Physician Leadership

George D. Dangas, MD, PhD, is Director of Academic Affairs and Investigational Pharmacology at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. He is also Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Postgraduate Training, Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program, Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy (CIVT), Division of Cardiology at Columbia University Medical Center. He is currently serving as Chair of the American College of Cardiology annual Interventional Symposium (ACCIS) Program committee, and on the Board of Trustees of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) and the Academy for Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (ATCT).

He was previously Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at New York University, Director of Clinical Pharmacology and Endovascular Thrombosis at CRF, Associate Program Director, Interventional Cardiology at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at George Washington University, and attending physician at Washington Hospital Center, Washington, DC.

Dr Dangas completed his medical and postgraduate studies at the National Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greece. He completed his internship and residency in internal medicine at Miriam Hospital and Brown University in Providence, RI. He completed his cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology fellowships at The Mount Sinai Hospital, The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York City.

Alexandra J. Lansky, MD, is the Director of the Cardiac Core Laboratories and the Women's Cardiovascular Health Initiative at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. She is also Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and Director of Clinical Services at the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy at CUMC. In addition, Dr. Lansky is a practicing clinical cardiologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital / Columbia University Medical Center. Previously, Dr. Lansky was an interventional cardiologist on faculty at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, until she moved to New York in January 2000.

Dr. Lansky is currently the Principal Investigator for CRF's Angiographic Core Laboratory on over 40 ongoing multicenter clinical trials evaluating investigational coronary devices. Under her leadership, the Women's Cardiovascular Health Initiative pursues gender-based outcomes research and education in interventional cardiology and prevention. Dr. Lansky is also the medical director of "HeartHealthyWomen.org," a Department of Health and Human Services sponsored Web site for the treatment of women with cardiovascular diseases.

A graduate of the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond, VA, Dr. Lansky received her residency training in internal medicine. She also received her cardiology and interventional cardiology training at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC.

Martin B. Leon, MD, is Chairman Emeritus of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation and Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC). Dr. Leon also is the Associate Director of the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy (CIVT) at CUMC and a practicing interventional cardiologist at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/CUMC. Dr. Leon has served as principal investigator for numerous clinical trials that have helped shape the field of interventional vascular medicine, including the STARS, Gamma-1, and (most recently) SIRIUS trial, which helped establish drug-eluting stents as the current standard of care for many cases of cardiovascular disease. Dr. Leon has co-authored over 900 publications, has performed over 7,000 interventional procedures, and has had a major impact on the development of modern interventional vascular devices and therapies. He is the Director and Founder of Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics, the largest dedicated meeting in interventional vascular therapy in the world.

Dr. Leon has been Director of Clinical Research at the Washington Cardiology Center at the Washington Hospital Center and Clinical Professor of Medicine at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, DC. He also served as a Clinical Associate, Senior Investigator, and Director of the Catheterization Laboratories in the Cardiology Branch of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. He was a founder of the Washington Cardiology Center and the Cardiology Research Foundation in Washington, DC.

He completed a fellowship in Cardiology at the Yale-New Haven Hospital. Dr. Leon completed medical school at the Yale School of Medicine, and his internship and residency in internal medicine at the Yale-New Haven Hospital.

Roxana Mehran, MD, is the Director of Clinical Research and the Data Coordinating & Analysis Center at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation and Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC). Dr. Mehran also is the Director of Outcomes Research, Data Coordination and Analysis at the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy at CUMC, in addition to being a practicing interventional cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital / CUMC. Dr Mehran spent several years as an interventional cardiologist before becoming Director of Clinical Research at the Cardiology Research Foundation® at the Washington Hospital Center. She later relocated to New York to assume her current post.

Dr. Mehran has a long-standing research interest in cardiovascular topics, including intravascular ultrasound, angioplasty and coronary stenting, and has written over 200 publications on these topics as well as a chapter, "Coronary Heart Disease," in the book, Principles and Practice of Interventional Cardiology.

