Longitudinal Knowledge Assessment
George Bittar, MD, Chair
Dr. Bittar is the Director and General Manager of Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories and Cardiovascular Services at the Union Hospital System in Terre Haute, Indiana. Dr. Bittar is also the president of Providence Medical Group, a large multispecialty practice. He has more than 30 years of experience as an interventional cardiologist and is very active in clinical practice and medical education. Dr. Bittar is board certified in Cardiovascular Diseases and Interventional Cardiology. He is board certified by the American Board of Vascular and Endovascular Medicine as well as by the National Lipid Association. He is also a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine Cardiovascular Board Interventional Cardiology Exam Committee.
Before going into private practice, Dr. Bittar was full-time academic faculty member at the State University of New York, Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse, New York. There, he was the Director of the Catheterization Lab at the VA Medical Center and was highly involved in teaching medical residents and cardiology fellows. He continues to teach medical students about cardiovascular medicine as clinical faculty at the Indiana University School of Medicine. He has a great interest in the interplay of different atherosclerosis risk factors—particularly lipids—and the development of vascular diseases.
Dr. Bittar attended medical school at Aleppo University School of Medicine in Aleppo, Syria. He then completed an internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at Brooklyn Hospital in Brooklyn, New York. This was followed by a fellowship in interventional cardiology at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Later, he continued further interventional training at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Indianapolis, IN. In addition, he also completed a master’s in business administration in healthcare at George Washington University in Washington, DC.
As of April 2024, Dr. Bittar reported the following external relationships:
Dr. Bittar serves in significant roles with the following organizations, receiving reimbursement or compensation as listed:
- Cardiovascular Management Corporation, LLC, managing member
- Indiana State University
- Providence Medical Group, president and founder
- Union Hospital, Quality Board, member; Cardiovascular Service Line, director
M. Chadi Alraies, MD, MPH, FACC, FSCAI
Dr. Alraies is the Medical Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory and Cardiac Rehabilitation Interventional Cardiology Research at Detroit Medical Center. Dr. Alraies’s clinical and research interests are focused on complex coronary interventions, mechanical circulatory support, medical education and digital media as learning tools for physicians. He has published more than 300 manuscripts in major peer-reviewed journals and several book chapters on the outcome of coronary interventions, mechanical circulatory support and transcatheter aortic valve replacement.
As of May 2024, Dr. Alraies reported no ongoing external relationships.
Darpan Bansal, MD, FACC
Dr. Bansal is an interventional cardiologist and Vice President of Baltimore Heart Associates in Baltimore. He is board certified in Cardiovascular Disease and Interventional Cardiology as well as Nuclear Cardiology and Echocardiography. He is a fellow of American College of Cardiology. Dr. Bansal is extensively involved in cardiology training and teaching of medical students and residents at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, which is affiliated with both Johns Hopkins University and the George Washington School of Medicine. He has been voted "Top Doc of Baltimore" by Baltimore Magazine for multiple years. Previously, Dr. Bansal served on the ABIM Item-Writing Task Force in cardiovascular disease. He joined the Interventional Cardiology LKA Approval Committee in 2023. He has also authored several peer-reviewed articles on topics of importance to the cardiology and interventional cardiology community.
Dr. Bansal received his medical degree from All India Institute of Medical Sciences in India, a premier institute consistently ranked number one in the country. He completed his interventional cardiology fellowship at Emory University in 2010.
As of May 2023, Dr. Bansal reported no ongoing external relationships.
Georges Ephrem, MD
Dr. Ephrem is a clinical and interventional adult congenital, coronary and structural heart diseases specialist. He is the Director of Structural Heart Interventions at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center/Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA Medical Center and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, the American College of Cardiology and the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions. He is board certified in cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology, echocardiography, nuclear cardiology and adult congenital heart disease.
Dr. Ephrem has received awards and peer recognition for his research. His main investigative interest is outcomes research in the adult congenital heart disease population, especially in the transition of proven therapies in the general patient population to the adult congenital population. He has published a series of articles, including many in the highest impact journals pertaining to this field, as well as innovative approaches in catheterization of cardiac patients in general, and the adult congenital population in particular.
Dr. Ephrem completed his internal medicine residency and cardiovascular disease fellowship in New York along with a chief resident year and a Master of Science in clinical research methods. His clinical adult congenital heart disease training was at Emory University in Atlanta. He completed his interventional training at William Beaumont in Michigan and his structural and congenital interventional fellowship at the University of Toronto.
As of September 2023, Dr. Ephrem reported no ongoing external relationships.
