Call from February 28th, 2025 featuring Dr. Sammy Zakaria

Dr. Zakaria is an Associate Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM). Because he specializes in critical care cardiology, he predominately works in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center (JHBMC) as well as the Cardiac Care Unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH). He also serves as the Director of the JHBMC CICU.

His practice encompasses most of cardiology, with many of his patients having had life-threatening cardiac issues, such as shock, end-stage heart failure, or multi-organ system failure. He also has an interest in caring for pregnant women with cardiovascular disease, including those with severe preeclampsia, and his clinical research efforts focus on the effects of preeclampsia on the cardiovascular system. Additionally, his other research areas of interest include critical care issues affecting cardiac patients and studying innovations in medical education.

Happy Birthday to our host, Dr. G!

Call from February 21st 2025, featuring Dr. Shireen Khoury.

Shireen Khoury MD, MPH, specializes in Vascular Medicine and Preventive Cardiology in Baltimore, Maryland. She received her medical degree from George Washington University School of Medicine and has been in practice between 11-20 years. Dr. Shireen Khoury has expertise in treating obesity, aneurysm, hypertension, among other conditions

Call from February 14, 2025 featuring cancer experts Dr. Susan Gapstur & Dr. Otis Brawley.

If you're interested in this topic, make sure to check out Part 1 from January 13th, 2025!

Dr. Susan Gapstur is an epidemiology consultant with over 30 years of scientific experience researching medical, biological and lifestyle determinants of cancer risk including alcoholic beverage consumption. She was senior vice president of the Behavioral and Epidemiology Research Group at the American Cancer Society before embarking on her current work producing a comprehensive review and evaluation of the scientific evidence on the potential reduction in alcohol-related cancer risk due to reduction or cessation of alcoholic beverage consumption.

Otis Brawley is professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and 39th Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Brawley leads a broad interdisciplinary research effort of cancer health disparities at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, working to close racial, economic and social disparities in the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer in the United States and worldwide.

Call from January 31, 2025 featuring Dr. Pouneh Razavi

Dr. Pouneh Razavi is the Director for Breast Imaging in the National Capital Region (NCR). She oversees breast imaging operations at the Sullivan Breast Center at Sibley Memorial Hospital and Johns Hopkins Medical Imaging in Bethesda. Dr. Razavi earned her medical degree from Georgetown University School of Medicine. She completed a residency in radiology at Georgetown University Hospital, followed by a fellowship in breast imaging at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Prior to joining the Sullivan Breast Center in 2008, Dr. Razavi was an attending physician and breast imager at Georgetown University Hospital.

Dr. Razavi is a member of the Medical Advisory Committee for Project WISH (Women Into Staying Healthy), member of the Medical Advisory Committee for the Judith Lese Foundation, Society of Breast Imaging, National Consortium of Breast Centers, and Radiological Society of North America. She has published articles and presented at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) on a radiologic pathology course. She has a strong interest in Breast MRI and has been an invited speaker at local hospitals and associations, including presenting grand rounds at Prince William Hospital on the utility of breast MRI. She has presented on the breast cancer symposium on screening for breast cancer, and at the Sibley Memorial Hospital Breast Health: Knowledge Is Power seminars and Suburban Hospital Knowledge is Power seminar.

Call from January 24, 2025 featuring Dr. Clifford Mitchell.

Dr. Mitchell's work has focused on several areas: indoor environments; public health practice particularly related to environmental and occupational health; development of surveillance systems for environmental and occupational health, including development of Maryland's Environmental Public Health Tracking program at the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; and training of health professionals and para-professionals, particularly as it relates to preparedness.

Special thanks to Dr. Marcie Johnson, who filled in for Kimberly this week!

Call from September 20, 2024 featuring Dr. Paul O'Rourke.

Dr. Paul O'Rourke is an Associate Professor of Medicine and serves as Assistant Dean for Medical Student Affairs at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. O'Rourke co-directs the Johns Hopkins Medical Education Pathway, a longitudinal medical education training program for Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins Bayview internal medicine residents. He directs the Outpatient Medicine Curriculum of the Johns Hopkins Bayview Internal Medicine Residency. He spends the majority of his time teaching and advising medical students and internal medicine residents. He is involved in medical education research with a particular focus on primary care education and advocacy, humanism in medicine, high value care, and health disparities. He is active on the national level through the Society of General Internal Medicine (SGIM) and the Association of Program Directors in Internal Medicine (APDIM). He currently serves as a national councilor for APDIM.

Call from January 17, 2025 featuring Dr. Laundette Jones.

Dr. Laundette Jones is Deputy Director of the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) Program in Health Equity and Population Health. She is also an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Epidemiology and Public Health and Pharmacology. Dr. Jones is a biosocial researcher with broad training and expertise in the basic biomedical sciences and community and population health. For over 15 years, Dr. Jones led a research laboratory utilizing cell culture and animal models to identify genetic and environmental risk factors for breast cancer. She received international recognition for her contributions towards understanding of the relationship between BRCA1 mutations, sex hormone levels, and cancer risk. Her recent completion of the M.P.H. degree has uniquely positioned Dr. Jones to build transdisciplinary research teams (from basic scientists, clinicians, public health experts, to communities) that seek to address cancer health disparities through the understanding of the interplay of biological, environmental, and social factors. Currently, her research program utilizes a participatory health research approach to create community-academic partnerships that share and co-generate knowledge to produce comprehensive, context-specific strategies for eliminating cancer health disparities.

Call from January 10, 2025, featuring Dr. Otis Brawley.

Otis Brawley is professor of oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and 39th Bloomberg Distinguished Professor at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Brawley leads a broad interdisciplinary research effort of cancer health disparities at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center, working to close racial, economic and social disparities in the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer in the United States and worldwide.