Highlights of the week:
Graduating CTS Residents and Fellows Honored at Annual Finishing Dinner
Duke’s Division of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery celebrated its graduating chief residents and fellows during its annual finishing dinner held on July 11, 2026, at The Cotton Room in Durham. The event marks the completion of training for seven physicians while also honoring a faculty member whose commitment to education reflects Duke’s longstanding tradition of training exceptional cardiothoracic surgeons.
This year’s graduating chief residents include Dathe Benissan-Messan, MD, who will remain at Duke to complete a six-month transplant fellowship; Navin Vigneshwar, MD, who is joining the Duke faculty as a cardiac surgeon; and Oliver Jawitz, MD, who has accepted an academic position at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston (MUSC).
The department also recognized four graduating fellows: Lauren Huckaby, MD, who completed the Advanced Aortic and Endovascular Surgery Fellowship and who, along with Jawitz, will join the faculty at MUSC; Papus Keita, MD, who completed the Thoracic Transplant Surgery Fellowship and accepted a position with MedStar Health in Washington, D.C.; Elliot Overman, MD, who completed the Congenital Cardiac Surgery Fellowship and will begin practice in Peoria, Illinois; and Britton Donato, MD, who completed the Thoracic Transplant Surgery Fellowship and has joined Corewell Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
During the dinner, Jeff Gaca, MD, received the annual Thomas D’Amico Teaching Award, presented each year by the graduating chief residents to recognize a faculty member who has made an exceptional impact on their education. Named for longtime Duke thoracic surgeon and educator Thomas D’Amico, MD, the award recognizes excellence in teaching and mentorship within Duke Cardiothoracic Surgery.
“It means a lot to me,” Gaca said. “We take a lot of pride in our teaching, and it means that I was able to impact the future careers of heart surgeons.”
Gaca said the recognition is especially meaningful because it comes directly from the graduating residents. Much of the technical teaching occurs during complex operations in the operating room. Still, mentorship extends well beyond surgery to include patient care, teamwork, communication, and the transition to independent practice.
“Our residents are extremely talented,” he said. “I try to guide them through these difficult operations and also try to give them pointers on how to practice, how to interact with patients, how to interact with cardiology and referring doctors.”
A Duke-trained cardiac surgeon himself, Gaca said he views teaching as an opportunity to continue the tradition of mentorship that shaped his own career.
“I had the good fortune of training here as well,” he said. “I benefited from the outstanding teachers who taught me, and I just try to keep that going.”
Congratulations to Dathe, Navin, Oliver, Lauren, Papus, Elliot, and Britton on completing their training, and to Dr. Gaca for continuing Duke’s tradition of excellence in educating the next generation of cardiothoracic surgeons!
Duke Heart & Vascular Welcomes Incoming Cardiovascular Fellows
We welcomed a new class of physicians to our cardiovascular fellowship programs on July 1, 2026, as trainees began the next stage of their careers. This year’s incoming class includes fellows entering the Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship as well as advanced training programs in Adult Congenital Heart Disease, Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology, and Interventional Cardiology.
Some of the incoming fellows are continuing their medical education at Duke after completing residency or fellowship training here, while others are joining the Duke community for the first time from leading academic medical centers across the country. Together, they represent the next generation of cardiovascular specialists who will care for patients, advance discovery, and help shape the future of cardiovascular medicine.
“Welcoming a new class of fellows is one of the highlights of each academic year,” said Manesh Patel, MD, chief of the division of cardiology and physician vice president of Duke Heart and Vascular. “They are joining a community committed to exceptional patient care and scientific discovery, as well as educational excellence. We are excited to welcome them to Duke and look forward to supporting them as they learn, discover, and grow into the next generation of cardiovascular leaders.”
Before beginning clinical responsibilities, the incoming fellows participated in a week-long bootcamp designed to prepare them for fellowship training at Duke. The curriculum included Duke and Durham VAMC orientations, echocardiography bootcamp, a Cardiac Intensive Care Unit bootcamp organized by Robert Harrison, MD, an electrophysiology bootcamp organized by Nishant Shah, MD, and a simulation session led by Shah and Jawan Abdulrahim, MD.