Dr. Mehran completed her training in internal medicine at the University of Connecticut. She then continued her studies in cardiovascular medicine and interventional cardiology at the Cardiovascular Institute at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City.

Gregg W. Stone, MD, is Chairman/Chief Medical Officer of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. He also is a practicing interventional cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital / CUMC. Dr. Stone has served as principal investigator for more than a dozen multicenter randomized trials, has authored more than 500 publications and abstracts, performed over 4,000 angioplasty procedures, and has delivered over 1,000 invited lectures. Along with Dr. Leon, Dr. Stone is the Director of Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT), the largest dedicated meeting in interventional vascular therapy in the world, and directs the National Interventional Cardiology Fellow's Course.

Prior to joining CRF, Dr. Stone was the Director of Interventional Cardiology at the Cardiovascular Institute at Stanford University Medical Center and El Camino Hospital in California.

Dr. Stone completed medical school at Johns Hopkins University Medical Center, and his internship and residency at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center. He completed his general cardiology fellowship at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and subsequently a dedicated fellowship in advanced coronary angioplasty with Dr. Geoffrey Hartzler in Kansas City, MO. Dr. Stone is board certified in interventional cardiology, cardiovascular diseases and internal medicine.

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Contributing Physicians

Alexandre Abizaid, MD, PhD is the Chief of Coronary Interventions at Institute Dante Pazzanese de Cardiologia in São Paulo, Brazil, and a Visiting Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City. He is also a key faculty member of CRF who spends part of his time in São Paulo leading an active research program, and in New York at CRF and Columbia, where he plays an important role as a co-director of TCT.

Dr Abizaid's areas of interest are drug-eluting stents and intravascular ultrasound. He has conducted several first-in-man studies testing multiple DES systems and participated very actively in numerous randomized trials and post-marketing registries. Dr Abizaid completed medical school at the Federal University of Juiz de Fora in Brazil, and his fellowship at Washington Hospital Center, in Washington, DC.

Andrea Abizaid, MD, PhD,is the Chief of Intravascular Ultrasound (IVUS) at the Institute Dante Pazzanese of Cardiology in São Paulo, Brazil. She is also a key faculty member at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, where she plays an important role as a course co-director of TCT.

Dr. Abizaid directs the intravascular ultrasound core laboratory at Dante Pazzanese and is involved in several multicenter international clinical trials. She is also active in the research and teaching programs at both Dante Pazzanese and CRF.

Dr. Abizaid graduated from Santo Amaro University of Medicine in São Paulo, after which she spent 2 years at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC, for her fellowship. She finished her PhD thesis on IVUS in 2004.

Michael B. Collins, MD, is Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and Associate Director of the cardiac catheterization laboratory at the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy at CUMC. He is also a key faculty member of CRF with important contributions in the areas of clinical research and educational activities in interventional vascular therapy. Dr. Collins was previously affiliated with the Baptist Hospital of Miami, where he served as medical director of interventional cardiology at the hospital's Miami Vascular Institute. He has particular expertise in interventional procedures and has been a principal investigator in several clinical trials involving atherectomy, stenting and radiation therapy.

Dr. Collins completed medical school at New York Medical College in Valhalla, New York. He pursued his internship and residency training in internal medicine at Nassau County Medical Center in New York, followed by a fellowship in cardiology at The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center.

Antonio Colombo, MD, is Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Columbus Hospital in Milan, Italy, and Chief of Invasive Cardiology at San Raffaele Hospital, also in Milan. Dr. Colombo also is Visiting Professor of Medicine at the Center for Interventional Vascular Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, and is a key faculty member of CRF with important contributions in the areas of clinical research and educational activities in interventional vascular therapy. He is also one of the premier developers of the concept of coronary stent placement. Dr. Colombo's curriculum vitae includes medical professorships at the University of California at Irvine and at New York University.

He was the Assistant Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at the Veterans Administration Medical Center, University of California at Irvine, where he completed a fellowship in cardiology. He also completed a fellowship in invasive cardiology at St. Joseph Hospital, State University of New York, in Syracuse. Dr. Colombo completed medical school at the University of Milan and the Postgraduate School in Cardiovascular Diseases at the University of Parma, Italy, and his internship and residency at Cabrini Medical Center, New York Medical College.

