Faculty

Our team of educators, researchers, and clinicians is focused on enhancing care for people with heart disease and ensuring the next generation of cardiac specialists have the skills, training, and experience to make a difference in the future of heart care — from prevention and diagnosis to innovative treatment and rehabilitation. Our researchers are tirelessly seeking heart care breakthroughs to improve the quality of life for people with all types of heart disease.

Residents and post-doctoral students benefit from the leading-edge research being conducted and a wealth of expertise — such as our unmatched outcomes for our interventional, electrophysiology, and surgical programs. Our innovative procedures and expertise make us one of the busiest centers in the state, with the lowest morbidity/mortality and length of stay.

Both patients and trainees benefit from the wealth of expertise of our faculty and our multispecialty, collaborative approach to care and research. Our advanced heart failure program brings together experts in cardiac electrophysiology, acute cardiac care, interventional cardiology, cardiac surgery, hypertension, and heart failure technology to help patients manage symptoms and experience a higher quality of life. Similarly, our specialized shock and pulmonary embolism response teams (PERT) bring together a multidisciplinary group of specialists to plan the best course of action and coordinate care for these patients.

Our researchers are seeking a better understanding and more effective therapies for a wide range of heart diseases. These are just a few of the areas we are currently exploring:

• COVID-19 – We are involved in several studies to understand the virus and its cardiac effects, including the long-term effects of the virus on the heart, evaluating residual virus symptoms, participating in the American Heart Association’s COVID-19 registries, and investigating post-COVID-19 cardiac abnormalities in athletes.
• Atrial fibrillation – We are the only institution funded by the NIH to conduct the LEAF study, investigating adjunctive medical therapy to improve the outcomes of catheter ablation. Other NIH-funded studies focus on novel mapping and diagnostic approaches for atrial fibrillation.
• Coronary artery disease and heart attack – We are studying a temporary ventricular assist device during percutaneous coronary intervention (Shield II study) and looking at STEMI care advancements and how they can improve outcomes in patients 65 and older (Safe STEMI for Seniors).
• Diabetes – Our researchers are studying stem cell infusion therapy for endothelial dysfunction (ACESCO study) in people with diabetes.
• Heart failure – We are investigating innovative devices, such as a papillary muscle sling, the V-wave interatrial shunt (RELIEVE-HF study), Carillon right heart transcatheter mitral valve repair (TMVR) device, and the Cordella pulmonary artery pressure sensor system (PROACTIVE-HF trial).

Additionally, we are committed to discovering better ways to help people prevent heart disease and seek attention in the earliest stages through a suite of prevention programs for heart attack, diabetic heart disease, risk for sudden cardiac death, and COVID-19. We are also participating in the Million Hearts Initiative, a nationwide effort to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes within five years. Our cardiac rehabilitation team is pursuing a 70% participation rate for eligible patients in this initiative.

Whether we are working with patients or training tomorrow’s heart specialists, we focus on one-on-one attention. For residents and post-doctoral students, that means a strong focus on continuous quality improvement and mentorship.

People throughout Florida count on the Miller School for leading heart care expertise — and we embrace this responsibility. Our goal is to provide tomorrow’s heart specialists with the knowledge, experience, and training they need to deliver the very best care to their patients and become leaders in their fields. We are committed to providing our patients the best state-of-the-art care and the best of what will be the future state-of-the-art care.