WASHINGTON – Cindy Grines, MD, MSCAI, a world-renowned physician credited for pioneering percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for heart attacks, has assumed the office of president of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI). Grines’ tenure as president officially begins Saturday, May 16, during the SCAI 2020 Scientific Sessions Virtual Conference. Grines is the third female interventionalist to lead the Society. 

“Dr. Grines is a luminary in the field of interventional cardiology, and we are thrilled she will serve as SCAI president for the upcoming year,” said Francesca Dea, CAE, chief executive officer of SCAI. “During this tumultuous time in global history it will be invaluable to have Dr. Grines’ vast expertise and visionary mindset help steer a course for the future of interventional cardiology and how cath lab teams adapt their patient care. Her contributions and experience will ensure that SCAI advances in a way to best serve our members and their patients.”

A longtime, devoted member of SCAI, Grines has been an inaugural supporter of SCAI Women in Innovations (SCAI-WIN). SCAI-WIN is a worldwide effort devoted to improving the overall approach to the medical treatment of women with cardiovascular disease, as well as increasing the quality and scope of professional opportunities offered to female interventional cardiologists.

Currently serving as the chief scientific officer of the Northside Cardiovascular Institute in Atlanta, Grines has a long history of research, publications, and clinical trial design with more than 500 publications and numerous book chapters and review chapters. Grines serves on the editorial boards of several major journals both nationally and internationally and has co-edited several medical handbooks. Grines received her Doctor of Medicine from Ohio State University College of Medicine and completed her cardiology fellowship at the University of Michigan.

During her presidency, Grines plans to focus on diversity and inclusiveness across the Society, enhanced membership engagement, proactive digital education and access, continued engagement with our sister organizations, and to further increase SCAI’s visibility globally through educational and case-reviewed programs both regionally and internationally.

Other incoming officers of SCAI’s 2020-21 Executive Committee include Timothy D. Henry, MD, MSCAI, as president-elect, Sunil V. Rao, MD, FSCAI, as vice president, George D. Dangas, MD, MSCAI, as secretary, Peter L. Duffy, MD, FSCAI, as treasurer, Arnold H. Seto, MD, FSCAI, as associate treasurer, and Ehtisham Mahmud, MD, FSCAI, as immediate past-president.