Heart and Vascular Medical Experts

Area of Expertise: Imaging

Dalane W. Kitzman, MD
Professor of Internal Medicine - Cardiology

A cardiologist whose research focuses on heart failure, especially in the elderly, Kitzman's work has been funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the American Heart Association. He was among the first to identify diastolic heart failure as a distinct type of disease. Another research focus is improving echocardiography as a diagnostic tool. Kitzman has served on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, chaired an NIA study section of clinical aging, and is a past president of the Society for Geriatric Cardiology.

Faculty Profile, Research and Publications

Area of Expertise: Cardiology - Clinical and Research

David M. Herrington, MD
Professor, Cardiology

Dr. Herrington's research is epidemiology with a focus on heart disease in women, the cardiovascular effects of estrogen and the pharmacogenetics of estrogen action.

Faculty Profile, Research and Publications

Area of Expertise: Cardiovascular - Heart Disease - Medical Imaging

W. Greg Hundley, MD
Professor of Internal Medicine - Cardiology and Radiology

Hundley, a cardiologist, was the first in the world to use magnetic resonance imaging to visualize and measure blood flow in the coronary arteries, as well as the first to show that MRI stress testing can identify those at risk of heart attack or dying from a heart attack. He trains and teaches physicians worldwide in MRI. He was awarded the National Institute of Health's "Clinical Associate Physician Award" in 1999 and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles related to the use of imaging in the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease.

Area of Expertise: Imaging

Dalane W. Kitzman, MD
Professor of Internal Medicine - Cardiology

A cardiologist whose research focuses on heart failure, especially in the elderly, Kitzman's work has been funded by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the American Heart Association. He was among the first to identify diastolic heart failure as a distinct type of disease. Another research focus is improving echocardiography as a diagnostic tool. Kitzman has served on the editorial board of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, chaired an NIA study section of clinical aging, and is a past president of the Society for Geriatric Cardiology.

Faculty Profile, Research and Publications

Area of Expertise: Pathology - Social Stress
Area of Expertise: Psychiatry - Research

Carol A. Shively, PhD
Professor, Pathology - Comparative Medicine

Shively investigates social stress effects on health, particularly women's health, including heart disease, obesity and depression, using non-human primate models. Her research focuses on how social stress, particularly the stress of low social status, increases the risk of coronary heart disease, depression, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and endometrial cancer. She uses non-invasive brain imaging to learn more about the brain mechanisms behind disease. She received the National Association for Women’s Health award for “Excellence in Research” and is listed in both Who’s Who of American Women and International Who’s Who. She has authored or co-authored more than 70 research papers.

Faculty Profile, Research and Publications

Area of Expertise: Nutrition - Public Health

Mara Z. Vitolins, MPH, DPH
Professor and Interim Chair -Department of Epidemiology and Prevention, Division of Public Health Sciences

Vitolins is a nutrition researcher and a registered dietitian whose studies focus on lifestyle interventions for chronic diseases, especially for heart disease, cancer, diabetes and obesity. She has worked extensively with soy in several research studies, in particular for women in the menopausal transition. She is also a health educator and is able to discuss basics of nutrition, the role of nutrition in prevention and control of disease, and keeping people on their diets.

Faculty Profile, Research and Publications

Area of Expertise: Medical Education

Gretchen L. Wells, PhD, MD
Associate Dean for Admissions

Wells is a clinical cardiologist who maintains an active clinical and research program and is the recipient of numerous teaching awards. She serves as the insitution's Women's Liason Officer to the Association of American Medical Colleges and is an active member of a number of professional organizations.

Faculty Profile, Research and Publications

Area of Expertise: Pediatric - Cardiology

Derek A. Williams, DO
Associate Professor, Pediatrics

Williams is Chief of Pediatric Cardiology, Co-director of the Pediatric and Congenital Heart program and Medical Director of the Pulmonary Hypertension (PH) Clinic and Interventional Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at Brenner Children's Hospital. The PH clinic is the only clinic of its kind in North Carolina treating all forms of PH with cutting edge therapies. Additionally, he is the only congenital interventional physician in the region offering minimally invasive heart repair. Williams' clinical interests are all forms of congenital and acquired pediatric heart disease and pulmonary hypertension.

