Editorial introductions

Abstract

Current Opinion in Cardiology was launched in 1985. It is part of a successful series of review journals whose unique format is designed to provide a systematic and critical assessment of the literature as presented in the many primary journals. The field of cardiology is divided into 14 sections that are reviewed once a year. Each section is assigned a Section Editor, a leading authority in the area, who identifies the most important topics at that time. Here we are pleased to introduce the Section Editors for this issue. SECTION EDITORS Ali J. MarianAli J. MarianDr Marian received his M.D in 1981 from Tehran University in Iran. He completed post-doctoral training in Internal Medicine at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, USA, in 1988 and in Cardiovascular Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, USA, in 1991. He was appointed to faculty at Baylor College of Medicine in 1992 and rose the academic rank to full Professor in 2006. He was recruited to The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine in 2006 to lead the Center for Cardiovascular Genetics. He is currently the Professor of Internal Medicine (Cardiology) and Molecular Medicine and Director of Center for Cardiovascular Genetics at The Brown Foundation Institute of Molecular Medicine for the Prevention of Human Diseases at UTHSC, Houston, USA. Dr Marian is recognized nationally and internationally for his research achievements and expertise in cardiovascular genetics. He has received a number of awards including the Young Investigator Award of the American College of Cardiology, Junior Faculty Award for research from the American Federation of Medical Research, Award for Excellence in Research from Baylor College of Medicine, Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association (AHA) and the Clinician-Scientist Award in Translational Research from Burroughs Wellcome Fund. He has trained a number of post-doctoral fellows including the recipient of the 2008 Louis N and Arnold M. Katz Basic Science Research Award Prize for Young Investigators from the AHA. Dr Marian is a Deputy Editor for Circulation Research. He is an Associate Editor for European Journal of Clinical Investigation, Section Editor on Genetics for Current Opinion in Cardiology and Current Atherosclerosis Reports and a former Associate Editor for Circulation. He is on the Editorial Board of a number of journals including the Journal of Cardiac Failure, Translational Research and CARDIOLOGY. Dr Marian has co-authored over 160 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. His expertise in the genetics of cardiovascular disease is recognized and evidenced by lectureship in major national and international meetings, editorials in major journals and review articles and book chapters. Dr Marian is a frequent reviewer for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and AHA grants and has been a member of the review committees on various NIH study sections. Dr Marian's research is supported by grants from NHLBI-NIH, Leducq Foundation Trans-Atlantic Network of Excellence and other funding agencies. Nir UrielNir UrielDr Nir Uriel is the Director of the Heart Failure, Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support Program at the University of Chicago, USA. Dr Uriel studied Medicine at Ben Gurion University of the Negev in Israel. He continued his education with an internal medicine residency at Tel Aviv University, Israel, where he also pursued his cardiology fellowship. He came to the US and completed a heart failure/ transplantation fellowship at the Center for Advanced Cardiac Care at Columbia University Medical Center in New York, USA, where he was the Director of Research for the Mechanical Circulatory Support program at Columbia University Medical Center until his current move to University of Chicago. Dr Uriel received his MSc in patient oriented research from the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, New York, USA. Dr Uriel's contribution to scientific literature includes more than 80 peer reviewed publications; his research focus is on advanced heart failure physiology, heart transplant and mechanical circulatory support. Dr Uriel studied metabolic changes in advanced heart failure and the effect of left ventricular assist device (LVAD) therapy on metabolic profile of these patients. He reported dramatic improvements in control of Diabetes Mellitus after LVAD implantation (EJHF, 2010), followed by changes in glucose and free fatty acids availability in heart failure as part of Insulin resistance (JACC HF, 2013). The majority of Dr Uriel's research is devoted to mechanical circulatory support. Over the last several years, he described the biological mechanisms of bleeding in heart failure patients supported by current generation LVADs, and was one of the first investigators to report the prevalence of acquired Type II von Willebrand's disease in this patient population (JACC, 2010). He also developed and validated multiple algorithms for treatment of patients supported with mechanical assist devices, including: Ramp test for speed adjustment (JACC, 2012), Treating ventricular arrhythmia in LVAD patients (JACC, 2013), Device thrombosis diagnosis and treatment (JACC 2012, JHLT 2013). Dr Uriel's research extends to heart transplantation in specific high risk transplant populations such as HIV positive patients and post-mediastinal radiation patients due to malignancy and re-transplantation. His work helped redefine current eligibility criteria for advanced heart failure therapy in these high risk patients. Dr Uriel received the Outstanding Teacher Award, presented by the Fellows of Cardiovascular Medicine at Columbia University in the year 2013. Stavros G. DrakosStavros G. DrakosStavros G. Drakos, MD/PhD, is an Associate Professor of Cardiology with Tenure, Co-Chief of the Heart Failure/Transplant Section, Medical Director of the Cardiac Mechanical Support Program and Director of CV Research for the Division of Cardiology, University of Utah USA. After completing fellowships in General Cardiology (University of Athens, Greece), Heart Failure/Transplant/Cardiac Mechanical Support (University of Utah) and Translational Research (University of Utah), Dr Drakos joined the faculty at the University of Athens: (i) Clinically, he leveraged his advanced HF training in the US and played a pivotal role in starting the first Cardiac Mechanical Support program in Greece, and (ii) Academically, he focused his clinical research efforts on advancing the Harefield-Athens Cardiac Recovery Program in collaboration with Sir Magdi Yacoub's team, Harefield/Imperial College London. Five years later he returned at the University of Utah and since 2008 he has been on the faculty at the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine. Dr Drakos has published more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts and book chapters and has received peer-reviewed extramural research support from the NIH, AHA, European Union Research Executive Agency, Doris Duke Foundation, and others. He and his mentees have received over the years several scientific awards (AHA, ISHLT, HFSA, HCS, et al). Dr Drakos's clinical and translational research interests are focused on cardiac recovery associated with unloading and mechanical circulatory support in the chronic setting (i.e. chronic HF) and the acute setting (i.e. acute HF/cardiogenic shock). He has published original work generated both in the clinical arena and in his lab. His ongoing clinical and lab- based work is focused on understanding the clinical, metabolic and molecular profile of the recovered human heart and utilize biological information and clinical characteristics derived from these studies to understand, predict and manipulate cardiac recovery. He is co-chairing the NIH/NHLBI Working Group Advancing the Science of Myocardial Recovery with Mechanical Circulatory Support and co-directing the Annual International Utah Cardiac Recovery Symposium (U-CARS).