“We are delighted to welcome this outstanding class of cardiovascular disease fellows to Duke and congratulate all of the physicians beginning advanced cardiovascular fellowship training this year,” said Anna Lisa Chamis, MD, program director of Duke’s Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program.
Chamis also thanked the many faculty and fellows who organized and participated in bootcamp week, with special recognition to Harrison, Shah, and Abdulrahim for leading key components of the program and helping provide a welcoming, engaging introduction to fellowship training at Duke.
Meet Our Incoming Cardiovascular Fellows
Please join us in welcoming these physicians to the Duke Heart & Vascular community.
Cardiovascular Disease
- Ryan Edwards, MD
- Joshua Ellis, MD, M.M.S.
- Jordan Franklin, MD
- Mark Hieromnimon, MD
- Amanda Jowell, MD
- Christos Kyriakopoulos, MD
- Mathew Padanilam, MD
- Katelyn Rennyson, MD
- Jameson Wilbur, MD
- Dylan Zerjav, MD
Adult Congenital Heart Disease
- Annirudh Balachandran, MD
Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiology
- Paula Rambarat, MD
- Joshua Rushakoff, MD, M.P.P.
- Seamus Hughes, MD
Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology
- Jawan Abdulrahim, MD
- Damarcus Ingram, MD
- Eric Xie, MD
Interventional Cardiology
- Medha Biswas, MD
- Jonathan Hanna, MD
- Husam Salah, MD
Congratulations to all and welcome, new fellows!
Duke Expands Treatment Options for Patients with Tricuspid Valve Disease
Patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation have more treatment options today than ever before, thanks to advances in minimally invasive valve therapies and the expertise of Duke’s multidisciplinary structural heart team.
Until recently, patients with severe symptomatic tricuspid regurgitation whose symptoms persisted despite medical therapy often had few treatment options beyond surgery, which can carry significant risks and prolonged recovery. Today, Duke physicians offer both transcatheter tricuspid valve repair and transcatheter valve replacement, selecting the approach best suited to each patient’s anatomy and clinical condition.
“The addition of transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement fills an important treatment gap for patients with severe tricuspid valve regurgitation who are at higher surgical risk,” said Andrew Wang, MD, professor of medicine in cardiology. “Having both repair and replacement options allows us to choose the approach that will provide the best outcome for the patient.”
Since launching its transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement program last fall, Duke has completed 11 successful procedures using the FDA-approved EVOQUE Transcatheter Tricuspid Valve Replacement System. Physicians say the team’s early experience has been encouraging, with meaningful improvements in symptoms and quality of life.
Candidates for the procedure are individuals with severe symptomatic tricuspid regurgitation whose fatigue, swelling, and fluid retention continue despite medical therapy. Because not every patient is anatomically suited for transcatheter valve replacement, patients undergo a comprehensive evaluation that includes transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) and cardiac CT imaging. Those studies help the team determine whether transcatheter repair or replacement offers the best approach for that individual patient.
“Transcatheter tricuspid valve replacement is for patients with severe symptomatic tricuspid regurgitation who remain symptomatic despite medical therapy,” said interventional cardiologist Andres M. Pineda, MD. “We are very excited with the results we have achieved so far. Patients have had significant improvements in their symptoms and quality of life.”
For patients whose anatomy is appropriate, the minimally invasive procedure is performed through a catheter inserted in the groin, allowing patients to recover more quickly than they would following traditional surgery. Recovery continues over the weeks that follow as heart function improves, with physicians monitoring patients closely during the process.
This effort reflects the collaborative approach that defines structural heart care at Duke. Interventional cardiologists partner with specialists in cardiac imaging, heart failure, cardiac surgery, cardiac anesthesia, nursing, and advanced practice to evaluate every patient from multiple perspectives before determining the most appropriate treatment strategy and to optimize procedural outcomes.
“This is not about offering a novel procedure. It is about bringing together the right expertise to identify the right treatment for each patient,” Wang said. “Having both transcatheter repair and replacement options for severe tricuspid regurgitation allows us to personalize care in ways we could not before.”