Area of Expertise: Cardiology - Clinical and Research

David M. Herrington, MD
Professor, Cardiology

Dr. Herrington's research is epidemiology with a focus on heart disease in women, the cardiovascular effects of estrogen and the pharmacogenetics of estrogen action.

Faculty Profile, Research and Publications

Area of Expertise: Otolaryngology

J. Dale Browne, MD, FACS
James A. Harrill Professor and Chairman of Otolaryngology

Listed for several years in "Best Doctors," Dr. Browne recently completed and published an extensive review of arterovenous dural fistulas involving the skull base treated at Wake Forest Baptist. His international collaboration on the transotic approach to the cerebellopontine angle with technique developer Professor Ugo Fisch of Zurich, Switzerland, was recently republished as a classic in acoustic tumor surgery. Active in national education, he was editor-in-chief of the popular Patient of the Month Program for seven years and is currently chairman of the Laryngology and Bronchoesophagology Committee of the Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery.

Area of Expertise: Neurology

Cheryl D. Bushnell, MD, MHS
Director of the Wake Forest Baptist Stroke Center
Education Associate Professor, Neurology

Dr. Bushnell is an expert on stroke and stroke prevention and has done groundbreaking research that looked at women who experience migraines during pregnancy. She is the lead author of the first guidelines for the prevention of stroke in women. The research was published in American Heart Association’s journal, Stroke.

She is researching sex differences in subclinical vascular disease in midlife, with a special emphasis on differences occurring with menopause. She is also the director of the Transition Coaching for Stroke (TRACS) Program, which seeks to improve the transition of stroke patients from the hospital to home.

Faculty Profile, Research and Publications

Area of Expertise: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Anthony J. DeFranzo Jr., MD, FACS
Professor, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery

DeFranzo is a plastic surgeon whose areas of interest include plastic and reconstructive surgery, breast reconstruction, cosmetic facial surgery, hand surgery, lower extremity trauma, tarsal tunnel surgeries, microvascular and replantation surgery, upper extremity injury and pathology, nerve conduction testing, body contouring after bariatric weight loss surgery, paniculectomies, wound care, microsurgery, botulinum toxin, head and neck oncology, and burn reconstruction. He is board certified in plastic and reconstructive surgery, hand surgery and microsurgery. DeFranzo is a member of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons, American Board of Plastic Surgery, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, American Society for Surgery of the Hand, and American Society of Peripheral Nerve. DeFranzo is also listed in Best Doctors in America® and Marquis Who's Who in Medicine.

Area of Expertise: Kidney Disease
Area of Expertise: Minority Health - Internal Medicine/ Nephrology
Area of Expertise: Nephrology

Barry I. Freedman, MD, FACP
John H. Felts, III Professor and Chief, Nephrology

Freedman is an active clinician-researcher whose research focuses on genetic causes of kidney and cardiovascular disease, hypertension and type 2 diabetes, particularly in African-Americans; as well as clinical outcomes in chronic kidney disease and after renal transplantation. He has helped Wake Forest Baptist amass one of the world’s largest single-center collections of DNA samples from African-Americans with kidney disease and diabetes. He and colleagues at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases reported the role of the APOL1 gene as a major risk factor for kidney failure in African-Americans. Variants in APOL1 contribute to approximately 40 percent of all end-stage kidney disease in this population. Freedman’s research challenged long-held beliefs about hypertension as a cause of kidney disease in African-Americans. His work proved that hypertension often results from primary APOL1-related kidney disease and that hypertension is not the inciting cause of kidney disease. He is listed in Best Doctors in America and US News and World Report’s Top Doctors.

