Highlights of the week:
Graduation Dinners Held for CCE and AHFTC Fellowships
The Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology fellowship program held its annual graduation dinner on Friday, June 5. The team gathered at The Roof atop The Durham Hotel to celebrate Ilia Shadrin, MD, who is completing the two-year program this month.
- Shadrin is heading into private practice at UNC Rex Hospital.
The Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology fellowship program held its graduation dinner on Thursday, June 11, at Hope Valley Country Club in Durham. The program celebrated completing fellows, Aubrie Carroll, MD, Mark Kittipibul, MD; and Merna Hussein, MD.
- Carroll is returning to the Duke Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship program to complete her third year.
- Kittipibul has accepted an academic faculty position with the University of Utah.
- Hussein has accepted an academic faculty position with the Medical University of South Carolina.
Congratulations, Ilia, Aubrie, Mark, and Merna! We wish all of you the very best!
DUH Cath Lab 2 Reopens
Duke University Hospital’s cardiac catheterization lab number 2 reopened on Tuesday, June 2, following renovations to the space that began last fall. The renovations now give us the full capability to handle any type of case in that lab. The refreshed space will allow us to pursue renovations to other labs while meeting case load demands – and it provides better flow for team members.
“Overall, this is very exciting for the entire team,” said Rebecca Dial, nurse manager, operations for the adult invasive labs and the CVSSU. “We’re now able to more smoothly support our growing clinical volume. The newly renovated space is laid out well, and I know the staff appreciates that their feedback was taken into consideration prior to starting the renovations. The construction team was thoughtful about organization and details as to what worked well and what did not in the original room. A lot of needs have been met.”
Many thanks to everyone who made this possible: our clinical imaging teams, Matt Hancock and the DUH Clinical Engineering team; Chris Boudreaux and the Facilities team; Joe Kelly, Jill Engel, Mary Lindsay, Schuyler Jones, Manesh Patel, also Jansen Clark, Jordan Goldbach, Razib Khan all from Supply Chain; Randa Romstad, Ayla Presnell, Alyssa Mirante, and Tony (Tritony) Van from the adult cardiac cath labs team, and to everyone else who supported and managed this project. The Duke Heart & Vascular leadership team wishes to send a very special shout-out to Rebecca Dial for her management of this project!
Way to go, team!
ICYMI: NEJM Two-Part Double Take Miniseries Features Pagidipati
Preventive cardiologist Dr. Neha Pagidipati and her co-authors on a New England Journal of Medicine Perspective/Double Take are featured in a series of online videos recently produced by the NEJM.
The two-part series includes:
Cardiovascular Risk Factors — Hypertension, published online May 20, 2026, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors — Lifestyle Modifications, published May 27, 2026.
Her co-authors are Holly Biola, MD, and James Davis, MD, of Duke; Sadiya S. Khan, MD, of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; Donald Lloyd-Jones, MD, of Framingham Center for Population and Prevention Science, Boston University; Willie McDonald and Merodean Moody of NC; and Patrick G. O’Malley, MD, MPH, of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences.
The videos relate back to the article, Global Effect of Cardiovascular Risk Factors on Lifetime Estimates, published last year in NEJM and authored by The Global Cardiovascular Risk Consortium. Yi Zeng, MD, professor of medicine in geriatrics at Duke University School of Medicine, is a member of the Consortium. The videos include b-roll from the 2024 Triangle Heart Walk.
The videos are terrific and well worth watching. Nicely done, Neha!
HCLC Member Honored by Lee County
Congratulations to Dennis A. Wicker, former lieutenant governor of North Carolina and a current member of the Heart Center Leadership Council! He was recently honored by the commissioners of Lee County, North Carolina. The commissioners voted to name a courtroom in the Lee County Courthouse after Wicker. The dedication of the courtroom and the unveiling of a portrait of Wicker were held on Wednesday, June 3, 2026.
We are thrilled that he has been honored in this way, and we are happy to share this good news more broadly with our Heart & Vascular team members.
