WASHINGTON – The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) presented its Master Interventionalists of SCAI (MSCAI) designations during the SCAI 2020 Scientific Sessions Virtual Conference MSCAI recognition ceremony.

The MSCAI designation is awarded to individuals who have demonstrated excellence in invasive/interventional cardiology over the course of their career and for their commitment to the highest levels of clinical care, innovation, publication, and teaching.

This year’s MSCAI designations were awarded to the following group of outstanding interventionalists:

John S. Douglas, MD, MSCAI
Dr. Douglas is Professor of Medicine and Director of the Interventional Cardiology Fellowship Program at Emory University. He is a graduate of the University of the South and received his medical degree from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of North Carolina and at Emory University. Dr. Douglas was a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy Medical Corps and served at the Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base and in An Hoa, South Vietnam. He completed fellowship in cardiology at Emory University and subsequently joined the Emory University School of Medicine faculty and the Emory Clinic where he has practiced invasive and interventional cardiology. In 1980, Dr. Douglas was a member of the team that performed the first coronary angioplasty at Emory University Hospital and in 1987, the first coronary stent in the United States. He was a partner of the late Andreas Gruentzig, the inventor of coronary angioplasty and participated in the development of current coronary angioplasty and stent techniques. He has mentored over one hundred and fifty interventional cardiology fellows. He is currently listed in Castle Connolly Guide of America’s Top Doctors, Atlanta’s Top Doctors and The Best Doctors in America. He has received the American College of Cardiology Lifetime Achievement Award, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of the South and the SCAI Mason F. Sones, Jr., MD, Distinguished Service Award.

Donald J. Hagler, MD, MSCAI
Dr. Hagler completed his pediatric training at St. Louis University and one year of pediatric cardiology at UCLA. He completed his pediatric cardiology training at the Mayo Clinic and currently, carries a dual appointment at Mayo in the Departments of Pediatrics and Cardiovascular Diseases. He has been practicing both Pediatric Cardiology and Adult Congenital Heart Disease at Mayo since 1974.  He completed board certification in Pediatric Cardiology in 1975. He has held official ABIM certification in Adult Congenital Heart Disease since the exam was first offered in 2015 but had been practicing Adult Congenital Heart Disease for 40 years prior to taking that exam. 

From an academic perspective, Dr. Hagler has published over 200 manuscripts, co-edited 2 books, written over 50 book chapters, and at least 20 other research letters, commentaries, and editorials. He has held the academic rank of Professor since 1987. He has mentored numerous fellows and other trainees in research methods and clinical skills. Perhaps most impressively, Dr. Hagler served in the United States Navy as an active duty pediatrician early in his career, followed by 42 years in the United States Naval Reserve. 

Thomas K. Jones, MD, MSCAI
Dr. Jones is the Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at Seattle Children’s Hospital, a position he has held since 1991. He is a Professor of Pediatrics and Adjunct Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Jones has been a Fellow in the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions for over nearly 30 years. During that time, he has served the Society in many roles including committee chairperson, scientific program director, ELM Mentor and Board of Trustee member.

Augusto Pichard, MD, MSCAI
Dr. Pichard is Director Emeritus of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at the Medstar Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C. and medical director for Abbott Structural Heart, and Global Director of the TAVR program. He created the Interventional Cardiology Section at the Medstar Washington Hospital Center, with 10 cardiac cath labs, and three hybrid labs known for their highest quality, efficiency, and scientific achievements. He is a committed academician and is Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at Georgetown University. He is a dedicated teacher, and has trained many physicians in cath labs who are now leaders in the specialty around the world. 

Stephen R. Ramee, MD
Dr. Ramee has been a proud member of the SCAI for over thirty years. He completed his residency and Cardiology Fellowship at Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco and then spent two years at Walter Reed Army Hospital. While in the Army, he and his mentor, Dr. Christopher White, were active in research and clinical angioplasty, and co-invented the coronary angioscope, the fused silica ball tip laser, and the Wiktor Stent.  

Over the course of his career he has performed more than 50,000 angiograms and interventions and has been an international leader in coronary, carotid, intracranial, and peripheral vascular intervention. He also participated in the design and development and/or initial clinical use of numerous interventional devices.  He has performed procedures all over the world including live demonstration cases on every continent except Antarctica.  

He is a past chair for the SCAI Annual Meeting, and has authored or co-authored hundreds of scientific papers and remains active in teaching and referral clinical practice but mainly plans to focus his time and effort in the field of Structural Heart Disease for the remainder of his career.  

Samin K. Sharma, MD, MSCAI
Dr. Sharma is a renowned interventional cardiology expert in New York, well known for performing high-risk complex coronary interventions. He has received the prestigious two-star designation numerous times by the New York State Department of Health and the Governor’s Award of Excellence in Medicine in 1996. He has authored over 250 papers and 15 book chapters in the field of coronary interventions, structural heart disease and safety of percutaneous interventions. He is also a philanthropist, and The Mount Sinai Hospital Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory is now named the Dr. Samin K. Sharma Family Foundation Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory. Dr. Sharma has built a 250-bed heart hospital (EHCC) in his native Jaipur, India to provide the best care to all patients irrespective of their financial and social status.

Gregg W. Stone, MD, MSCAI
Dr. Stone is an interventional cardiologist and Director of Academic Affairs for the Mount Sinai Heart Health System with dual professorship appointments in Medicine (Cardiology) and Population Health Sciences and Policy. Dr. Stone is also the Co-Director of Medical Research and Education at the Cardiovascular Research Foundation in New York, NY. Dr. Stone has served as the national or international principal investigator for more than 120 national and international multicenter randomized trials (many of which have led to new device approval or indications in the US), has authored more than 2000 manuscripts and abstracts published in the peer-reviewed literature, and has delivered thousands of invited lectures around the world. With a 2018 H-factor of 152, Dr. Stone was recently listed in Nature Medicine as one of the most prolific authors in science.

Paul Teirstein, MD, MSCAI
Dr. Paul Teirstein is the Chief of Cardiology and Director of Interventional Cardiology for Scripps Clinic and Director of the Scripps Prebys Cardiovascular Institute for Scripps Health. He received training at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, The Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Stanford University, the Mid-America Heart Institute and the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Teirstein joined Scripps in 1987 and is the founder and director of the interventional cardiology training program at Scripps Clinic.

With a primary focus on complex coronary interventions and new technology development, Dr. Teirstein has played an active role in the initial development and clinical investigation of coronary stent procedures, rotational atherectomy, coronary angioscopy and the utilization of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO). Dr. Teirstein pioneered the first effective treatment for restenosis (low dose radiation therapy) and was one of the early investigators of drug eluting and bioabsorbable stents.  Recent areas of investigation include new technology for minimally invasive transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR).