Beyond Boundaries: Advancing Cardiovascular Health Through Innovation and Collaboration 

Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine

David M. Herrington, MD, MHS, is the Dalton McMichael Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Vice Chair for Research in Medicine and Cardiovascular Medicine at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. A leading expert in cardiovascular medicine and epidemiology, his research focuses on the molecular underpinnings of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease. He has led numerous NIH and EU-funded multi-institutional studies and clinical trials using a variety of imaging, genomic, proteomic, and metabolomic approaches to study the pathogenesis and prevention of atherosclerosis and other cardiovascular conditions. Dr Herrington has also held key leadership roles in the American Heart Association and Wake Forest University School of Medicine and mentored many trainees, many of whom have gone on to highly productive academic careers. His work has significantly advanced the understanding of cardiovascular risk, imaging, and molecular epidemiology.

The Gragg Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine
Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Medical Director, Cardiovascular Imaging      
Director, Gragg Center for Cardiovascular Performance 
Director, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center  

Dermot Phelan, MB, BAO, BCh, PhD, FASE, FACC is Professor of Medicine at Wake Forest University and Gragg Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine. He is Medical Director of Cardiovascular Imaging, Director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center, and Director of the Gragg Center for Cardiovascular Performance at Atrium Health Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute. Trained in Ireland and at Cleveland Clinic, he leads multimodality imaging integration at SHVI, focusing on cardiomyopathies, athlete’s heart, and advanced structural heart imaging. Dr. Phelan’s research includes the widely cited “apical sparing” pattern in cardiac amyloidosis. He is Sports Cardiology Consultant for the NFL, MLB, and NBA, Chair of the NFL Cardiovascular Task Force, and editor of “Care of the Athletic Heart.” He oversees echocardiography for major sports leagues and leads national echocardiography advocacy and guideline development for the American Society of Echocardiography. 

Izard Family Distinguished Chair in Cardiovascular Medicine
Professor of Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Director, Center for Women’s Cardiovascular Health, Atrium Health Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute
Academic Chief of Cardiology, Atrium Health, Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute

Dr. Esther Kim leads the Center for Women’s Cardiovascular Health at Atrium Health Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute. Her clinic is the first in the region to focus on rare arterial disorders such as spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) and fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD). Dr. Kim serves as President of the Society for Vascular Medicine and past Chair of the American Heart Association’s Peripheral Vascular Disease Council. She is the National Principal Investigator of the iSCAD Registry and chairs the Scientific Advisory Board of SCAD Alliance.

Associate Professor, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Vascular and Endovascular Surgeon, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist

Dr. Matthew Goldman is a vascular and endovascular surgeon at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, where he specializes in treating complex arterial and venous conditions, including peripheral artery disease, thoracic outlet syndrome, dialysis access, and aortic aneurysms. He plays a key leadership role in the vascular surgery division, helping shape care standards and drive quality improvement across the system.  He is also the director of the limb preservation program at Atrium Wake Forest Baptist. Dr. Goldman is also deeply involved in clinical research, with interests in peripheral artery disease, chronic kidney disease, and thoracic outlet syndrome. He is the principal investigator on NIH-funded research focusing on dialysis access and peripheral artery disease.  He’s contributed to studies that inform best practices in vascular care and frequently collaborates on academic initiatives through Wake Forest University Health Sciences. 

Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine

Dr. Akbilgic is a health informatics researcher specializing in artificial intelligence and statistical modeling for healthcare applications. With formal training in mathematics, statistics, operations research, and machine learning, his work focuses on risk prediction and monitoring of cardiovascular disease, maternal health, and movement disorders. He has extensive experience integrating artificial intelligence models with wearable devices that remotely collect physiological waveform data, especially electrocardiograms. His work is funded by federal agencies and private organizations such as the Michael J. Fox Foundation. He is the PI of two active R01s and one R21, and a contributing co-I on many other federally funded research studies. He is also an innovator and entrepreneur aiming to translate artificial intelligence models into Software as Medical Devices to improve health outcomes through clinical implementation. His efforts led to an FDA Breakthrough Designation for an artificial intelligence model that tracks cardiac biomarkers non-invasively and remotely via wearables.

The Gross Family Endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine
Medical Director, Interventional Cardiology, Atrium Health Sanger Heart and Vascular
Professor or Cardiovascular Medicine, Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Vice Chair of Quality and Care Transformation at Atrium Health Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute

Dr. Bill Downey is the Enterprise Lead for Cardiovascular Quality and Clinical Effectiveness at Advocate Health and Professor of Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine. An interventional cardiologist, he served over ten years as Medical Director of Interventional Cardiology for the Greater Charlotte Region. Within Advocate, Dr. Downey leads initiatives to improve cardiovascular outcomes and the effectiveness of care through innovations in care models and structured quality improvement. Nationally, he contributes through leadership roles with the National Quality Forum, the National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR), and the Cardiovascular Quality Improvement and Care Innovation Consortium (CV QUIC).