Area of Expertise: Eye Disease
Area of Expertise: Ophthalmology

Craig M. Greven, MD
Professor of Surgery - Ophthalmology

Greven is chair of ophthalmology and listed in Best Doctors in America. He serves as reviewer for three major ophthalmology journals, and is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. Greven is a recipient of the Honor Award of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

Area of Expertise: Cardiology - Clinical and Research

David M. Herrington, MD
Professor, Cardiology

Dr. Herrington's research is epidemiology with a focus on heart disease in women, the cardiovascular effects of estrogen and the pharmacogenetics of estrogen action.

Faculty Profile, Research and Publications

Area of Expertise: Emergency Medicine - General/cardiovascular
Area of Expertise: Cardiovascular Emergencies
Area of Expertise: Chest Pain

James W. Hoekstra, MD
Chair, Emergency Medicine

Vice President for Clinical Business Development

Hoekstra’s area of expertise is emergency cardiology and the care of patients with acute coronary syndromes. He is an active member of the multicenter Emergency Medicine Cardiac Research and Education Group and serves on numerous multicenter trial steering committees. Hoekstra is also a past president of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine.

Area of Expertise: Cardiovascular - Heart Disease - Medical Imaging

W. Greg Hundley, MD
Professor of Internal Medicine - Cardiology and Radiology

Hundley, a cardiologist, was the first in the world to use magnetic resonance imaging to visualize and measure blood flow in the coronary arteries, as well as the first to show that MRI stress testing can identify those at risk of heart attack or dying from a heart attack. He trains and teaches physicians worldwide in MRI. He was awarded the National Institute of Health's "Clinical Associate Physician Award" in 1999 and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed articles related to the use of imaging in the diagnosis and management of cardiovascular disease.

Area of Expertise: Orthopaedics

L. Andrew Koman, MD
Professor of Surgery - Orthopedics, Professor of Pediatrics

Koman, a hand and pediatric orthopaedic surgeon, is listed in both The Best Doctors in America and America's Top Doctors. His research focuses on improving the function of children with cerebral palsy, congenital hand disorders and nerve damage and adults with complex hand damage, including surgical techniques and botulinum toxins, which he introduced into clinical practice. He is internationally recognized in congenital (pediatric hand), upper extremity vascular disorders, chronic pain and nerve injury, hand reconstruction and microsurgery. He is chair of orthopaedic surgery and director of the hand fellowship. Koman is a former president of the Southern Orthopaedic Association, the Eastern Orthopaedic Association, the North Carolina Orthopaedic Association, The Southeastern Hand and the Hand Forum. He was the founder and first president of the North Carolina Society of Surgery of the Hand and is a past president of the American Society of Surgery of the Hand. Koman is editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Surgical Orthopaedic Advances. He has published three books and over 200 peer- reviewed articles and book chapters. He has received the Clinical Research (Kappa Delta) award from the Orthopaedic Research and Education Society and the Huene Award from the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America.

Faculty Profile, Research and Publications

Area of Expertise: Cardiology - Cardiothoracic Surgery

Neal D. Kon, MD
Chair and Professor, Cardiothoracic Surgery

Dr. Kon is part of the Heart Center's team of highly trained and experienced specialists devoted exclusively to cardiothoracic surgery. His clinical interests include aortic valve surgery (repair/replacement with pulmonary autograft), aortic allograft and stentless po, stentless valves, mitral valve surgery (repair and homograft replacement), myocardial revascularization with multiple arterial grafts, adult cardiovascular surgery. He is listed in Best Doctors in America.

