Director, Translational and Vascular Biology Research, MedStar Heart Institute, MedStar Washington Hospital Center Clinical Professor of Medicine, Georgetown University
Stephen E. Epstein, M.D.
After graduating Summa Cum Laude from Columbia College, Dr. Epstein completed his medical training at Cornell University Medical College and interned at New York Hospital, New York, NY. Prior to joining MedStar Health, Dr. Epstein served for over 30 years as Chief of the Cardiology Branch of the NHLBI at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.
Dr. Epstein oversees translational research conducted within the MedStar Heart Institute. With more than 500 publications in peer-reviewed medical journals, Dr. Epstein is a recognized international authority on angiogenesis and on the application of stem cell strategies for cardiovascular therapeutics, including the use of nanoparticle technology as a drug delivery platform for targeting the delivery of stem cell-derived factors and other molecules to relevant cardiovascular tissues. He has also studied possible genetic polymorphisms and circulating biomarkers as indicators that a given patient is at risk of plaque rupture. He and his team have explored how aging leads to collateral dysfunction.
These research accomplishments led to Dr. Epstein serving on two important National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) committees: Vice-Chairman of the Data Safety Management Board (DSMB) for Programs of Excellence in Gene and Cell Therapy for the Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and Chairman of the DSMB for Specialized Centers for Clinically Oriented Research in Cardiac Dysfunction and Disease.
In addition to his research and leadership responsibilities, Dr. Epstein serves as Clinical Professor of Medicine at the Georgetown University School of Medicine. He is a Fellow of the American Heart Association, a member of the Association of American Physicians, and an Honorary Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians. Dr. Epstein is the recipient of the Distinguished WELCOME Lecturer award, was selected for the prestigious Pfizer Visiting Professor Program, and is a frequent invited lecturer and keynote speaker at national and international medical conferences.
Chairman of the Department of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center
Javed Butler, M.D., M.B.B.S.
Dr. Javed Butler, a professor of physiology, serves as chairman of the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) Department of Medicine. Prior to joining UMMC, he was Charles A. Gargano Professor and director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and co-director of the Heart Institute at Stony Brook University, New York. He had served as the director for heart failure research at Emory University and director of the heart and heart-lung transplant programs at Vanderbilt University prior to that.
He received his medical degree from Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan. He then completed residency training and chief residency in internal medicine/primary care at Yale University, cardiology fellowship and advanced heart failure and transplant fellowships at Vanderbilt University and cardiac imaging fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston. He has completed his M.P.H. degree from Harvard University and his MBA degree from Emory University.
Butler is board-certified in cardiovascular medicine and advanced heart failure and transplant medicine. His research interests focus on clinical trials in patients with heart failure. He serves on several national committees for the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association and the National Institutes of Health, and serves on the Heart Failure Society of America Board of Directors. He is the recipient of the Simon Dack Award by the American College of Cardiology and the Time, Feeling and Focus Award by the American Heart Association.
Butler has authored more than 450 peer-reviewed publications. He serves on the editorial board of several peer reviewed cardiovascular journals, including the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation and the European Journal of Heart Failure. He has been cited numerous times in America’s Best Doctors list.
Co-Director, Emory Clinical Cardiovascular Research Institute (ECCRI) Professor of Cardiology, Emory University
Arshed Ali Quyyumi, M.D., FRCP, FACC
Dr. Arshed A. Quyyumi is co-director of the Emory Clinical Cardiovascular Research Institute (ECCRI) and an Emory University professor of cardiology. He has been involved in clinical translational research in cardiovascular diseases for more than 25 years. Since 2005, Dr. Quyyumi has been awarded more than $9 million in research funding. He serves on the editorial boards of several national journals, is a member on several Scientific Advisory Boards and is a reviewer for the NIH-NHLBI Study Sections. He has authored more than 180 peer-reviewed publications and has been an invited speaker and session chair at numerous National and International scientific meetings and conferences. Dr. Quyyumi’s research focus includes vascular biology, angiogenesis, progenitor cell biology, mechanisms of myocardial ischemia, and the role of genetic and environmental risks on vascular disease. He has carried out more than 50 NIH, industry-funded or investigator-initiated projects, including numerous clinical trials. He earned his B.S. in pharmacology and M.D. from the University of London. He completed his residency at Guy’s and Royal Free Hospitals in London, and he received cardiology fellowships at London’s National Heart Hospital, Boston’s Massachusetts General Hospital and the National Institutes of Health. After completion of his residency and fellowship, he served as senior investigator, director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and other positions in the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Cardiology Branch.
Director, Interventional Cardiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Professor of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Robert L. Wilensky, M.D.
Dr. Robert L. Wilensky is professor of medicine and director of Interventional Cardiology Research at the University of Pennsylvania. He divides his time between the cardiac catheterization laboratories and the translational animal laboratory. His research interests include acute coronary syndromes, diabetic vasculopathy, and diagnosis and treatment of vulnerable coronary lesions. He has been an active organizer of and participant in many international cardiology symposia, including the Vulnerable Plaque Summits at the Cardiovascular Revascularization Therapies (CRT) meetings and the Transcatheter Therapeutics (TCT) meetings. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. In addition, he is the author or co-author of more than 140 papers and holds three U.S. patents. Dr. Wilensky received his M.D. with distinction from the University of Amsterdam. His internship and residency in internal medicine was obtained at the Georgetown University Medical Center/VAMC in Washington, D.C. His fellowship in cardiology was at the Krannert Institute of Cardiology at Indiana University, where he became chief fellow and, later, assistant professor of medicine.