Womens Cardiovascular Symposium Faculty

Colleen Harrington, MD

Dr. Colleen Harrington earned her medical degree from Drexel University College of Medicine and was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. She was the recipient of The Janet M. Glasgow Memorial Achievement Citation of the American Medical Women’s Association for academic excellence, The Beatrice Sterling Hollander, MD Award for leadership, high character and creativeness in the medical profession and the William Likoff, MD Award for distinction in the care of medical patients and academic excellence.

She completed her clinical training in Internal Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital and received the Normal D. Anderson Award by the Osler Internal Medicine Residency for outstanding, compassionate care in the ambulatory setting. She served as chief resident (Assistant Chief of Service) of the Osler Medicine House Staff Program and Instructor of Medicine of the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She then completed her cardiovascular fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital which included an advanced fellowship in echocardiography and coronary CT angiography.

Prior to joining Massachusetts General Hospital, Dr. Harrington was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and then at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School where she was awarded the Early Career Achievement Award in Medicine and Research in 2020. She also served as the Associate Program Director of the cardiovascular fellowship program and Co-Director of the cardiovascular disease and pregnancy clinic.

Dr. Harrington is a faculty member of the Women’s Heart Health Program and Cardio-Obstetrics Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is an Associate Program Director of the MGH cardiovascular fellowship program. Her clinical and research interests include cardiovascular disease in women, cardio-obstetrics, preventive cardiology, and noninvasive cardiovascular imaging. She is board certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Medicine, Echocardiography and Coronary CT angiography. She is the current Governor of the Massachusetts Chapter of the American College of Cardiology.

Tim Henry, MD, FACC, MSCAI

Dr. Timothy D. Henry is the Medical Director of The Carl and Edyth Lindner Center for Research and Education at The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio. Prior to The Lindner Research Center, he was the Chief of Cardiology at Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars Sinai Medical Center and a Professor of Medicine at Cedars-Sinai and UCLA from 2013 to 2018, and the Director of Research at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis and a Professor of Medicine at the University of Minneapolis from 2001 to 2013.

He has published over 750 manuscripts and book chapters and has served as principal investigator and steering committees of multiple large, multicenter research trials in acute myocardial infarction, refractory angina and regenerative medicine with gene and stem cell therapy. He is Principal Investigator for 2 large STEMI registries, The Midwest STEMI Consortium and the North American COVID STEMI registry. Among other awards, Henry has been named to the “Best Doctors in America” list each year for the last 15 years, became a Master Fellow for the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) in 2015, received the American Heart Association’s Heart and Stroke Hero Award in Research in 2013, the LUMEN Global Lifetime Achievement Award in MI in 2012, and most recently was awarded the Cincinnati 2021 Health Care Heroes Award, Innovator. He was the President of The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) (2021-2022).

Esther Kim, MD, MPH

Dr. Kim is a cardiologist and vascular medicine specialist and the Director of the Center for Women’s Cardiovascular Health at Atrium Health, Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute in Charlotte, NC, and Professor of Medicine at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. Dr Kim received her undergraduate and medical degrees at Duke University and a master’s degree in public health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She completed internal medicine residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital and fellowships in cardiovascular medicine and vascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic. She specializes in uncommon arterial disorders including spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD) and fibromuscular dysplasia (FMD), and is the national PI of the iSCAD Registry, an international SCAD registry which has enrolled over 2,000 patients since 2019. She co-chaired the AHA Scientific Statement on SCAD and was an author on the International Consensus Statement on FMD. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission Vascular Testing Division, is the Immediate Past Chair of the PVD Council of the AHA, and is the President of the Society for Vascular Medicine.

Emily S. Lau, MD, MPH

Dr. Emily Lau is a women’s cardiovascular health specialist and investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Lau directs the Cardiometabolic Hormones and Health Clinic in the Corrigan Women’s Heart Health program. Dr. Lau’s laboratory focuses on understanding how biologic sex differences and female-specific cardiovascular risk factors contribute to the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease uniquely in women. She leads a clinical-translational research program that applies multi-dimensional molecular profiling (multi-omics), imaging, exercise physiology, and data science to large scale cohorts, electronic health record data, and patient-oriented studies to advance mechanistic understanding of women’s cardiovascular health and disease. Dr. Lau’s research is supported by the NIH/NHLBI, American Heart Association, and the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center.