Our TVRR team includes Wang and Pineda, Zach Wegermann, Adam Williams, Jeff Gaca, Alina Nicora, Katherine Sun, Angela Pollak, Edana Cristy, Chelsea Tinlin, Nicole Garcia, and Mary Beth Alova.
Way to go, team!
Duke University Hospital Earns Platinum Recognition for Heart Attack Care
Duke University Hospital has received the 2026 Chest Pain – MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award, the highest level of recognition from the American College of Cardiology’s National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR).
The award recognizes hospitals that consistently meet rigorous performance measures for the treatment of patients experiencing heart attacks, reflecting a sustained commitment to delivering high-quality, guideline-directed cardiovascular care.
This national recognition is made possible through the dedication of physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, pharmacists, rehabilitation specialists, and the many multidisciplinary team members who work together to provide exceptional care for every patient.
Congratulations and thank you to everyone whose expertise, teamwork, and commitment to excellence made this achievement possible!
Cardiac MRI Adds Saturday Scans
Cardiac MRI will be performing scans on outpatients, one Saturday per month. Yesterday, July 18, 2026, was their first Saturday! Pictured below with Terri DeMuro, CMRI nurse manager, are Rafael Rojas, Jennifer Angeles, Susan Bender, and Sherilyn Pirela — our MR Technologists and nurse — who worked on the inaugural day. Sreek Vemulapalli, MD, was the attending on service supporting these efforts.
Congratulations to the team!
Anyedi Helps Fuel Community Connections
Over the past year, we have mentioned Victor Ayeni, MD, a rising third-year resident in Duke’s Internal Medicine Residency Program, who has been bringing interested parties together across Duke to participate in what he calls “Resi-teering” (residency + volunteering) opportunities.
Ayeni, who has interned with electrophysiologist Camille Frazier-Mills, MD, was recently profiled by Duke School of Medicine, and we wanted to share that piece here with you:
A resident’s mission to serve beyond the clinic fuels community connections
Congratulations, Victor!
DUHS updates:
AlertMedia Launches July 20 to Enhance Emergency Communications
Beginning July 20, Duke University Health System will begin using AlertMedia, a new emergency notification platform that delivers faster, more targeted communications during urgent situations.
AlertMedia allows DUHS Operations to send location-specific notifications within seconds through multiple channels, including email, text message, voice call, and the AlertMedia mobile app. The platform was introduced in response to team member feedback requesting fewer unnecessary alerts and more timely, relevant communication.
AlertMedia will be used for severe weather, security incidents, IT disruptions, utility outages, and other time-sensitive operational events.
All DUHS team members are automatically enrolled to receive AlertMedia email notifications. To receive text message alerts, however, team members must log in to dukehealth.alertmedia.com using Duke Single Sign-On (SSO), add a preferred mobile phone number under My Account > Settings, and select their entity location under Preferences. Team members are also encouraged to download the free AlertMedia mobile app for the fastest notification delivery.
AlertMedia complements—but does not replace—Spok Mobile, which will continue to be used for clinical communications such as Code Blue, Rapid Response Team (RRT), and Behavioral Emergency Response Team (BERT) notifications.
Action required: Before July 20, log in to dukehealth.alertmedia.com to add your mobile phone number, verify your contact information, select your entity location, and update your notification preferences to receive emergency text alerts.
Thanks, and let’s stay safe!
Upcoming CME Events & Opportunities
Cardiology Grand Rounds
CGRs have concluded for the summer. We will return in the fall! Meanwhile, please enjoy past recordings.
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.
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 – Registration is now open. 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.
Triangle Heart Walk Date Announced
The American Heart Association’s 2026 Triangle Heart Walk will take place on Saturday, October 3, 2026, at Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek, 3801 Rock Quarry Road, Raleigh.
The Walk is expected to start around 9:30 a.m., but that may change. Stay tuned for a more formal announcement from the AHA. Meanwhile, registration for team captains and walkers is open!
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.
