
To improve outcomes, the team is now addressing three key barriers: inefficient delivery of the reprogramming signals, resistance within the fibroblasts themselves, and the challenge of applying these techniques beyond the early post-injury window.
One part of the solution lies in exosomes—tiny lipid vesicles naturally released by cells. Hodgkinson’s lab identified a type of exosome derived from C166 cells that preferentially targets cardiac fibroblasts. By packaging miR combo into these exosomes, they’ve developed a delivery system that sends the reprogramming instructions exactly where they’re needed, without affecting other cell types in the heart.
“Instead of delivering RNA to every kind of cell in the heart, which dilutes the effect and increases risk, we’re focusing it directly on fibroblasts,” Hodgkinson said. “That’s where the scar is, and that’s where the healing needs to happen.”
The second innovation involves the inclusion of small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that target a specific set of transcriptional repressors, including Cbx1, PurB, and Sp3. These proteins act as molecular brakes, preventing fibroblasts from activating cardiac genes. By inhibiting them, the team enhances the fibroblasts’ ability to become functional heart cells.
Preliminary studies in mice showed striking improvements in heart function. When both the miR combo and siRNAs were delivered via exosomes, cardiac performance rebounded from near-failure levels to nearly normal. Now, the NHLBI grant will support additional safety studies and scaling the method for larger animal models.
“Pig hearts are very similar to human hearts, so the next step is testing our approach in pigs with heart injuries,” Hodgkinson said. “It’s part of building a real translational path.”
The project is a collaboration between Hodgkinson and colleagues Dr. Victor Dzau, Dr. Richard Pratt, Dr. Xinhua Wang, and Ikra Anwar. Additional support has come from the Fred and Edna Jr. Mandel Foundation, which helped fund the early work that made this grant possible.
For Hodgkinson, the long journey to this R01, which was secured on its fourth submission, reflects both the complexity and promise of the science.
“This is about moving toward something that doesn’t exist yet—a way to actually regenerate the heart after injury,” he said. “If we can get that right, the potential impact is enormous.”
Story by Sarah Riddle for the Duke Dept. of Medicine.
DUHS Leadership Updates:
Allen Named Chair, Duke Dept. of Surgery
Dean Mary Klotman announced this week that following a thorough national search and external review of the department and its leadership, Peter J. Allen, MD, has accepted the role of chair of the Department of Surgery in the School of Medicine, starting August 25, 2025.
Dr. Allen is currently the David C. Sabiston Jr. Distinguished Professor of Surgery, chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology, and chief of surgery for the Duke Cancer Institute. He also serves as the Duke University Health System Vice President for Cancer Services, where he leads the Cancer Service line. He joined Duke in 2018, after serving in numerous roles in the Department of Surgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for 14 years.
Dr. Allen received his medical degree from Dartmouth Medical School and began his surgical career in the military, completing his surgical residency and accepting his first faculty position at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. During his term of service in the United States Army, he was deployed to Iraq for one year, where he served on the 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment’s forward surgical team. He joined the faculty at Memorial Sloan Kettering in 2005. He was associate director for clinical programs in the David Rubenstein Center for Pancreatic Cancer Research from 2013-2018, the Murray F. Brennan Endowed Chair in Surgery from 2014-2018, and vice chair of surgical services from 2014-2018.
Dr. Allen’s clinical and research interest is in pancreatic and hepatobiliary malignancies, and his research has received NIH funding for over a decade. As Surgical Oncology division chief, he oversees approximately 35 faculty members in the sections of breast, endocrine, melanoma, hepatobiliary, and colorectal surgery. He is committed to educating and mentoring new surgical oncologists and surgeon-scientists training at Duke, and his international reputation as a leader in his field has elevated Duke’s surgical oncology program.
Duke’s Department of Surgery has a long history of innovation and excellence and is considered one of the leading surgery programs in the world. The department provides world-class surgical care, education, and training and is an international leader in research. The department has ranked among the top 10 departments nationally in NIH funding for 25 consecutive years, and over the previous four years, the department has been the top-funded department of surgery in the country.
The strong international standing of this department has been further elevated by the leadership and guidance of Dr. Allan D. Kirk, MD, PhD. We want to express our deep gratitude to Dr. Kirk for his 11 years of exemplary service as chair of Surgery.
Congratulations, Peter!
Shout-out to Doody!
We received terrific notes this week regarding cardiology PA Jesslyn Doody.
“I just wanted to reach out and shout out Jesslyn Doody. She is one of my favorite providers to work with and patients absolutely love her. She takes the time to listen to the patients/nurses’ concerns and is always prompt in communicating updates or changes in plan of care. She truly goes above and beyond in her job and even consistently stays late to make sure patients are settled before she leaves. I know nurses have Stars/ Daisy awards, but I’m not aware of any way to shout her out other than emailing you and I really felt as if she deserved to be recognized!” — Krista Volcheck, RN, CVSSU
“Jesslyn, thank you for the exceptional care you provide. Your dedication, compassion, and collaborative spirit do not go unnoticed. You consistently go the extra mile for both patients and your colleagues, and it makes a meaningful difference every day. Thank you for all that you do — we are so grateful to have you on our team.” — Diane Sauro
“Congratulations to Jesslyn for the well-deserved kudos and recognition. You make Duke Heart a great place for our patients, staff, and families.” — Jill Engel
“Congrats Jesslyn! We appreciate all that you do.” — Camille Frazier-Mills
Way to go, Jesslyn!
