Highlights of the week:
DUHS Leadership Update: Dave Zaas Appointed CEO, DUHS, Effective May 1
David Zaas, MD, MBA, a seasoned academic health care executive and physician scientist with a long history in Durham, will be the next chief executive officer of Duke University Health System (DUHS).
Zaas comes to DUHS from Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist (AHWFB), where he is president and CEO as well as executive vice president of Health Affairs for Wake Forest University. Zaas spent almost 20 years with Duke Health between 2001 and 2020. He will return to Duke to start his new role on May 1.
“I am delighted to welcome Dr. David Zaas back to Duke to serve as CEO of Duke University Health System,” said President Vincent E. Price. “As a physician and executive, David has demonstrated a deep commitment to advancing and delivering world-class patient care along with an exceptional ability to lead complex, people-centered organizations. This appointment follows a nationwide search conducted by a committee of Duke University trustees and members of the DUHS board of directors, and Duke faculty members, clinicians and administrators. I’m grateful to Trustee and DUHS Board of Directors Vice Chair Tom Lister for chairing the search committee, and to Dr. Manesh Patel, Richard Sean Stack, M.D. Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Cardiology and Division of Clinical Pharmacology, for serving as vice chair. I want to also extend my sincere appreciation to Dr. Thomas Owens and the DUHS leadership team for their service during this transition period that has positioned DUHS for even greater success.”
As CEO of DUHS, Zaas will be responsible for strategic and operational oversight of DUHS and its senior leadership team. He will report jointly to the DUHS Board of Directors and to Price. He will work in close partnership with Mary Klotman, MD, the executive vice president for health affairs and chief academic officer of Duke Health, who also reports to Price in that capacity. Klotman also serves as dean of the School of Medicine.
“David is an outstanding leader with a proven record of advancing excellence in health care at all levels,” said Nancy Schlichting, chair of the DUHS Board of Directors. “During this challenging time for health care organizations, David is the right person to lead DUHS and I look forward to working with him to build on our longstanding tradition of excellence. I’m also grateful to Tom Lister for leading the rigorous search process that resulted in this outstanding appointment, which positions Duke to continue its global leadership in health care.”
Zaas has broad leadership experience in academic medicine over the last two decades. Prior to joining AHWFB, he held senior leadership roles at the Medical University of South Carolina Health including CEO for the Charleston Division and system chief clinical officer. During his previous tenure with Duke Health, Zaas was a physician scientist with progressive leadership roles. He led the world’s largest lung transplant program and was vice chair for the Department of Medicine at Duke. He also served as chief medical officer for the Duke Private Diagnostic Clinic before serving as president of Duke Raleigh Hospital from 2014 to 2020.
“I am honored to return to Duke and energized to lead Duke University Health System during this next phase of growth,” Zaas said. It is a privilege to work alongside such outstanding team members as we expand our impact, strengthen our academic mission, and continue to set the standard for academic health systems nationally.”
Congratulations, Dr. Zaas — we are excited to have you back at Duke!
Three Heart Faculty Earn Named Professorships
Congratulations to Drs. Jacob Schroder, Jonathan Piccini, and Joseph Turek. Each has recently earned a named professorship.
We learned this week that cardiothoracic surgeon Jacob Schroder, MD, has been named the inaugural Merlin Assistant Professor of Surgery effective March 1, 2026. This professorship was created to support a scholar of distinction, noted Mary Klotman, MD, dean of the School of Medicine, in her notification letter. Congratulations, Jacob!
Duke University announced this week that 22 faculty members in the School of Medicine have been awarded distinguished professorships, including Jonathan Piccini, MD and Joseph Turek, MD, PhD. Their professorships were approved in February by Duke’s Board of Trustees. They will be honored at the university’s annual distinguished professorship event on May 18.
Piccini, a cardiac electrophysiologist and director of the electrophysiology section in the Division of Cardiology, has been named the Ursula Geller Distinguished Professor of Research in Cardiovascular Diseases.
Turek, a pediatric cardiothoracic surgeon, has been named the Joseph W. and Dorothy W. Beard Distinguished Professor of Surgery.
Congratulations – these are well deserved!
ACC 26: CICU Team Members Present Pre-Conference Session
We received a terrific shout-out from Willard Applefeld regarding an ACC pre-conference session presentation by Erika Patric and Jeff Washam:
“I want to give a huge shoutout to two critical members of our CICU team – Erika Patrick (née Schwengel) and Jeff Washam. They both gave fantastic presentations during one of the Inaugural preconference sessions at ACC.26, “Essentials in Critical Care Cardiology”. This inaugural pre-conference session was designed to be targeted to individuals who might not work in a level 1 CICU like ours but interface with critically ill patients with cardiovascular disease. Fundamentally, the program was designed for the busy cardiologist in the community who needs a refresher on the CICU topics they haven’t encountered before. This is a new ACC program and the draw was high: 209 registrants.