Jonathan D. Marmur, MD
Dr. Marmur is a Professor of Medicine and Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory at SUNY Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn. He received funding from several organizations, including the Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation, the Medical Research Council of Canada and the National Institutes of Health, to support his research in interventional cardiology at Mount Sinai Medical Center.
Dr. Marmur has trained hundreds of physicians and served on the editorial boards of The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, The Journal of Cardiovascular Revascularization Medicine and The Journal of Invasive Cardiology. His research initially focused on the vascular response to injury using various devices such as excimer lasers and directional coronary atherectomy. With a focus on coagulation, he has contributed significantly to the basic science literature on hemostasis and thrombosis in the setting of vascular injury. Dr. Marmur holds a patent for the biomarker TIMP [tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase], which may predict future adverse events such as myocardial infarction and death. His work in gene therapy and genomics has contributed to using recombinant DNA and viral vector technologies in models of human arterial disease. Currently, Dr. Marmur is focused on the Downstate Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory GeneBank and Biorepository, a repository of molecular genetic, angiographic and historical data on patients who have undergone cardiac catheterization.
Dr. Marmur earned his medical degree from Laval University, completed his residency in internal medicine at McGill University and pursued a cardiology fellowship at the University of Toronto.
As of March 2024, Dr. Marmur reported no ongoing external relationships.
Traditional, 10-Year MOC Exam
Dominick J. Angiolillo, MD, PhD, Chair
Dr. Angiolillo, who is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease and Interventional Cardiology, is Professor of Medicine and serves as the Director of Cardiovascular Research, Program Director, of the Interventional Cardiology Fellowship program, and Staff Cardiologist and Interventional Cardiologist at the University of Florida Health System. He joined the University of Florida College of Medicine-Jacksonville in 2004.
Much of Dr. Angiolillo's professional career has been devoted to cardiovascular research in the field of interventional cardiology and acute coronary syndrome. His largest national and international recognition has been for his pivotal contributions in the field of thrombosis. He has performed seminal studies on platelet function and modulation of antiplatelet drug response, including genetic studies, for which he has received numerous national and international academic recognitions, including being named to Thomson Reuters' 2014 and 2015 list of The World's Most Influential Scientific Minds. He has also been a key investigator in the clinical development of numerous novel antithrombotic agents. His success in obtaining extramural funding has allowed to him to develop one of the most active clinical research centers in the United States.
Dr. Angiolillo has authored more than 300 peer-reviewed articles and 30 book chapters, and he is the editor of his own textbook on antithrombotic medicine. He has also been invited to deliver numerous lectures across the globe. In addition to holding active membership in many cardiovascular societies in the Unites States and Europe, Dr. Angiolillo is on the editorial board of numerous cardiovascular journals and acts as a scientific reviewer for many major journals and extramural funding agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and other federal funding agencies in several European countries.
Dr. Angiolillo graduated summa cum laude from the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart Medical School in Rome, Italy, where he completed training in medicine and cardiology. He subsequently pursued training in interventional cardiology at the Complutense University of Madrid in Spain. He received his doctoral degree in cellular and molecular cardiology.
As of July 2023, Dr. Angiolillo reported the following external relationships:
Funding for clinical trial expenses and staff, paid to the University of Florida, from the following companies:
- Amgen, for a trial on the use of a PCSK9 inhibitor
- AstraZeneca, for a trial on ticagrelor
- Bayer, for a trial on the use of a low-dose novel oral anticoagulant
- Chiesi, for a trial on cangrelor
- CSL Behring, for trials on raising high-density lipoprotein cholesterol
- Idorsia, for a trial on a new antiplatelet
- Janssen, for a trial on rivaroxaban
Service on a research-related expert panel or advisory board for the following companies, with compensation as listed:
- Amgen, advising on evolocumab, receiving reimbursement for travel and honoraria
- AstraZeneca, advising on ticagrelor, receiving reimbursement for travel and honoraria
- Bayer, advising on a new formulation of aspirin, receiving reimbursement for travel and honoraria
- Boehringer Ingelheim, advising on dabigatran, receiving reimbursement for travel and honoraria
- Bristol-Myers Squibb, advising on apixaban, receiving reimbursement for travel and honoraria
- Daiichi Sankyo, advising on edoxaban, receiving reimbursement for travel and honoraria
- Haemonetics, advising on a platelet functional device, receiving honoraria,
- Janssen, advising on rivaroxaban, receiving reimbursement for travel and honoraria
- Pfizer, advising on apixaban, receiving reimbursement for travel and honoraria
- PLx Pharma, advising on a new formulation of aspirin, receiving reimbursement for travel and honoraria
- Sanofi, advising on clopidogrel, receiving reimbursement for travel and honoraria
Consulting on design of new drugs or devices, clinical trials, the use of specific agents or other research-related activities for the following companies, receiving honoraria:
- PLx Pharma, for development of a new aspirin formulation
Work funded by educational grants from industry from the following companies:
- AstraZeneca, receiving salary support
- Bayer, receiving salary support
- Sanofi, receiving salary support
Industry-supported continuing medical education supported by the following, with compensation for travel expenses and honoraria:
- Janssen, for an acute coronary syndrome lecture
Teaching in satellite symposia funded by the following companies, with compensation for travel expenses and honoraria:
- Chiesi, for an acute coronary syndrome, percutaneous coronary intervention lecture
Receiving other compensation from nonprofit health care-related organizations from the following:
- The National Institutes of Health, for service on a data safety and monitoring board, receiving consulting fees
Steven R. Bailey, MD
Dr. Steven Bailey, is a Distinguished Professor of Medicine and Radiology in the Janey and Dolph Briscoe Division of Cardiology at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio, Texas. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Internal Medicine with Board certification in Cardiovascular Diseases and Interventional Cardiology. Dr. Bailey's clinical focus is interventional procedures to treat structural and valvular heart disease as well as vascular blockages. He currently has research laboratories that are investigating the effects of NOX subtypes in promoting cardiovascular disease and translational research in the field of nanotechnologies and nanosensors.
