2023 Hero with Heart Awardee
Sanjeev Bhalla, MD
Heartworks St. Louis is pleased to honor Sanjeev Bhalla, MD, a professor of radiology and chief of cardiothoracic imaging at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR) at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. He also co-directs the body CT service at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. In 2015, Bhalla was named vice chair for education, where he helps oversee MIR’s programs for medical students, prospective trainees, current trainees and alumni. An alumnus of MIR’s diagnostic radiology residency and fellowship programs, he was named chief resident in 1998 and fellow of the year in 2000.
Bhalla currently serves as deputy editor of Radiology Cardiothoracic Imaging and is an active member of various organizations, including the American Roentgen Ray Society and the Society of Thoracic Radiology, where he is president-elect. He is the current Cardiopulmonary Trustee for the American Board of Radiology and a four-time winner of the Honored Educator Award from the Radiological Society of North America, where he was also named to the Board of Directors in 2020. Bhalla earned his medical degree from Columbia University in New York and his bachelor’s from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
2023 Lifetime Achievement Awardee
Reed Pyeritz, MD, PhD
Reed Pyeritz, a native of Pittsburgh, is the recently retired William Smilow Professor of Medicine, Emeritus, at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Pyeritz has long been recognized as an international authority on the genetics of cardiovascular disorders, especially Marfan syndrome and other hereditary aortic conditions. For over 40 years, he evaluated and counseled patients, conducted research on improving diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular syndromes, and educated health professionals at all levels of their careers. Other productive and satisfying areas of research focused on the ethics and economics of genetic services.
After obtaining an M.D. and Ph.D. at Harvard, he trained in internal medicine at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston and the Johns Hopkins Hospital. In 1977 during his first day at Johns Hopkins, one of the founders of the speciality of medical genetics, Victor McKusick, introduced him to a patient diagnosed with Marfan syndrome. Reed’s subsequent research focused on this condition and involved improving medical care, including leading the first trial that demonstrated the benefit of beta-adrenergic blockers, documenting the natural and clinical histories, which showed that by 2020 average lifespan improved to over 70 years, and co-leading the team that identified that mutations in fibrillin-1 cause Marfan syndrome. In 1979, he was instrumental in stimulating the creation of a family support group that evolved into the Marfan Foundation as we know it today. More recently, his research focused on all of the 'new’ clinical issues people with Marfan syndrome develop because they are now living much longer.
Pyeritz is the co-editor of the standard text in his field, Principles and Practice of Medical Genetics and Genomics, the 7th edition of which is in preparation. His bibliography lists over 700 publications. One of his fondest memories and deepest satisfactions is having collaborated and co-authored with hundreds of colleagues. In 1991, he was one of the founders of the American College of Medical Genetics and became its 2nd president. He also served as the president of the Association of Professors of Human and Medical Genetics. At Penn, he served as the chair of the University Faculty Senate and chair of the Medical School Committee on Appointments and Promotions. He served in the U.S. Army Reserve Medical Corps as a Lieutenant Colonel and was on active duty during Operation Desert Storm.
In his spare time, he competed in road races (PR of 2:51 in the Boston Marathon), was a nationally ranked masters triathlete, and for 15 years co-held the Guinness Book of World Records for the 100-man, 100-mile relay. Now, after multiple joint replacements, he is content with walking.
One irony of his professional career is his own diagnosis 8 years ago of a bicuspid valve and ascending aortic aneurysm. After successful valve replacement and careful follow-up of his aorta, he is even better prepared to relate to and counsel others with aortic conditions.