Dr. Lau received her undergraduate degree in Human Biology at Brown University, MD from the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and MPH at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She trained in Internal Medicine at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where she also served as Chief Medical Resident. She completed fellowships in Cardiovascular Disease and Advanced Echocardiography at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Lau is the recipient of the Roman W. DeSanctis Clinical Scholar Award, the Claflin Distinguished Scholar Award, the 2024 ACC Douglas P. Zipes Distinguished Young Scientist Award, and the 2025 American Society of Clinical Investigation Young Physician Scientist Award.

Jen Lewey, MD, MPH

Dr. Lewey is a cardiologist at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. She is the Director of the Women’s Cardiovascular Health Program and Co-Director the Pregnancy and Heart Disease Program. Dr. Lewey has clinical expertise in caring for pregnant and postpartum patients with cardiovascular complications such as preeclampsia and preeclampsia and peripartum cardiomyopathy. She runs a research program focused on improving outcomes and reducing racial disparities in maternal cardiovascular health using clinical trials, implementation science, and mixed methods approaches.

Laxmi Mehta, MD

Dr. Laxmi Mehta is a noninvasive cardiologist and Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at The Ohio State University (OSU) Wexner Medical Center. She is the Chief Well-Being Leader and Faculty Director of the Gabbe Well-Being Office at OSU’s Medical Center and College of Medicine. She holds the Sarah Ross Soter Endowed Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health and is the Director of Preventative Cardiology and Women’s Cardiovascular Health. She is also the Associate Vice Chair of Wellnessforthe Department of Internal Medicine. She is a past-president of the Ohio Chapter of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and had previously served two terms as Secretary/Treasurer for the Ohio-ACC Chapter. She has served on several national ACC committees, and currently is the Chair of the Membership Committee. She is the past-president of the metro-Columbus American Heart Association and currently is the Chair of the Clinical Cardiology Council. She specializes in cardiovascular disease prevention, women’s cardiovascular health, professional well-being, burnout, and cardiac imaging. She received her medical degree from Northeastern Ohio Universities Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy (6-year BS/MD program). She completed her Internal Medicine residency training, Clinical Cardiology fellowship training and advanced imaging (Level 3 CT/MRI) training at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Michigan.

Jennifer H. Mieres, MD

Jennifer H. Mieres, MD, is a professor of Cardiology and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs at the Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra Northwell. As Senior Vice President of Northwell Health’s, Center for Equity of Care, she has oversight of and provides strategic guidance for Northwell’s raising health for all and health equity initiatives. Under Dr Mieres’ leadership Northwell Health has been recognized as a top Health system for Advancing Health Equity, most notably by Fair 360 as a “top 10” healthcare institution for a measurable commitment to raising health for all. A graduate of Bennington College and Boston University School of Medicine; she is a Fellow of The American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Cardiology (ACC), and Master of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) and served as the first female President of the ASNC in 2009. Dr. Mieres’ clinical focus and research are centered on the elimination of health and gender disparities and cardiovascular disease in women. Dr Mieres has authored/co- authored over 80 scientific publications, including as lead author of the 2005 and 2014 AHA cardiac imaging guidelines for women. A longstanding AHA volunteer, prolific communicator and patient advocate, Dr Mieres co-authored several books including in 2022 Heart Smarter for Women; Six weeks to a Healthier Heart (Advantage) and Reigniting The Human Connection : A Pathway to Diversity Inclusion and Health Equity (ForbesBooks). Following her Emmy-nominated documentary A Woman’s Heart, (2001); her creative ingenuity evolved as an executive producer of additional documentaries including as an Executive producer of the award-winning women’s health documentary “Ms.Diagnosed” which premiered at the Cinequest film festival in 2020. Dr Mieres is a recipient of several prestigious awards, including the 2022 ACC Distinguished Service Award and the 2022 national AHA Physician of The Year Award and in 2025 the American Medical Women’s Association’s Lila A Wallis award for her lifetime contribution to advancing women’s health.

Hope O’Brien, MD, MBA, FAHS, FAAN

Dr. Hope O’Brien is a distinguished neurologist and expert in headache medicine, recognized for her significant contributions to the field of neurology and her innovative approach to patient care. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience with Honors Distinction for Research from the University of Rochester in New York. Building on this strong foundation, Dr. O’Brien pursued her medical degree at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, where she also completed her residency in Adult General Neurology.

