Personal Statement

Clinical Expertise: I am a clinician-scientist with clinical expertise in advanced heart failure, ventricular assist devices and heart transplantation. My long term clinical goal is to become a national leader in the field of heart failure, ventricular assist devices (VAD), and heart transplantation. From a clinical perspective, I am one of only approximately 1,500 adult cardiologists in the United States board certified in advanced heart failure/VAD/heart transplantation and obtained my clinical training at UT Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW) under the guidance of Clyde Yancy MD (currently Chief of Cardiology at Northwestern University). Since the end of 2004, I have been an integral member of the UTSW Heart Failure, Ventricular Assist Device, and Heart Transplant Program. I am currently an Associate Professor of Medicine, Co-Director of the UTSW Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Center (one of six NIH funded Centers in the country), and the Director for Translational Research for the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology Program at UTSW. My clinical experience over the past 14 years has enabled me to acquire a significant amount of expertise in the management of all forms of advanced heart failure, patients with VADs, and heart transplant patients. Secondary to additional training I received in molecular cardiology, I have also developed a unique interest as well as expertise in the care of patients who develop a familial or genetic form of cardiomyopathy (esp. neuromuscular-associated cardiomyopathies). In fact, with the approval of the UTSW Dean at the time (J. Gregory Fitz, MD) and the Chief of Cardiology (Joseph Hill, MD/PhD), I founded and became the Medical Director of the UTSW Neuromuscular Cardiomyopathy Clinic in June of 2010. Although there are only six adult clinics in the United States exclusively dedicated to addressing the cardiovascular needs of patients with neuromuscular disorders, to the best of my knowledge, the UTSW Neuromuscular Cardiomyopathy Clinic is one of three clinics in the country run by a board-certified adult heart failure cardiologist.  Referrals to this clinic have exploded over the past four years and this demonstrates the great clinical need for such a clinic in the community. Finally, we are utilizing this clinic as a platform for translational studies focused on novel therapies directed towards muscular dystrophy patients. These studies are aimed at improving both the overall care as well as the cardiovascular care we provide to this unique patient population.

Scientific Expertise: In keeping with my clinical interest in the treatment and management of patients with heart failure, I have developed significant scientific interest in investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying heart failure and cardiac/skeletal muscle myopathies. My long term scientific goal is to become a national leader in biomedical innovation and discovery in order to improve the quality and longevity of patients with heart failure or neuromuscular disorders leading to cardiac/skeletal muscle myopathies. My initial scientific interest in muscle biology began during medical school when I took a research leave of absence to pursue studies on muscle mechanics in the laboratory of Richard L. Moss, PhD (currently Senior Associate Dean for Basic Research, Biotechnology and Graduate Studies and former Chair of Physiology at U. of Wisconsin-Madison). Subsequently, in 2000 I took a hiatus from my clinical cardiology fellowship at UTSW to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Daniel J. Garry, MD, PhD (currently Professor of Medicine at the U. of Minnesota). During my postdoctoral training, I immersed myself in scientific investigation and molecular physiology. I learned how to utilize techniques in molecular biology and physiology to address clinically relevant scientific questions. During this time period I gained extensive scientific expertise regarding the biology of myoglobin and its role in regulating metabolism and oxidative stress within myocytes. At the end of 2004, I joined the UTSW Cardiology Faculty and started my own molecular laboratory, which has been financially funded by various federal (NIH), private (AHA) and industry (Catabasis Inc., GlaxoSmithKline Research Foundation, and PhaseBio Inc.) granting agencies.

In the Fall of 2015, the NIH awarded UT Southwestern one of six Senator Paul D. Wellstone Muscular Dystrophy Cooperative Research Centers in the country (7.8 million dollars over 5 years).  Dr. Eric Olson, Chair of the UTSW Department of Molecular Biology and I are the Co-Directors of this Center. The core mission of the Center is to rapidly develop genome editing into a viable and effective therapy for patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy. In addition, I run a NIH R01-funded molecular laboratory focused on mechanistic studies to enhance our understanding of various signaling pathways that contribute to heart failure and cardiac/skeletal muscle myopathies. In particular, we are investigating the role of redox signaling to enhance our understanding of myogenesis, muscle regeneration, and cardiac/muscle remodeling. Since joining the UTSW faculty I have successfully administered various grants, formed strong collaborations with several key clinicians and scientists (i.e. Drs. Rhonda Bassel-Duby, James deLemos, Mark Drazner, Joseph Hill, Helen Hobbs, Eric Olson, Milton Packer, Beverly Rothermel,  Hesham Sadek, Jay Schneider, and Phil Shaul), discovered a novel signaling pathway within myocytes and produced 53 high-quality peer-reviewed publications to date.

Summary

Over the past 20 years, I have established myself as a talented clinician-scientist who has developed the unique ability to traverse between the clinical and scientific spheres with relative ease. In addition to my clinical acuity and extensive clinical expertise in clinical heart failure/VAD/heart transplantation, my scientific accomplishments have demonstrated that I am capable of undertaking and leading scientific research studies in a highly collaborative and productive manner. In conclusion, my past clinical and academic accomplishments have demonstrated that I am a highly motivated and innovative academic cardiologist, who has acquired the skill set of leading a diverse group of individuals pursuing a common goal.