Bio
I am a board-certified clinical cardiologist with a doctorate degree in Epidemiology & Biostatistics. I have been practicing medicine for nearly 30 years and I have over 20 years of experience conducting research. I was born and raised in Montreal, Canada, where I received my medical degree from McGill University in 1994. I then pursued training in surgery for nearly two years before switching into internal medicine. I completed my residency in internal medicine as well as a Master's degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics at McGill under the supervision of Dr. Samy Suissa before moving to Stanford University in 2001 to pursue fellowship training in adult cardiology. During my fellowship and Instructorship years at Stanford University, I completed a PhD in Epidemiology and Biostatistics in pharmacoepidemiology once again under Dr. Suissa's supervision.
My principal research focus since moving to Stanford has been the identification of the genomic determinants of coronary heart disease (CHD) and risk factors of CHD. This transition in my research focus occurred thanks to the sage advice and unique opportunities provided to me by Dr. Thomas Quertermous, former chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and my primary mentor for many years after my arrival to Stanford. Since that transition, I have devoted a majority of my time performing advanced population based studies on the genomic causes of heart attacks and the common conditions that predispose people to heart attacks including high cholesterol, smoking, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and insulin resistance. These research efforts go beyond the standard genetic variant association analyses and include analyses, interpretation, and integration of multi-omic data, construction and validation of polygenic scores, as well as Mendelian randomization, epigenetic association, and gene set enrichment analyses to help identify novel pathways of CHD in diverse populations.
In this context, I have heavily contributed to and/or led several translational team science endeavors at both the national and international level by representing Stanford in large consortia meta analyzing genomic data. These consortia include CARDIoGRAMplusC4D, GLGC, GIANT, GENESIS, TAICHI, and PAGE. I have also been an active Women's Health Initiative (WHI) investigator since 2010 serving as chair/co-chair of the WHI Genetics, Proteomics, and Biomarkers Scientific Interest Group and a member of the WHI Ancillary Studies Committee, while concurrently launching several genomic studies that have generated blood methylation, circulating miRNA, telomere lengths, and bulk RNA-seq resources within WHI. Through WHI, I have also served as a senior/key co-Investigator in NHLBI’s Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program where I have led whole genome sequencing projects related to CHD.
Starting in 2016, I became intricately involved in the Million Veteran Program (MVP) and have since served as a senior/key co-Investigator and/or a PI in multiple funded projects focused on the genetics of cardiometabolic traits. I also serve, or have served, as a co-chair of the MVP P&P Committee, the MVP CVD/Lipids Working Group, and the MVP COVID-19 Science Program Genomics and PRS Working Group. As a consequence of my heavy involvement in MVP, I was dually appointed (full-time) at the VA Palo Alto Healthcare System in 2018. In partnership with Dr. Phil Tsao, overall/national co-PI of the MVP, I hold key administrative positions and coordinate the local genomics research program within the newly formed Precision Health Service at the Palo Alto VA. Concurrently, I teach general cardiology as well as echocardiography to medical students, residents, and cardiology fellows-in-training at the Palo Alto VA Hospital echocardiography lab.
