Pioneers of congenital and structural heart disease

Abstract

Ziyad M Hijazi is an interventional cardiologist who specializes in treating congenital and structural heart disease in both children and adults at Sidra Medical & Research Center. He is a pioneer in the non-surgical repair of congenital and structural heart defects. As Acting Chief Medical Officer, Chair – Pediatrics, and Medical Director – Sidra Cardiovascular Center of Excellence, Dr Hijazi drives the strategic direction of the Department of Pediatrics and integrates research and education priorities into a program of excellent clinical service delivery. He also holds the position of Chair of Pediatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College, Qatar – Sidra’s academic partner. After graduation from medical school and upon completion of his internship in Amman, Jordan, Dr Hijazi moved to the USA to begin postgraduate training in the Department of Epidemiology and Public Health at Yale University, School of Medicine where he was subsequently awarded a Masters of Public Health. He remained at Yale University where he completed a residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in pediatric cardiology. Upon completion of his fellowship training, he joined the faculty at Tufts University School of Medicine as an assistant professor. In 1997, he was promoted to Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, and in 1999 Dr Hijazi accepted a faculty appointment at the University of Chicago as Endowed Professor of Pediatrics and Medicine, and chief of the division of cardiology. He has been successful in building a pre-eminent pediatric cardiology program, which is nationally and internationally recognized for its outstanding clinical service and innovative technologies. In 2007, Dr Hijazi became the Director of the Rush Center for Congenital and Structural Heart Disease at Rush University Medical Center and in 2010 he became the James A Hunter MD University Chair