Dr. O’Brien is board certified in both Neurology and Headache Medicine, and she holds an Executive MBA degree, which complements her clinical expertise with strong business acumen. Her research is particularly focused on late adolescents and young adults with headaches, and she has authored over 75 peer-reviewed publications, abstracts, and book chapters.

In June 2021, Dr. O’Brien founded the Headache Center of Hope, a pioneering direct-to-consumer and concierge neurology practice dedicated to addressing the needs of patients of all ages suffering from recurrent headaches. This practice reflects her commitment to providing personalized and accessible care.

Modele Ogunniyi, MD, MPH, FACC, FACP, FAHA

Dr. Modele Ogunniyi is a Professor of Medicine and Master Physician with the Division of Cardiology at Emory University. She also serves as Director of the Georgia CTSA Clinical Research Center (GCRC) at Grady Memorial Hospital and the Associate Medical Director of the Grady Heart Failure Program.

She obtained her medical degree from the prestigious University of Ibadan, Nigeria, and holds a Master of Public Health degree, as well as a Certificate in Health Finance and Management from Johns Hopkins University. Her postgraduate training includes a preventive medicine fellowship at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, residency in internal medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine, and cardiology fellowship at Vanderbilt University.

Dr. Ogunniyi's research is distinguished by its unique approach to addressing the social determinants of health and eliminating disparities in cardiovascular disease, as well as its contributions to clinical trial representativeness, palliative care in heart failure, and cardiovascular disease in women. She serves as Principal Investigator for several clinical trials. Her passion for mentorship and creating equitable pathways to diversify the workforce in Medicine is evident in her work. In recognition of her efforts, she received the Emory School of Medicine Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion Award, in addition to several mentoring and teaching awards, including the R. Wayne Alexander Research Mentoring Award, Emory At Grady Excellence in Teaching Award, EMPACT Outstanding Attending Mentor, and the Outstanding Research Mentor Award by the Emory Internal Medicine Residency Program. Her commitment to mentorship, a crucial aspect of her professional journey, is deeply felt by her mentees and is a testament to her dedication to the next generation of medical professionals.

Dr. Ogunniyi's service extends beyond her research and mentorship. She serves on the editorial board of Clinical Cardiology. Her active membership and volunteer work in many professional organizations, including the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the American Heart Association (AHA), and the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC), where she currently serves on the Board of Directors, underscore her commitment to the medical community. In addition to her involvement in various professional organizations, Dr. Ogunniyi has held/holds leadership positions on national committees, including as Co-Chair of the ABC Membership Committee and the National Hypertension Control Roundtable, Board of Directors of the National Forum for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention, and Chair-Elect of the AHA QCOR Scientific & Clinical Education Lifelong Learning Committee. She is also a member of the Cardiovascular Disease in Women and Diversity and Inclusion Committees of the ACC and the Women’s Health Science and Women in Cardiology Committees of the AHA.

Dr. Ogunniyi's unwavering commitment to global health is not just a part of her work but a testament to her dedication to health equity. As Vice President of the Health Awareness Initiative Africa, a nonprofit organization, she leads the mission to promote healthy lifestyles in African communities through screening and education.

Odayme Quesada, MD, MHS, FACC, FAHA, FESC

Dr. Odayme Quesada, MD, MHS, FACC, FAHA, FESC is a distinguished clinician-scientist, board-certified cardiologist, and Assistant Professor at the University of Cincinnati serving as the Medical Director of the Women’s Heart Center at The Christ Hospital Heart and Vascular Institute and holding the Ginger Warner Endowed Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health. Dr. Quesada’s earned both her MD and MHS degrees from Yale University School of Medicine, followed by an internal medicine residency at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Her advanced training in cardiovascular research fellowship at the Cedars-Sinai Smidt Heart Institute. In 2020, Dr. Quesada was recruited to establish the lead The Women’s Heart Center and the Coronary Microvascular and Vasomotor Dysfunction (CMVD) program, a testament to her vision and leadership in the field. She continues to drive advancements in women’s cardiovascular care and CMVD by leading multiple NIH-funded and multicenter clinical trials. Dr. Quesada’s profound community outreach, and advocacy has been widely recognized with prestigious accolades, including the Cincinnati Business Courier’s Health Care Heroes Innovator Award, the Forty Under 40 Award, and the Jewel of the Community Award.

