INDIANAPOLIS—Two widely recognized leaders in cardiovascular medicine have been recruited to the Cardiovascular Institute (CVI), a joint enterprise between Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Medicine and Indiana University Health on the forefront of cardiovascular care, research and education.
Khadijah Breathett, MD, MS, FACC, FAHA, FHFSA, will join the institute to direct health equity research, demonstrating the CVI’s rigorous commitment to leading the advancement of health equity in Indiana and beyond.
“Dr. Breathett’s work has been widely recognized as critical to achieving national health equity among populations with the highest prevalence of heart failure – patients of color and women,” said Subha Raman, MD, CVI’s physician director. “Her research addresses population-based preventive interventions, equitable access to evidence-based therapies and improving outcomes across disparate communities, leveraging bioinformatics and implementation science.”
Breathett, previously of the University of Arizona College of Medicine, has developed several outcomes and population studies, as well as community interventions focused on reducing racial/ethnic and gender disparities in cardiovascular disease.
“I chose to become a heart failure and transplant cardiologist, and a physician-scientist, with the mission of making cardiovascular health care more accessible and health care delivery more equitable,” Breathett said. “I look forward to joining the team at Indiana University and leading initiatives to address social determinants of health, bias and structural racism in my research and beyond.”
Additionally, Ankur Kalra, MD, FACP, FACC, FSCAI, will join the institute as director for interventional cardiology quality and innovation.
An interventional cardiologist, an entrepreneur and a poet, Kalra has a career-spanning track record of contributing major advances in interventional quality and innovation. His work is informed by robust and focused engagement in multiple fields of study, as well as creative applications of his expertise. Kalra, previously of the Cleveland Clinic, is the founder of a nonprofit startup, Makeadent.org, and host of the cardiology-focused podcast “Parallax.”
With this combination of an incisive scientific mind and an entrepreneurial spirit, Kalra “has uniquely advanced the combination of peer-reviewed science with social media to further drive the impact of cardiovascular innovations,” said Raman.
Kalra said he is “ecstatic” to take on this leadership role, which aligns with Raman’s vision of mission-aligned delivery of high-quality, excellent, purposeful care, delivered to patients in need when they’re at the most vulnerable stages in their lives.
“I aspire to utilize my skill sets in health care quality, patient safety, health informatics and leadership to be part of this exciting transformation of the Cardiovascular Institute,” he said.
Together, Breathett and Kalra will bring substantial experience, expertise and dynamism to the Cardiovascular Institute, further establishing its role as a regional, national and global leader in cardiovascular medicine.
###
IU School of Medicine is the largest medical school in the U.S. and is annually ranked among the top medical schools in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. The school offers high-quality medical education, access to leading medical research and rich campus life in nine Indiana cities, including rural and urban locations consistently recognized for livability.