Faculty Profile, Research and Publications

Area of Expertise: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Stephen B. Kritchevsky, PhD
Director, Sticht Center on Aging
Professor, Internal Medicine and Translational Science
Associate Director, Translational Science Institute

Kritchevsky is an epidemiologist specializing in nutrition, chronic disease and physical function in older adults. He has leadership positions in several multi-center observational studies and clinical trials focused on the functional health of older adults including the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders Clinical Trial, the Health Aging and Body Composition Study, the Cardiovascular Health Study – All-Stars Study, and the Look AHEAD Memory and Movement Study. Kritchevsky is the principal Investigator of the  Wake Forest Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center, one of 13 such centers supported by the National Institute on Aging. He has authored more than 350 publications and has been recognized by Thompson-Reuters as one of the most highly cited researchers in his field. Kritchevsky is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences which is one of the highest impact journals in the field of aging. He is broadly knowledgeable about issues related to health and aging in older adults, with particular expertise in the areas of obesity, body composition and nutrition.

Area of Expertise: Emergency Medicine - General/cardiovascular

Chadwick D. Miller, M.D.
Associate Professor, Emergency Medicine

Dr. Miller's research interests are focused on cardiovascular MRI, coronary artery disease, chest pain, cardiovascular emergencies and pulmonary emboli. His most recent research has looked at ED evaluation of chest pain.

Faculty Profile, Research and Publications

Area of Expertise: Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery

Joseph A. Molnar, MD, PhD, FACS
Professor, Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery and Director of the Wound Care Center

Molnar is a plastic surgeon whose areas of interest are wound and burn reconstruction, hand surgery, trauma reconstruction, microvascular and replantation surgery, limb salvage, wound care, wound healing problems, wounds (difficult), nerve conduction testing, tarsal tunnel surgeries and hair restoration. He is board certified in plastic and reconstructive surgery and hand surgery and trained in microsurgery and burns. His memberships include the International Society of Burn Injury, American Burn Association, Fellow American Association of Plastic Surgery, Fellows of American College of Surgeons, American Society of Plastic Surgeons, North Carolina Medical Society, Wound Healing Society, American Society for Parenteral & Enteral Nutrition, and the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery. Molnar is also listed in Best Doctors in America®.

Faculty Profile, Research and Publications

Area of Expertise: Cardiology - Interventional/Heart Health

Renato M. Santos, MD
Associate Professor, Cardiology

Dr. Santos practices cardiology and interventional cardiology and often speaks to community groups about heart health -- sharing possible ways to lower cholesterol with diet and supplements.

Faculty Profile, Research and Publications

Area of Expertise: Pathology - Social Stress
Area of Expertise: Psychiatry - Research

Carol A. Shively, PhD
Professor, Pathology - Comparative Medicine

Shively investigates social stress effects on health, particularly women's health, including heart disease, obesity and depression, using non-human primate models. Her research focuses on how social stress, particularly the stress of low social status, increases the risk of coronary heart disease, depression, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and endometrial cancer. She uses non-invasive brain imaging to learn more about the brain mechanisms behind disease. She received the National Association for Women’s Health award for “Excellence in Research” and is listed in both Who’s Who of American Women and International Who’s Who. She has authored or co-authored more than 70 research papers.

Faculty Profile, Research and Publications

Area of Expertise: Incontinence
Area of Expertise: Men's Health

Ross Ungerleider, M.D., M.B.A.,
Chief of the pediatric cardiovascular surgery team and director of the pediatric heart program

Ungerleider has more than 25 years of clinical experience and is an expert in all congenital heart surgery procedures with special expertise in aortic valve surgery and hypoplastic left heart syndrome. He is certified in congenital heart surgery and is board certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. He is well recognized for his work in developing safe techniques to perform complete repairs of cardiac defects in tiny infants while protecting their neurologic outcomes. He is recognized as a physician thought leader on leadership, teamwork, conflict management and work life balance for physicians and often presents talks at national conferences on these topics. Dr. Ungerleider is the author of more than 300 peer-reviewed scientific papers and book chapters and editor of two major textbooks on cardiac surgery; he is the recipient of the James Carreras International Humanitarian Award in 2000 for his work performing heart surgery on children in Nicaragua; has been listed in Best Doctors and Castle Connolly’s Top Doctors in America for the past 12 years; holds Good Housekeeping recognition as one of the best pediatric cardiac surgeons in the U.S.

Faculty Profile, Research and Publications