Fellows

Medical School: Wayne State University

Residency: University of Chicago

Research Interests:

• Interventional Cardiology
• Complex and high-risk coronary intervention
• Procedure and device development
• Stem Cells
• Biomarkers

• The prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa
  
• Baseline Left Ventricular Diameter Predicts Recovery in New Systolic Heart Failure Syndromes
• The Transulnar Approach to Coronary Angiography and Intervention: Assessing the Anatomy of the Ulnar Artery Using Angiography

Medical School: Duke University School of Medicine

Residency: University of Chicago

Research Interests:

• Progenitor Cells
• Regenerative Medicine
• Cellular Therapy

• Prevalence, Treatment, and Control of Severe Hyperlipidemia. 
  
• IL6 inhibition in critically ill COVID-19 patients is associated with increased secondary infections
• Frequency of Contact Allergy to Implanted Cardiac Devices

Medical School: Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara Turkey

Residency: Rutgers Health, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center

Research Interests:

• Heart Failure in Blacks
• Racial disparities in cardiovascular disease outcomes
• Advanced therapies in End-stage Heart Failure
• Structural heart diseases

• National Medical Fellowships Diversity in Clinical Trials Research Award
• NIH/National Medical Association Travel Award
• Acute Cardiac Unloading and Recovery Research Merit Scholarship Award
• Association of Black Cardiologists 2021 Dr Jay Brown Best Abstract Award
• Association of Black Cardiologists 2019 Dr Jay Brown Best Abstract Award
• Eastern Cardiothoracic Surgical Society Overall Best Cardiac Presentation Award

• Data in a Vacuum? The Desperate Need for a Paradigm Shift to Prevent Heart Failure in Black Americans.  
• Racial disparities and outcomes of left ventricular assist device implantation as a bridge to heart transplantation. 
• Percutaneous Axillary Access for Placement of Microaxial Ventricular Support Devices: The Axillary Access Registry to Monitor Safety (ARMS). 

@OkohMD

Medical School: University of Illinois in Chicago

Residency: Emory University

Research Interests:

• Health Services Research
• Shared Decision-Making
• Electrophysiology
• Cardiovascular disease in people living with HIV
• Cardiac biomarkers

• Grant support: TL1 through NCATS grant # ULITR002378 and F32 through AHRQ grant # 1F32HS028558;
• 2020 Semi-finalist, Early Career Investigator Award QCOR Scientific Sessions

• The widening U.S. health care crisis three years after the passage of 'Obamacare'
• Long-term performance of a pacing lead family: A single-center experience
• Heart Failure and Shared Decision-Making: Patients Open to Medication-Related Cost Discussions

@Birju_Rao

Medical School: Rutgers New Jersy Medical School

Residency: Emory University

Research Interests:

• Coronary Microvascular Diseases
• Inflammation and Cardiovascular Diseases
• Precision Medicine

• New Jersey Medical School Alumni Association Scholarship
• Emory Internal Medicine Research Day Abstract Winner
• Grady Resident Research Day Abstract Winner

• Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Younger Black Women: Results from the 10,000 Women Community Screening Project
• The Association Between Restless Legs Syndrome and Soluble Urokinase-Type Plasminogen Activator Receptor – A Connection to Cardiovascular Disease
• Depression and Obesity Are Associated with Chest Pain in Patients with Non-Obstructive Coronary Artery Disease