Jeff gave a terrific talk on Addressing Complications of Outpatient Cardiovascular/ Cardiometabolic Medications in the Critical Care Setting. Erika gave a talk on the hemodynamic impact of anesthetics, sedatives, and analgesics in the ICU.
I want to bring them to your attention not just because of the excellent job they did with the topic- after all, that’s the expectation of ALL Duke Faculty who present at national meetings. I do want to highlight how exceptional they were. One participant came up to the mic after Erika’s talk and said “I’ve been traveling to critical care meetings and listening to talks on this for 20 years. That’s the best talk on this subject I’ve ever heard.” However, I also want to highlight their exceptionally hard work and leadership. Erika and Jeff helped plan this pre-con and helped design it from the ground up, meeting multiple times a month to hammer out logistics, faculty, teaching points, simulation etc. for an all-day meeting. It is a testament to their work it was a success.
We have an exceptional team here at Duke and I’m so happy to be part of it and work with people who are so phenomenal.” – Willard Applefeld, MD
Way to go, Erika and Jeff – excellent work – and impressive registration numbers!
We expect to have more ACC coverage in our next issue of Pulse.
Kudos to Narcisse and 7E Team
We received a note of gratitude and appreciation this week from a patient regarding care provided by the 7E team and Dennis Narcisse, MD:
“I am currently a patient in the Cardiac Critical Care Unit and want to thank and commend you for the outstanding team of cardiology faculty/attendings and fellows that you have assembled for patients at Duke University Hospital. The recruitment, development, and nurturing of your people is, in my mind, the most important role you have, and you have obviously done it exceedingly well.
Everyone has treated me with great skill and great caring and compassion. There is however one cardiologist with whom I particularly bonded, that is Dr. Narcisse. It is my understanding that he is one of the newer additions to your faculty, and he is absolutely outstanding. His clinical skills are obvious; he explains things clearly and answers all my questions. He does all this with a superb bedside manner that delivers warmth and humor to the patient. He is the type of physician who will make sure that any patient would want to return to see him and the other members of your fine staff.
Thank you for giving me this opportunity to communicate with you. My best wishes for your continued success.” – name withheld for privacy.
Dennis and 7E team members – you make us so proud!
Kudos to Vekstein and 6E Team
In a letter shared with us by Peter Allen, MD, chair of the Department of Surgery, a grateful family member shared their thoughts on care provided at Duke University Hospital’s 6West team and by Andrew Vekstein, MD:
“Although I write this letter with a heavy heart after the recent death of my wife, I want to express my heartfelt appreciation for the excellent and compassionate care which she received at Duke Hospital.
[After complications following an elective procedure at another hospital, patient was transferred to Duke under the care of Dr. Vekstein. Details from letter have been omitted here.]
“After almost eight weeks and more than a dozen subsequent supportive procedures, she ultimately passed away quietly under hospice care. Shortly before her death, we were able to renew our marital vows of almost 50 years in the presence of many family members and medical staff. I will forever cherish those moments and over 50 years of wonderful memories. I am also extremely thankful for the excellent and compassionate care my wife received from the Duke surgical staff, led by Dr. Vekstein, and the devoted 6E nursing staff who clearly loved her. Dr. Vekstein visited twice every day during their hospitalization and provided me with outstanding communication. Although I miss her dearly, I am truly grateful that Dr. Vekstein was her surgeon. The Department of Surgery is most fortunate to count Dr. Vekstein among its faculty members Please let Dr. Vekstein know how thankful and appreciative I remain for the outstanding care he provided to my wife and our family.” – name withheld for privacy.
Outstanding care, Andrew and team. The compassion you provide does not go unnoticed.
National Doctors’ Day is Monday, March 30
Happy Doctors’ Day to all of DUHS physicians, fellows, and residents! There will be celebration stations/events across all three Duke hospitals on Monday, March 30.
At Duke University Hospital, three breakfast/snack stations will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m.:
- Duke North, 2nd floor, near the lecture halls (2001-2003)
- Duke Central Tower, 1st floor conference room (1B26, near DCT hallway to Starbucks)
- Duke Medicine Pavilion, 2nd floor, Room 2W91.
Duke Regional Hospital will host a breakfast station from 6:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. on the 2nd floor in Medical Staff Services near Outpatient Services.
Duke Raleigh Hospital will host a luncheon in the Provider Lounge from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Physicians, thank you for all you do!
Newest Duke Heart CME Announced
Duke will hold its Case-Based Multimodality Imaging Symposium on Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026 in the Great Hall of the Trent Semans Center. Our course directors are Drs. Sreek Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey.
The Duke Case-Based Multimodality Imaging Symposium is dedicated to exploring the latest advancements and techniques in echocardiography. This symposium is designed for cardiac sonographers, imaging cardiologists, and healthcare professionals involved in cardiovascular imaging. Through engaging presentations, interactive discussions, and hands-on learning opportunities, the symposium aims to equip participants with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to navigate complex clinical scenarios and deliver optimal patient care in the evolving field of cardiac imaging and echocardiography.