William A. Gray, MD, is the Director of Endovascular Services at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation and the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC). He also is Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at CUMC. Previously, Dr. Gray was the Director of Endovascular Care at the Swedish Heart Institute in Seattle, WA, and the Vice-Chair of Cardiology at Presbyterian Hospital in Albuquerque, NM. He was also a founding member of the Heart Hospital of New Mexico.

Dr. Gray specializes in coronary and peripheral arterial disease diagnosis and treatment with a special interest in new, non-surgical modalities for stroke prevention, the non-surgical treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm, and research into preventing the reoccurrence of disease following successful angioplasty or stenting. He is also a journal reviewer for the Journal of the American Medical Association and the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Gray received his medical degree from the Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia. He also completed an internship and residency in internal medicine, as well as a clinical/research fellowship in cardiology and an interventional fellowship in cardiology, at Brown University/Rhode Island Hospital in Providence, RI.

Ajay J. Kirtane, MD, SM, is Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine, Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy, Division of Cardiology, at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), and Director of Clinical Biometrics within the Data Coordinating and Analysis Center at CRF. He is also a practicing Interventional Cardiologist at New York Presbyterian Hospital / CUMC with an interest in coronary and peripheral intervention. Dr. Kirtane's research interests are in clinical trial methodology and analysis relating to device and pharmacologic studies of cardiac and peripheral interventional procedures, as well as in the use of angiographic and biomarker outcome measures within the context of acute coronary syndromes.

Dr. Kirtane is a graduate of Princeton University and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and was an Intern, Resident, and Chief Medical Resident at the University of California – San Francisco. He completed clinical and research fellowships in Cardiovascular Disease and Coronary and Peripheral Vascular Intervention at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center / Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA. During this time, Dr. Kirtane worked extensively with the TIMI Study Group under the mentorship of Dr. C. Michael Gibson and additionally obtained a Masters of Science degree in Clinical Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health.

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Edward M. Kreps, MD, is Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and Assistant Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital / CUMC, where he is a practicing interventional cardiologist. He is also a key faculty member of CRF with important contributions in the areas of clinical research and educational activities in interventional vascular therapy. Dr. Kreps is a graduate of the University of Louisville Medical School. He completed his residency at Lenox Hill Hospital and his fellowship at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, both in New York City. Dr Kreps is board certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease and interventional cardiology. He has a special interest in angiography, catheterization and angioplasty.

Gary S. Mintz, MD, is Medical Director of Publications & Websites at CRF and serves as Editor-in-Chief of TCTMD.com. He is a pioneer and a recognized authority in the field of intravascular ultrasound.

Previously, Dr Mintz served as the Director of the Coronary Ultrasound Program and of the Cardiovascular Training and Education Center at the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. His prior university employment included Professor of Medicine (Likoff Cardiovascular Institute) and Associate Professor of Diagnostic Radiology at Hahnemann University. His responsibilities at Hahnemann University included Director of the Cardiac Ultrasound Laboratory, Director of the Coronary Care Unit, Director of the Cardiology Fellowship Program, senior attending physician, and senior interventional cardiologist.

Dr Mintz completed medical school, internship and residency, and his cardiology fellowship at Hahnemann Medical College and Hahnemann University Hospital.

Jeffrey W. Moses, MD, is Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and the Director of the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy (CIVT) at CUMC. He also is Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Lab at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/CUMC and a key faculty member of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation who contributes importantly in the areas of clinical research and educational activities in interventional vascular therapy. He has led several national and international clinical studies which have demonstrated the effectiveness and safety of coronary stent placement, and is a pioneer in developing a number of approaches involving minimally invasive surgery, angioplasty, gene therapy and various support devices that allow for wider application of interventional cardiovascular procedures.

