Academy
Welcome to the Cardionerds Academy!
The CardioNerds Academy was founded to further the democratization of cardiovascular education and to create digital content for asynchronous medical education with the overarching mission of marrying content creation with personal and professional development. The Academy harnesses the entire CardioNerds network and platform to facilitate mentorship, networking, and collaborative efforts at the national and international level.
CardioNerds Fellows are an exceptional group of individuals dedicated to medical education who were selected through a competitive application process. CardioNerds academy fellows are divided into 4 equal “Houses of Cards” that are named after cardiology legends, Vivian Thomas, Helen Taussig, Edith Jones, and Willem Einthoven.
During the fellowship year, CardioNerds Academy Fellows will:
Create high-quality asynchronous digital medical education content including podcasts, #tweetorials, infographics, blogs, and more!
Complete longitudinal Capstone Projects related to digital cardiovascular education.
Have access to the larger CardioNerds network including Ambassadors from Honor Roll programs, guests, collaborators, and more!
CardioNerds Chief Fellows will lead The Academy by:
Mentor and oversee content creation & capstone projects of CardioNerds Fellows
Learn and teach best practices for digital medical education for asynchronous learning
Have access to the larger CardioNerds network including Ambassadors from Honor Roll programs, guests, collaborators, and more!
CardioNerds Academy Fellows

Dr. Devesh Rai
Rochester General Hospital

Dr. Jessie Holtzman
University of California, San Francisco

Dr. Julie Power
University of Minnesota

Dr. Patrick Zakka
Emory University
Dr. Luis Calderon
MedStar Heart & Vascular Institute

Dr. Dinu-Valentin Balanescu
Beaumont Hospital

Dr. Najah Khan
Houston Methodist Hospital

Dr. Ahmed Ghoneem
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center

Dr. Isadora Sande Mathias
Cleveland Clinic

Dr. Teodora Donisan
Beaumont Hospital

Dr. Madiha Khan
Houston Methodist Hospital

Dr. Omid Amidi
University of California, Los Angeles

Dr. Hussain Khalid
University of Florida Health
CardioNerds Academy Interns

Gurleen Kaur
Albany Medical College

Pace Wetstein
Stevenson University Premed Cohort

Dr. Leticia Helms
Federal University of Minas Gerais

Dr. Maryam Barkhordarian
Shiraz University of Medical Sciences
CardioNerds Academy Chief Fellows

Dr. Evelyn Song
Johns Hopkins Hospital

Dr. Colin Blumenthal
Johns Hopkins Hospital

Dr. Rick Ferraro
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Dr. Rick Ferraro is midwest raised, spent two years as a Teach For America Corps member teaching science in Milwaukee before heading to medical school at Weill Cornell Medicine in NYC. Current senior resident at the Osler Medical Residency program and will begin cardiology fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 2021. Completed intern year under the incredible leadership of Dr. Amit Goyal. Interested in cardiovascular prevention and imaging

Dr. Tommy Das
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Dr. Tommy Das is an internal medicine resident in the Osler Program at Johns Hopkins. He is a native of Houston, TX, and completed medical school at UT Southwestern School of Medicine. He is part of the inaugural Medical Education Pathway for IM Residents at Johns Hopkins, and is passionate about the interplay between MedEd and Cardiology. His interests range from teaching hands-on bedside skills to interventional cardiology research to the pursuit of perfect pecan pie.

