Parallax by Ankur Kalra

In the late 1980s, shortly after he left the NIH, Dr Martin B Leon founded the non-profit organisation, Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF). At the beginning, CRF had almost no funding or people, but it had a concept of bringing together an academic community to follow the device development cycle from inception to inclusion. Today, CFR is a global entity, and its events are attended by hundreds of physicians/researchers worldwide.

In the Season 2 finale, Ankur Kalra is joined by the legendary Martin B Leon, Professor at Columbia University, director of the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics and chairman emeritus of the CRF.

In this in-depth discussion Dr Leon talks about what he believes is behind the success of CRF and the lessons he learnt from disappointments and mistakes along the way. Dr Leon stresses the importance of collaborations on a global scale. He talks about his plans for the future and the issues that were highlighted by the events of 2020. Ankur asks Dr Leon about his role as a mentor and about the qualities he is looking for in a mentee.

What makes Dr Martin B Leon tick? What is his message to cardiologists and/or researchers at the beginning of their careers? How did the pandemic and his work as a clinician in New York change his perspective?

This week Parallax welcomed its first non-physician/researcher guest: health advocate Lindsay Davis. Lindsay, ballerina with ambitions to study at Julliard, was experiencing the symptoms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) from her early teens, but she had not been diagnosed until she was 17. Years later, after her agents asked her to hide her heart condition when on film sets, she felt compelled to create a platform where she can share her experience and support others living with HCM.

In this episode Ankur asks Lindsay about her treatment path. Lindsay recalls her own journey to taking control of her condition and the important role of information in patient adherence. Lindsay, former Miss Ohio, talks how she used the pageant to create awareness. Lindsay talks about work in state legislation and her plans for 2021.

What is Lindsay Davis’ advice to other people living with a health condition? What is Lindsay’s message to physicians? How did Lindsay use her experiences to create positive changes in the lives of many?

Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD.

Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO. Submit your questions to Ankur via: [email protected].

In 2020, women still only represent 16% of editorial boards1.

US Cardiology Review journal, has recently seen a 7-fold increase in female editorial board members in response to journal-based strategic initiatives and the stellar work of USC editorial board leadership, Ankur Kalra (Editor in Chief) and Bill Gogas (Deputy Editor in Chief), who were keen to drive this change. With thanks to Dr Anastasia Mihailidou’s tenure as a new board member and her suggested nominees, ten new female board members have recently joined US Cardiology Review’s editorial board.

In this latest episode of Parallax, Ankur Kalra invites newly nominated US Cardiology Review board members, Associate Professor Erin D Michos and Dr Danielle Belardo to talk about how we can turn talk into action.

Erin, Ankur and Danielle discuss gender disparity in the leadership of academic journalism. They talk about social media as a tool to connect with issues and people outside of their echo chambers. Danielle asks Ankur and Erin what would be their advice to early career faculty to get more involved. Danielle and Erin share their thoughts on their nominations and the ethos they hope to bring to their role as editorial board members.

What can we do to move the needle? What is the current stage of editorial boards? What could publishers do to achieve lasting changes?

1. Balasubramanian S, Saberi S, Yu S, et al. Women Representation Among Cardiology Journal Editorial Boards. Circulation 2020;141:603–605.

Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD.

Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO. Submit your questions to Ankur via: [email protected].

One of the first things painted by the young Mike Gibson, today Professor of Medicine at Harvard, researcher and interventional cardiologist, was a cloud. Years later while painting angiograms Dr Gibson came up with the idea of myocardial blush: The blush was that cloud of dye in the heart muscle.

In this episode Mike opens up about his childhood in Stilwell, Oklahoma. Ankur and Mike discuss how the inductive quality of art can complement the deductive principles of science. Mike recalls earlier stages of his career and warns about the blinding effect of the ego-driven, competitive culture of cardiology. Ankur asks Mike about fatherhood and about his role as an educator.

What does it mean to be fearless as a medical professional? How can you protect yourself from the emotional toil of the profession? What is Mike’s advice to early career cardiologists?

Tune in to be part of this in-depth and fascinating conversation on art, medicine and fatherhood with one of the leading figures of interventional cardiology.

Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD.

Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO. Submit your questions to Ankur via: [email protected].

In this week’s episode Ankur Kalra asks Dr Suzanne J Baron, Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Research at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center: How do we measure the value of a novel technology?

During her interventional cardiology fellowship, Dr Baron became fascinated by the implementation of novel technologies. She earned her degree in Clinical Epidemiology and spent a year working at the FDA’s Device Evaluation unit.

In 2019 Dr Baron presented the results of her late-breaking trial, COAPT. Ankur invites Suzanne to discuss the economic analysis of the study and to give a short introduction to cost-effectiveness analysis. Suzanne provides an overview of the trial and they talk about the importance of understanding the value and benefits of new devices from both the patient and the health-economic point of viewpoint.