Dr. Moses' curriculum vitae includes professorships at Cornell University Medical College and New York University Medical Center. He has held various positions at The New York Hospital in New York, where he became the Associate Director of the Adult Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, and the Director of Clinical Electrophysiology. He is the former Chairman of the New York Angioplasty Society, and a Consultant to the FDA Committee on Biologics. He completed a fellowship in cardiology at the Presbyterian-University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.

Dr. Moses completed medical school at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and his internship and residency at the Presbyterian-University of Pennsylvania Medical Center.

Warren Sherman, MD, is the Director of Cardiac Cell-Based Endovascular Therapies at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation and the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC). He also is Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at CUMC. Previously, Dr. Sherman was the Director of Cell Therapy at Mount Sinai Hospital, and Director of Interventional Cardiology at Beth Israel Medical Center, where he founded the Division of Interventional Cardiology.

Dr. Sherman has long studied myocardial regenerative techniques, and he pioneered a method of injecting stem cells into the heart. In May 2001, Dr. Sherman performed the first catheter-based injection of adult stem cells into the heart of a patient with congestive heart failure due to a previous heart attack. He currently is the principal investigator of a multicenter clinical study of autologous skeletal myoblast injections for patients with congestive heart failure. Dr. Sherman has authored or co-authored numerous publications in the field of myocardial regeneration.

Dr. Sherman earned his medical degree at the State University of New York Upstate Medical Center. He completed his internal medicine residency at the University of Rochester, and his fellowship in cardiovascular diseases at the Oregon Health Sciences University.

Robert Sommer, MD, is the Director of Invasive Adult Congenital Heart Services at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation and the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC). He also is Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine at CUMC. Dr. Sommer holds dual positions at St. Joseph's Hospital in Paterson, NJ, as Director of the Pediatric Catheterization Laboratory and Director of Adult Congenital Heart Disease. Previously, Dr. Sommer held appointments at St. Francis Hospital in Roslyn, NY, Long Island Jewish Hospital, and Hackensack University Medical Center. In addition, Dr. Sommer served as Director of Adult Congenital Heart Disease at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, and Director of the Pediatric Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Dr. Sommer has published numerous articles in pediatric cardiology and cardiac catheterization, and has performed nearly 1,000 closure procedures for patent foramen ovale (PFO) and atrial septal defects. He received his medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine, and completed his internship and residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in pediatric cardiology at Mount Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Sommer also completed a senior fellowship in interventional cardiac catheterization for congenital heart disease at the Boston Children's Hospital.

Paul S. Teirstein, MD, is the Director of Interventional Cardiology at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation® in La Jolla, CA and Visiting Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC). He is also a key faculty member of CRF with important contributions in the areas of clinical research and educational activities in interventional vascular therapy. Dr Teirstein's primary focus is complex angioplasty and new technology development, and he has pioneered the use of radiation therapy to reduce restenosis after angioplasty.

Dr Teirstein's curriculum vitae includes fellowships in Cardiology at Stanford University in Stanford, CA, in advanced coronary angioplasty with Geoffrey Hartzler at the Mid-America Heart Institute in Kansas City, MO, and in stents, atherectomy, and lasers at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD.

Dr Teirstein completed medical school at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and his internship and residency at the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, MA.

Giora Weisz, MD, is Assistant Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) and Co-director of Clinical Services at the Center for Interventional Vascular Therapy at CUMC. He is also a practicing interventional cardiologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital / CUMC and a key faculty member of CRF with important contributions in the areas of clinical research and educational activities in interventional vascular therapy. Dr. Weisz has a special interest in current technologies in interventional cardiology such as drug-eluting stents and embolic protection, treatment of patients with no option for revascularization, and clinical angiogenesis. He also has an interest in the research and practical application of carotid artery stenting.

Dr. Weisz is a graduate of the Hebrew University - Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem. He received his residency training in internal medicine and his cardiology fellowship training at the Carmel Medical Center in Haifa, Israel. Dr. Weisz completed his training in interventional cardiology at Lenox Hill Hospital.

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