About
Michelle M. Kittleson, MD, PhD
JHLT Interim Editor-In-Chief
Director of Education in Heart Failure and Transplantation and Professor of Medicine
Smidt Heart Institute, Cedars-Sinai
Los Angeles, CA USA
@MKIttlesonMD
Tell us about your work. What field are you in and what’s your specialty/focus in terms of clinical practice and/or research?
I'm a heart failure/transplant cardiologist and my primary passion is providing outstanding patient care. My second focus is medical education as director of the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology Fellowship at Cedars-Sinai as well as through my book, Mastering the Art of Patient Care (Springer, 2023).
What’s one thing you love about working on JHLT: The Podcast? Could be a favorite episode or interview, or a favorite aspect of the work.
I love working with the super engaged and enthusiastic team of podcast hosts and study authors. It's a joy to see studies come to life and learn about practice-changing implications and next steps.
Tell us something about you that most people don't know.
I have three boys, and the first two have the same birthday, 3 years ago--a testament to my strong organizational skills!
Erika D. Lease, MD, FCCP
Medical Director, Lung Transplant Program
University of Washington
Seattle, WA USA
Tell us about your work. What field are you in and what’s your specialty/focus in terms of clinical practice and/or research?
I am a transplant pulmonologist and the medical director of the lung transplant program at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA, USA. In addition, I am board-certified in Infectious Disease and am a rounding member of the UW solid organ transplant infectious disease program. While most of my time is spent in clinical care, I spend some of my time participating in research endeavors specific to clinical care of transplant recipients.
What’s one thing you love about working on JHLT: The Podcast? Could be a favorite episode or interview, or a favorite aspect of the work.
Working on JHLT: The Podcast has been tremendously rewarding. I have enjoyed learning about research outside of my field as well as conversing with authors about their work and careers. We aim to provide short summaries of important research published in the JHLT which I hope is helpful to our community of busy professionals with demanding personal and work lives.
Dr. David Schibilsky
Attending Surgeon, Thoracic Transplantation/VAD
University Heart Center, University Medical Center Freiburg
Freiburg, Germany
@DSchibilsky
Tell us about your work. What field are you in and what’s your specialty/focus in terms of clinical practice and/or research?
I am a cardiac surgeon at the University Medical Center in Freiburg, Germany. I am involved in heart and lung transplantation, as well as in mechanical circulatory support. My research interests are clinical strategies and outcome of heart and lung-failure and ex-vivo organ perfusion. Together with my research group, I run a project regarding “Automated-Controlled Ex-Vivo Normothermic Perfusion (ac-EVP) of the Heart and Organ Protection by Carbon-Monoxide Application”. This project is funded by the 2018 ISHLT Norman E. Shumway Career Development Award.
What’s one thing you love about working on JHLT: The Podcast? Could be a favorite episode or interview, or a favorite aspect of the work.
It is great to actually meet the person behind the research. Its always so exciting to find out if the actual people come along with the ideas you hade of them, when reading the manuscript.
Tell us something about you that most people don't know.
I have two wonderful children aged 3 and 5 years old. My wife (who is in training to become a vascular surgeon soon) and I enjoy our free time in our beautiful city of Freiburg next to the black-forest area in the south of Germany. Here we find ski and hiking resorts just 20 min away from home.
Marty C. Tam, MD
Assistant Professor, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI USA
@MartyTamMD
Tell us about your work. What field are you in and what’s your specialty/focus in terms of clinical practice and/or research?
I am an advanced heart failure cardiologist and echocardiographer in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Michigan. I currently serve as the Associate Program Director of both the Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship and Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology Fellowship Programs. My clinical and scholarly interests include medical education and innovation, advanced heart failure, cardiac critical care, and echocardiography.
What’s one thing you love about working on JHLT: The Podcast? Could be a favorite episode or interview, or a favorite aspect of the work.
There are many things I love about creating the JHLT podcasts! One aspect I truly enjoy is being able to interview and discuss research with the authors of the papers. I learn so much reading the studies on my own, but having this additional interaction is truly educational and enlightening!
Tell us something about you that most people don't know.
One of my favorite sporting events to attend is minor league baseball games. I went to many when I was in medical school. The environment is more relaxed but fans still cheer just as hard. It is also great to see players before they get promoted to the major leagues!
Van-Khue Ton, MD
Advanced Heart Failure/Transplant Cardiologist
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, MA USA
@tonkhueMdPhd
Tell us about your work. What field are you in and what’s your specialty/focus in terms of clinical practice and/or research?
I am a heart transplant cardiologist with an interest in short- and long-term mechanical circulatory support used in the treatment of patients with cardiogenic shock and advanced heart failure. My clinical research focuses on ways to improve quality of life and exercise tolerance for patients with ventricular assist devices.
What’s one thing you love about working on JHLT: The Podcast? Could be a favorite episode or interview, or a favorite aspect of the work.
I love working with the wonderful members of the JHLT Podcast team: Dr. Daniel Goldstein (editor-in-chief), my co-editors, Marty Tam, Erika Lease and David Schibilsky, as well as Jess Burke of ISHLT and our media guru, Max Fliegner. Meeting the authors that we invited to the podcast has been such a valuable networking and learning opportunity.
Tell us something about you that most people don't know.
I became a mom for the first time in December 2021 to the cutest baby boy named Ayden. I can’t wait to have him listen to JHLT: The Podcast soon!