Duke Heart Gains New Family Member
Congratulations to Lindsay Bostian, one of our cardiology APPs, and her husband, Ryan on the birth of their beautiful daughter, Isla Rose. She was born on July 28 weighing 5 lbs., with a height of 19 and 1/8 inches.
We are looking forward to meeting her!
Duke Heart to Host AHA ‘Torch’ and Rally on Wednesday
Duke Heart & Vascular will host a kick-off rally and host the Triangle region American Heart Association’s (AHA) new Torch Trophy this week to help launch Heart Walk activities for 2025. For 10 weeks leading up to the Triangle Heart Walk, the AHA will “pass the torch” among the top companies in our area that have shown deep commitment to the Walk. We are honored and excited to host the torch on its inaugural journey to Duke University Hospital.
The torch will be in the Heart Services suite on the 8th floor of the HAFS building starting on Wednesday, August 12, and will be there through Friday, August 14. Please visit and take a selfie! The torch may make special trips throughout our heart units as well, so be on the lookout!
At the end of the 10 weeks, on October 11, the Torch will make its way to the Heart Walk stage, where it will be presented to the company that raised the most funds this year.
Support the Stead Tread
Join the Department of Medicine Internal Medicine Residency Program for the annual Stead Tread 5K Run/Walk on Saturday, Sept 20th at 9 a.m., at Solite Park (just off the American Tobacco Trail). All proceeds will benefit the Lincoln Community Health Center, a local federally qualified health center that offers high-quality care to uninsured and underinsured patients in Durham at heavily subsidized costs. The event draws 300+ participants annually and is open to the entire family! Pets and strollers are welcome on the course.
The Stead Tread is named for Dr. Eugene Stead, Chairman of Medicine at Duke from 1947-1967. This event carries forward Stead’s legacy of community service and contributions in the Duke and Durham communities.
For participants 13 and older, registration is $35 per person. For Lincoln patients and children 12 years and younger, registration is free. The division with the most participants (i.e., the Duke Cardiology Division) gets a trophy! And, if you cannot make it that day, the patients of Lincoln would still benefit greatly from your donations. Register or donate HERE. Sign up by September 1 to guarantee a T-shirt! Reach out to event planner Victor Ayeni (victor.ayeni@duke.edu) with any questions.
New Faculty Orientation
The School of Medicine (SOM) will hold its annual Academic New Faculty Orientation on Monday, October 13, 2025, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Trent Semans Center. Orientation is open to all faculty, but we especially encourage those hired in the past 1-3 years to attend if they have not already.
New Faculty Orientation addresses topics important to faculty life, including navigating Duke; appointments, promotion, and tenure; working with learners, and more. To learn more and register, please visit https://duke.is/SOM-NFO.
Triangle Heart Walk – Save the Date!
The 2025 Triangle Heart Walk will take place on Saturday, October 11, at Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek, located at 3801 Rock Quarry Rd, Raleigh, NC 27610. The festivities will open at 7:30 a.m.; the official “welcome” program will begin at 8:45 a.m., with the Walk immediately following. The event venue will be open through 11 a.m.
Please note the change to Saturday morning from Sunday, the change in venue from prior years, and the earlier start time!
Please consider leading a team and signing up to be a Heart Walk team captain – or sign up now to be a walker. You can join any team you like or sign up as an individual walker. Registration is now open: https://duke.is/HeartWalk-2025
Pedestrian Safety/Traffic Improvements
Trent Drive Project: Phase 1 of a project to enhance pedestrian safety and traffic flow along Trent Drive will take place August 11-15, 2025, from 7 p.m. – 5 a.m. During these nighttime hours, traffic will shift from two lanes to one lane on the west side of Trent Drive, and clearly marked pedestrian detours will be in place to guide foot traffic safely around the work zone.
Please advise staff and patients who will be on campus during these times. Learn more here.
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
Duke Heart Fall CMEs
Fall 2025 Session Duke Cardiovascular MR Practicum & Board Review
The Duke Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Center provides a twice-yearly practicum that provides participants with an understanding of the principles of magnetic resonance imaging, safety issues in performing cardiac MR, and imaging protocols currently available for the evaluation of the structure and function of the cardiovascular system. Case presentations, one-on-one discussion, and observation of actual patient imaging will be emphasized. This course fulfills the SCMR requirements for Level 1 (Track B) and is applicable toward Level 2 certification and is aligned with the content for future CMR Board Exams.
The Fall 2025 course will be held December 8-12 in the Penn Pavilion at Duke University. For more information, contact Michele Parker. The full course brochure and registration link are available here.
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:
August issue — Harry Severance
Emergency Medicine News
August 1 — Stephen Greene
HCP Live
Finerenone and the Role of Combination Therapy in HFrEF/HFpEF
August 1 — Stephen Greene
HCP Live
Finerenone Offers New Hope for HFpEF: Insights from the FINEARTS-HF Trial
August 4 — Nishant Shah
Medscape
Lipoprotein(a): Aiming at a Moving Target, Waiting for Ammunition
August 5 — Branson Whitaker (patient)
WFMY 2/CBS local, Greensboro
‘God’s got this.’ Heart hero honored by Randolph Co. sheriff for good deeds
August 6 — William Kraus
NPR/All Things Considered