Dr. Bailey is a past President of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) and is currently the Editor in Chief of Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions (CCI Journal) and is on the editorial board of JACC Intervention and the American Journal of Cardiology. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians, American College of Cardiology and a Master Fellow of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Intervention. He is a member of the Association of University Cardiologists, Association of Cardiology Professors and the International Andreas Greuntizig Society.
Dr. Bailey received his undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Oregeon in Eugune, Oregon and his medical degree from the University of Oregon Health Science Center in Portland, Oregon. He completed his internship, internal medicine residency and cardiovascular fellowship at Fitzsimmons Army Medical Center in Aurora, Colorado.
As of April 2024, Dr. Bailey reported the following ongoing external relationships:
Service on data and safety monitoring boards for the following companies, with honoraria:
- Abbott
- Boston Scientific
James C. Blankenship, MD, MHCM
Dr. Blankenship is a practicing, board certified interventional cardiologist at Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pennsylvania, Director of the Geisinger cardiology department and catheterization laboratories, and an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Temple University Medical College.
He represents the American College of Cardiology (ACC) to the American Medical Association Relative Value Update Committee for the past 12 years and co-chairs the ACC Current Procedural Terminology/Relative Value Update Committee Task Force. Dr. Blankenship is immediate past-President of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions and is currently a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine Cardiovascular Board Interventional Cardiology Exam Committee. He has co-authored over 200 scientific abstracts and publications.
Dr. Blankenship earned his medical degree from Cornell University Medical College in New York. He completed his internship, residency and cardiology fellowship at the University of Michigan. In 2014, he received his master's degree in healthcare management from the Harvard School of Public Health.
As of July 2023, Dr. Blankenship reported the following external relationships:
Post-marketing clinical research, with funding provided to Geisinger Medical Center, from the following companies:
- Zoll, national principal investigator for a study on supersaturated oxygen in anterior myocardial infarction
Dr. Blankenship serves in significant roles with the following organizations, receiving reimbursement or compensation as listed:
- The American College of Cardiology (ACC), committee advising the ACC on valuation of physician services, co-chair, receiving reimbursement for travel expenses
- The American Medical Association, Relative Value Update Committee, member, receiving reimbursement for travel expenses
- The United States Food and Drug Administration, Circulatory Devices Panel, member, receiving reimbursement for travel expenses and honoraria
Kirk N. Garratt, MD, MSc
Dr. Garratt is Medical Director, Heart & Vascular Health and the John H. Ammon Chair of Cardiology with Christiana Care Cardiology Consultants, part of the Christiana Care Health System. He is board certified by the ABIM in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease and Interventional Cardiology.
In 2005, he joined Northshore-Long Island Jewish (LIJ), Lenox Hill Hospital and Lenox Hill Heart and Vascular Institute in New York, serving as staff interventional cardiologist, Director of Cardiac Intervention, Director of Cardiovascular Research, Director of the interventional cardiovascular fellowship program, and Associate Chair of Cardiovascular Medicine responsible for quality and process improvements. He left the Northshore-LIJ health system in 2015 with the academic title of Professor of Medicine.
Prior to his time at Lenox Hill, Dr. Garratt spent 17 years at Mayo Clinic as Associate Professor of Medicine and consultant for the Department of Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Diseases. He also served as Chair of the Department of Cardiology at Franciscan-Skemp Medical Center, a Mayo affiliated hospital in La Crosse, Wisconsin. During his time there, Dr. Garratt participated in many Mayo firsts: first directional coronary atherectomy, first laser coronary angioplasty, first coronary stent procedure, and first coronary intervention at a Minnesota hospital without on-site bypass surgery.