“Chet Patel and Carmelo Milano saved my life, and Manesh Patel, through the Heart Board, allows me to pay my gratitude forward,” Wicker said.
Wicker honored with portrait unveiling – Sanford Herald, June 6, 2026.
This is a well-deserved honor. Congratulations, Dennis!
Chance Meetup in Bled, Slovenia!
Kristen Norlin, director of academic affairs at the Duke Clinical Research Institute, had a chance to catch up with adjunct professor of medicine, Dr. Tom Povcik, and his family on a recent trip to Bled, Slovenia. They randomly ran into each other at a local cafe.
Gorgeous photos – thanks for sharing them with us, Kristen!
Upcoming CME Events & Opportunities
June is Pride Month. At Duke Health, we believe everyone deserves to feel safe, seen, and supported, especially when it comes to their health.
Cardiology Grand Rounds
June 16: In-stent Restenosis and the Next Era of PCI with Husam Salah, MD. 5 p.m., DN 2002 and via Zoom.
All Duke CGR Recordings (except for those containing PHI) can be found on Duke Warpwire by year: 2026, 2025, 2024. Questions about recordings? Contact Tracey Koepke.
Special Cardiology Grand Rounds: June 29
On Monday, June 29, 2026, the Duke Division of Cardiology will hold a special Cardiology Grand Rounds from 6-7 p.m. at the JB Duke Hotel. Duke Heart is partnering with the National Association for Continuing Education (NACE) to host a live, in-person event, coupled with a live-stream, on dyslipidemia.
Nishant Shah, MD, will present 2026 Dyslipidemia Guidelines: Practical Implementation; Manesh Patel, MD, will moderate.
Learning objectives:
- Perform global cardiovascular risk assessment, adding targeted testing for risk-enhancing factors based on guidelines and recommendations.
- Individualize lipid-lowering therapy based on trial data and guideline-recommendations to achieve LDL-C treatment goals for patients with or at high risk for ASCVD.
- Implement routine monitoring and follow up of patients with or at risk for ASCVD to support clinical decision making for LDL-C add-on therapy.
The event is free, but seating is limited.
Registration is required for both the in-person and the live-stream. NACE will offer CME credit. In-person registration link. NOTE: The in-person event at JB Duke is limited to 60 people. Live streaming will be available on the NACE virtual online platform. Creating a NACE account is quick and free.
June 29: NACE/Duke Heart Cardiology Grand Rounds
2026 Dyslipidemia Guidelines: Practical Implementation with Nishant Shah, MD, and Manesh Patel, MD
JB Duke Hotel, 230 Science Drive, Durham, NC 27708
6-7 p.m.
More information is available on the NACE platform, hyperlinked above.
CD Fellows Core Curriculum Conference
June 17: Fellowship Review with Anna Lisa Chamis. DMP 7E39 and via Zoom.
June 19: NO CONFERENCE/HOLIDAY
June 24: HF/Tx Case Conference with Jonathan Kusner. Noon, DMP 7E39 and via Zoom.
June 26: HF/Tx Case Conference with Harriet Akunor. Noon, Zoom only.
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.
June 18: D-Trans vs L-Trans Congenital Heart Disease with Fawaz Alenezi
June 25: Systemic and Pulmonary Hypertensive Heart Disease with Fawaz Alenezi
2026 Symposia
The dates for the following 2026 Duke Heart symposia have been set. We will announce others as they are added.
- September 26: Duke Case-Based Multimodality Imaging Symposium – Course directors are Sreekanth Vemulapalli and Anita Kelsey. Location: Trent Semans Center, Great Hall.
- October 30: 18th Annual NC Research Triangle Pulmonary Vascular Symposium – Course directors are Terry Fortin, Sudar Rajagopal, and Jimmy Ford. Location: Durham Convention Center, Durham, NC.
Please save the dates!
Hitting with Heart Softball Tournament
The 10th Annual Hitting with Heart Softball tournament will be held on Saturday, August 22 at Valley Springs Park, 3805 Valley Springs Road, in Durham. The tournament raises funds that will, in part, support the American Heart Association’s 2026 Triangle Heart Walk.
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.