Topics to be covered will include cardiomyopathies, valvular heart disease, multimodality imaging case presentations, point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) guidelines, and imaging stewardship.
Please consider joining us!
Upcoming Events & Opportunities
Cardiology Grand Rounds
April 7: On the Way to Advanced Heart Failure with Paula Rambarat, MD. 5 p.m., DN 2002 and via Zoom.
CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference
April 1: Heart and Diabetes with Nishant Shah. Noon, DMP 7E39 and via Zoom.
April 3: No conference – Holiday
April 8: EP Case Conference with Cosette Champion and Alex Gunn. Noon, DMP 7E39 and via Zoom.
April 10: ECG Review with Tom Bashore. Noon, Zoom only.
April 15: DHP Case Conference with Hubert Haywood. Noon, DMP 7E39 and via Zoom.
April 17: ECG Review with Neil Freeman. Noon, Zoom only.
April 22: HF/TX Case Conference with Yoo Jin Kim. Noon, Noon, DMP 7E39 and via Zoom.
April 24: TBD. Noon, Zoom only.
April 29: EP Case Conference with Krunal Amin and Verda Arshad. Noon, DMP 7E39 and via Zoom.
MMCVI Grand Rounds
Multi-Modality Cardiovascular Imaging Grand Rounds: A multi-imaging approach to cardiovascular disease cases. Thursdays, Noon to 1 p.m., via Zoom.
April 2: Assessment and Interventional Planning for Tricuspid Disease with Jon Kusner
April 9: Heart Transplant Rejection Surveillance with Merna Hussein/Joe Lerman
April 16: CANCELLED
April 23: Cardiac Masses with Fawaz Alenezi
April 30: HOCM with Fawaz Alenezi
May 7: Imaging Approach to Congenital Heart Disease with Bharathi Upadhya
May 14: Pericardial Diseases with Fawaz Alenezi
May 21: Imaging TOF Patient with Bharathi Upadhya
May 28: HFpEF Imaging Modalities with Rebecca/Harriet
June 4: Endocarditis with Fawaz Alenezi
June 11: CT Fractional Flow Review and Akshay Pendyal
June 18: D-Trans vs L-Trans Congenital Heart Disease with Fawaz Alenezi
June 25: Systemic and Pulmonary Hypertensive Heart Disease with Fawaz Alenezi
Upcoming CME Activities:
2026 Duke Heart CMEs
The dates for the following 2026 Duke Heart symposia have been set. We will announce others as they are added.
- June 6: Duke Heart Failure Symposium — Course directors are Marat Fudim, Rob Mentz, Richa Agarwal, and Stephanie Barnes. Location: Durham Convention Center, Durham, NC.
- October 30: 18th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Hypertension Symposium – Course directors are Terry Fortin, Sudar Rajagopal, and Jimmy Ford. Location: Durham Convention Center, Durham, NC.
- September 26: Duke Case-Based Multimodality Imaging Symposium – Course directors are Sreek Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey. Location: Trent Semans Center, Great Hall.
Please save the dates!
NC Walk for Victory — Support our Aortic team!
Duke Heart & Vascular is proud to again serve as the presenting sponsor of the NC Walk for Victory being held in Raleigh on Saturday, April 25. Dr. Chad Hughes is again serving as medical director for the walk and he does a fantastic job!
This event unites our regional Marfan/LDS/VEDS community in support of patients and families affected by genetic aortic and vascular conditions. It’s a wonderful event that has grown larger each year. We love seeing our patients and their families join in all the fun — and we’d love to see you there as well!
Please join us from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 25 at Laurel Hills Community Center in Laurel Hills Park located at 3808 Edwards Mill Rd, Raleigh, NC 27612. This is an easy to find location with ample and free parking.
Please join our team and donate to this cause if you are able, and forward this message to anyone who may be interested in joining! Together, we walk for awareness. Together, we Walk for Victory.
Thank you!
Support Ramos & Visionaries of the Year Campaign
Please consider supporting our amazing team member, Dayana Ramos, DNP, a critical care nurse practitioner in cardiology (and cancer survivor) during this year’s Visionaries of the Year campaign with Blood Cancer United.
“I’m currently raising funds for this year’s Visionaries of the Year campaign with Blood Cancer United (formerly the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) as part of Team Don’t Give Up!” said Ramos. “This cause is incredibly personal to me, as a leukemia survivor who recently celebrated five years cancer-free, I know firsthand how critical research funding and patient support truly are.”
The 10-week fundraising competition kicks off on March 9, and her goal is to raise $25,000 to help advance lifesaving treatments and support families facing blood cancer.
Please support Dayana in any way you can, even if only with words of encouragement! Her fundraising page for Blood Cancer United can be found 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 me with any questions: 919-681-2868. Feedback on Pulse is welcome and encouraged. Submissions by Noon on Wednesdays will be considered for weekend inclusion.