Dr. Garratt is actively involved in professional associations and societies, nationally and internationally, as a committee member and leader to advance interventional methods to improve patient care and outcomes. He serves on medical advisory boards, task forces and steering committees, and presents at conferences and symposiums worldwide. He is a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine Cardiology Board Interventional Cardiology Exam Committee. Dr. Garratt is also past President of The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI).
He has participated in clinical research for more than 30 years, authored more than 300 publications, and is a reviewer and editor for multiple medical journals. Dr. Garratt has earned awards, recognition and grants for academic achievement, research, teaching and mentorship.
Dr. Garratt earned his medical degree from University of California College of Medicine, Irvine. He completed an internship in internal medicine at Los Angeles County-UCLA Harbor Medical Center, a residency in internal medicine at Duke University Medical Center, and a fellowship in clinical cardiology at University of California Center for Health Services. Additionally, Dr. Garratt was part of the inaugural graduating class of interventional cardiology fellows trained at the Mayo Clinic and Foundation in Rochester, Minnesota.
As of July 2023, Dr. Garratt reported the following external relationships:
Dr. Garratt serves in significant roles with the following organizations, receiving reimbursement or compensation as listed:
- The American Heart Association, Board of Directors, without compensation
Julie Miller, MD
Dr. Miller is Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at the Johns Hopkins University and Hospital. Her position includes clinical care, fellow training, clinical research, mentoring and quality improvement at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and throughout the Johns Hopkins Health System, where she also serves as Director of the Vascular Cardiology Program and Director of the Quantitative Angiographic Imaging Laboratory. Dr. Miller is a full-time faculty member at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and is board certified in Cardiovascular Disease and Interventional Cardiology. Dr. Miller serves as a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine Cardiovascular Board Interventional Cardiology Exam Committee.
She founded and is the Executive Director of the Maryland Academic Consortium of Percutaneous Coronary Intervention Appropriateness and Quality, an organization dedicated to professional improvement. She has served on numerous national committees including the American College of Cardiology (ACC) National Cardiovascular Data Registry (NCDR) Management Board, the ACC-NCDR Cath-PCI Leadership Committee, and the American Heart Association Clinical Interventional Cardiovascular Care committees. She has served on national expert consensus-writing committees, including Expert Consensus Document for Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories, and Expert Consensus Document for Coronary Computed Tomographic Angiography (CTA).
Dr. Miller has published extensively in the fields of general and interventional cardiology. She is an accomplished clinical investigator, including leading the pivotal international imaging trial of coronary CTA and conventional angiography. She is also a recognized physician educator, lecturing nationally. Her most recent endeavors have focused on interventional procedural quality improvement through collaborative peer review and quantitative measures.
Dr. Miller graduated cum laude, with majors in both chemistry and biology, from St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minnesota. She received her medical degree from the University of Minnesota Medical School. She trained in internal medicine and completed her fellowship training in cardiology and interventional cardiology at Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
As of April 2024, Dr. Miller reported the following external relationships:
Dr. Miller manages peer review service contracts between Johns Hopkins University and other hospitals and health care systems.
Syed T. Rab, MD
Dr. Rab is a Professor and an Interventional Cardiologist at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. He joined its faculty in 1988 where he is extensively involved in the training and teaching of general cardiology and interventional cardiology fellows. He is ABIM Board Certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiology and Interventional Cardiology and is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and Society of Coronary Angiography and Interventions.
Dr. Rab currently serves on the Publications Committee and the Leadership Committee of the Interventional Section Leadership Council of the American College of Cardiology, where he is the chair of the complex angioplasty group. He was the former chair of the Interventional Section's publication committee, having authored or coauthored twelve peer reviewed articles on topics of importance to the interventional community.
Dr. Rab received his Medical degree in 1979 from the University of Karachi Pakistan. Between 1983 and 1986, he completed residency training in internal medicine at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. He trained at Emory University between 1986-1990 in cardiology and interventional cardiology
As of July 2023, Dr. Rab reported the following ongoing external relationships:
Dr. Rab serves in significant roles with the following organizations, receiving reimbursement or compensation as listed:
- The American College of Cardiology, ACC/AHA Joint Committee for Guidelines, member; JACC Cardiovascular Intervention Editorial Board, member, without compensation
- The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, American Bifurcation Club, Member, Leadership Committee Communications, Member, receiving honoraria
- Cardiovascular Revascularization Medicine, Editorial Board, member, without compensation