What convinced Dr Baron to become an interventional cardiologist? How does Dr Baron interpret the results of the COAPT trial in light of MITRA FR? What is good value from a health-economic perspective?

Tune in to listen to this week’s episode of Parallax.

Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD.

Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO. Submit your questions to Ankur via: [email protected].

In this week’s Parallax, host Ankur Kalra is joined by Charles (Chuck) Simonton, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Abiomed. Chuck talks about how his father’s leadership and service as a Methodist minister inspired him to become a doctor. He recalls the dawn of interventional cardiology: the birth of angioplasty and stenting. Drawing from his experiences as a trialist who worked with some of the most influential minds, he offers practical tips to young doctors. Finally, Ankur asks Chuck about the Impella device controversy and the recent decision of Abiomed to accelerate their clinical research.

How should you start building a research programme? What are Chuck Simonton’s thoughts on the relationship between doctors and the industry? What is Chuck’s message to young cardiologists?

Tune in to listen to this week’s episode of Parallax.

Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO.

Submit your questions to Ankur via: [email protected].

Martha Gulati, Professor of Medicine and the Chief of Cardiology at the University of Arizona joins Ankur Kalra to continue the important conversation on how the cardiovascular community can stand up against sexism.

After the #MedBikini campaign provoked by a misogynistic study that scrutinized female doctors’ social media posts, this week’s episode is about creating a safer environment for female healthcare professionals.

Martha shares her leadership experiences as the chief and only woman of her division. She talks about the forms of sexism that are prevalent in the cardiovascular community, where less than 14% of the doctors are female. Ankur asks Martha about how men can become better allies for women in cardiology. They discuss the importance of a fair and welcoming environment for professionals and patients alike.

How to diagnose and treat sexism? How to recognise patterns of discrimination? How to call out sexism at your workplace? These are the questions Professor Gulati and Ankur Kalra pose and seek to find answers to.

Tune in to listen to this week’s episode of Parallax.

Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO.

Submit your questions to Ankur via: [email protected].

This week’s guest, Prof Roxana Mehran, Professor of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Founding Director of Women as One, is a phenomenon in interventional cardiology. Her pioneering work as clinician, trialist and advocate is well known within the community. In this episode we learn what makes Roxana tick and what were the odds she had to defy as an immigrant from Iran to fulfil her ‘impossible dream’.

The charity organisation, Women as One is an agent for women and men to be part of a medicine that is built on talent, rather than privilege. Roxana and Ankur discuss the role of mentorship and family-friendly work environment in mending the broken house of cardiology. Roxana talks about the practical tools that are available for women to take the next steps in their career and achieve their goals. We have much to do, check out Women as One’s website https://www.womenasone.org for more information.

Tune in to listen to this week’s episode of Parallax. Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO.

Submit your questions to Ankur via: [email protected].

This week’s guest is Dr Laura Mauri who became Vice President of Global Clinical Research and Analytics at Medtronic in 2018 after an illustrious career in academic medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Dr Kalra asks Dr Mauri about early influences and her traineeship with legendary interventionalists, the late Donald Baim and Richard Kuntz. Dr Mauri talks openly about her decision-making process and the importance of selecting your priorities and committing to them. Ankur asks Laura about her decision to go into industry. Laura shares her thoughts on medical innovations and meeting urgent needs with unique perspectives.

What is Dr Mauri’s advice for young cardiologist? How did she balance research and patient care? What are the questions that helped her decision making? How does Dr Mauri think about innovations in medicine? Tune in to listen to this week’s episode of Parallax. Hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO.

Submit your questions to Ankur via: [email protected].

In the early days of the Black Lives Matter movement, a group of internal medicine residents posed a question: What can we do about racial disparity within our institution?

Brigham and Women’s Hospital’s Health Equity Committee decided to confront the status quo by asking: How is racism on a structural level present within our walls?

Ankur Kalra’s guests Michelle Morse (Founding Co-Director of EqualHealth and Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School) and Lauren Eberly (Cardiology Fellow at University of Pennsylvania) are co-authors of a retrospective study that demonstrated what had previously only been observed: That black or brown heart failure patients ended up in general medicine rather than specialised cardiology services. Following publication of the study in November 2019, the Health Equity Committee started to roll out anti-racism trainings and to work on objective admission guidelines to mitigate biased behaviours.

Aarti Bhatt (Assistant Professor of Medicine at University of Minnesota), member of the Minnesota chapter of Campaign Against Racism, talks about their initiative to support projects that have positive impact on local communities on a global scale.

Tune in to hear more about how you can be part of the Campaign Against Racism.

Related Content

https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.90.8.1212

https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCHEARTFAILURE.119.006214

Questions and comments can be sent to “[email protected]” and may be answered by Ankur in the next episode. Guests Michelle Morse, Aarti Bhatt & Lauren Eberly, hosted by @AnkurKalraMD. Produced by @RadcliffeCARDIO.