Dr. Eunice Dugan
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Dr. Eunice Dugan is a third year internal medicine resident at Johns Hopkins. She majored in Vocal Performance and Biology at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, and went to medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Eunice plans to purse a career in Critical Care Cardiology with research interests in intensive care unit outcomes. She is passionate about clinical teaching and innovations in cardiology medical education. Outside of the hospital, Eunice enjoys hikes with her husband and two dogs, listening to choral music, playing volleyball, and planning her next travel adventure.
Learn about our CardioNerd HeroEs
Vivien Theodore Thomas (1910-1985) was an African-American laboratory technician and instructor of surgery at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore. He was born as the grandson of a slave in Lousiana, working as a carpenter and subsequently as a laboratory technician after the great depression and the loss of his savings derailed his plans to become a doctor. In his role as a laboratory technician, he overcame challenging personal circumstances to become an innovator in paediatric cardiac surgery, despite having no formal college education. He played an important role in assisting Alfred Blalock and Helen Taussig in the development of the ‘Blalock-Taussig’ shunt, a procedure used to improve the survival of children with cyanotic congenital heart defects. He also contributed to major breakthroughs in research covering a spectrum of disorders such as traumatic shock, coarctation of the aorta and transposition of the great arteries. He acted as a teacher and mentor to a generation of surgical residents and technicians who went on to become leaders in their field across the USA. A television film based on his life was premiered by HBO in 2004 titled ‘Something the Lord made’.
(Soylu et al., 2017)
Kennedy DM. In search of Vivien Thomas. Texas Hear Inst J. 2005;32(4):477-478.
Taussig, a pioneering pediatric cardiologist, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She earned an A.B. from the University of California in 1921 and an M.D. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1927. Following graduation, Taussig served as an Archibald Fellow in Medicine at Johns Hopkins and worked at the hospital’s heart station until 1928.
She then interned in pediatrics at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 1930, Edwards Park appointed Taussig physician-in-charge of the Harriet Lane Cardiac Clinic. In 1959, she became the second woman at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine to be appointed full professor. In 1963, Taussig stepped down as physician-in-charge and became professor emeritus of pediatrics.
Taussig was a leader in the diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart disease. In 1944, along with surgeon Alfred Blalock and surgical technician Vivien Thomas, she developed the surgical procedure commonly known as the “blue baby” operation to correct a debilitating and life-threatening congenital heart defect that exhibited blue skin pigmentation, or cyanosis, in children. In addition to saving thousands of lives, the procedure was a major contribution toward the establishment of open heart surgery. Taussig also helped to avert a thalidomide birth defect crisis in the United States, testifying to the Food and Drug Administration on the terrible effects the drug had caused in Europe.
In 1954, she received the prestigious Lasker Award for her work on the “blue baby” operation. In 1964, Taussig received the Medal of Freedom from President Lyndon Johnson. She was elected president of the American Heart Association in 1965.
Taegtmeyer H. Helen taussig. Texas Hear Inst J. 2010;37(2):254.
Robays J Van. Helen B . Taussig (1898-1986 ). Facts, Views Vis OBGYN. 2016;8(3):183-187.
Edith Irby entered the University of Arkansas School of Medicine in September 1948, becoming the first African American to desegregate a Southern medical school. Seventy years later, she has become a hidden figure in the history of medical education.The author provides a brief biography of Irby (later Jones) and analyzes the factors that led the University of Arkansas to admit Irby, most notably her scholastic excellence and an innovative legal strategy launched by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People to eliminate racial inequalities in graduate and professional education. Irby’s admission prompted intensified efforts by medical civil rights activists to desegregate all U.S. medical schools.The author concludes that the 70th anniversary of Irby’s groundbreaking accomplishment provides an opportunity to acknowledge her significant contribution to the history of medical education and to recognize the continued need to erase persistent racial inequalities in the physician workforce.
Gamble, VN (2013)
Willem Einthoven (1860–1927), known as the creator of the electrocardiograph, won a Nobel Prize in 1924 for his contributions to the field of electrocardiography. He was dedicated to research and learning. In developing the electrocardiograph, Einthoven built on the work of earlier physiologists who had studied the electrical mechanisms of the heart.
(Rivera-Ruiz et al., 2008)
Ershler I. Willem Einthoven \ p = m- \ TheMan The String Galvanometer Electrocardiograph. 2015:6-8.
Dr. Bernadine Healy was a cardiologist with a diverse career spanning the government, nonprofit organizations, and academia. Dr. Healy was the first female Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), serving from April 1991 to June 1993. She also served as Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy appointed by Ronald Reagan. She was President of both the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross. Dr. Healy was a Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Chair of the Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, and Professor of Medicine at Ohio State University. – https://www.womenofhopkins.com/healy
Healy B. Bernadine Healy, M.D. August 4, 1944 – August 6, 2011. 2012;(1):2012.
CardioNerds Academy Structure
Special thanks to our collaborators at the NSMC (Nephrology Social Media Collective)