Nandita S. Scott, MD, FACC, FASE

Dr. Scott earned her MD from the University of Ottawa in Canada, where she also completed her Internal Medicine and Cardiology Residencies, serving as Chief Resident in both programs. She completed an echocardiography and clinical research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) from 2000 to 2002. In 2007, she co-founded the MGH Corrigan Women’s Heart Health Program, which has since evolved into a robust clinical, educational, and research hub. She also established the MGH Cardiovascular Disease and Pregnancy Program, forging a formal collaboration between cardiology, maternal-fetal medicine, and obstetric anesthesia—fundamentally transforming and enhancing patient care in this area.

Dr. Scott is the inaugural director of the integrated Mass General Brigham Women’s Heart Health Program and was a founding investigator for the HOPE pilot study in collaboration with St. Luke’s in Kansas City, MO, which aims to characterize outcomes in a cohort of women with heart disease during pregnancy. She serves on the steering committee for the NHLBI-funded study, encompassing 36 sites across the country.

A recognized leader in the care of patients with spontaneous coronary artery dissection (SCAD), Dr. Scott was invited to join the steering committee of the iSCAD international collaboration of expert centers. Her work has earned several accolades, including the 2020 Women’s Heart Research Award from the Massachusetts Medical Society. Recently, she was selected as part of the first cohort of the Mass General Brigham Healthcare Leadership Program and also serves as the Director of Cardiovascular Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Jennifer Sumner, PhD

Dr. Jennifer Sumner is a clinical psychologist and Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). She is the Director of the Sumner Stress Lab at UCLA, and her program of research lies at the intersection of the psychological and physical health consequences of trauma exposure. The work of the Sumner Stress Lab examines how experiences of trauma and severe stress relate to accelerated aging and risk for chronic disease, with a particular focus on cardiovascular disease—the leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Additionally, Dr. Sumner investigates how acute cardiovascular events may serve as potentially traumatic events that can impact both the psychological and cardiovascular health of patients. The goal of this research is to ultimately develop targeted interventions to offset risk for adverse mental and physical health after traumatic experiences. Dr. Sumner received her Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Pomona College and her Masters and PhD in Clinical Psychology from Northwestern University. She completed her predoctoral internship program at the Charleston Consortium (Traumatic Stress Track) and received postdoctoral training as an Epidemiology Merit Fellow at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.

Kim Allan Williams Sr., MD, MACC, FAHA, MASNC, FESC

Dr. Williams is the Chair of Medicine at the University of Louisville. He specializes in general cardiology, preventive cardiology and cardiovascular radiology. He is a past president of the American College of Cardiology and the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, and former Chairman of the Board of the Association of Black Cardiologists. As chief of cardiology at Wayne State University, he founded the Urban Cardiology Initiative, and the H.E.A.R.T. program (Helping Everyone Assess Risk Today) at Rush University, screening for heart disease and intervening with education, nutrition, and lifestyle improvement. His career has focused on advocacy for national nutrition education, eradication of national and international health care disparities, improved healthcare access, overall health system reform, sustainable health care financing, and increased access to advanced cardiac imaging. Dr. Williams has served as a consultant for both the FDA and CMS and as a delegate to the AMA for over 25 years. He was also an active participant on the Task Force established in 2022 to advise the White House Conference on Nutrition, Health, and Hunger.

Malissa Wood, MD

Dr. Wood completed her undergraduate and medical degrees in the combined B.A/M.D program from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, followed by training in internal medicine and cardiovascular medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center/Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, where she served as Chief Medical Resident. Dr. Wood joined the staff of Massachusetts General Hospital in 2000, where she held co-directed the Corrigan Women’s Heart Health Program and the MGH Multidisciplinary SCAD Program. Dr. Wood served as the Associate Chief of Cardiology for Diversity and Health Equity. Dr. Wood is on the Steering Committee of the iSCAD Registry and is a past Chair of the ACC Board of Governors and former Trustee and Secretary of the ACC. She most recently served as the Vice President and Chief Physician Executive of the Lee Health Heart Institute in Fort Myers, Florida and Professor of Medicine at the Florida State University College of Medicine. She is the 2025 recipient of the ACC Bernadine Healy Leadership in Cardiovascular Disease in Women Award.

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2025 Symposium Faculty