Clinical Faculty
Boaz Avitall, MD, PhD - Professor of Medicine; Director, Research and Clinical Electrophysiology Services; recipient of National Institute of Health and Veteran Administration funding for research in atrial fibrillation ablation. Dr. Avitall is a pioneer and inventor. He holds numerous patents in cardiac arrhythmia ablation and has published extensively on the subject. He is one of the first to test endocardial atrial fibrillation ablation. He introduced linear ablation technology to the field of atrial fibrillation ablation. Dr. Avitall and Dan Lafontaine were the first to examine cryo balloon technology for the isolation of pulmonary veins. He has done extensive work on the long-term harms of chronic atrial fibrillation. Recently, he has researched endocardial LV pacing for cardiac synchronization and atrial fibrillation suppression in the pursuit of wireless pacing technology. Dr. Avitall developed and introduced web-based, remote home heath care monitoring for the management of heart failure, hypertension and diabetes. He has coauthored numerous articles on the efficacy of home health care monitoring and is the recipient of several SBIR and STTR grants for the testing of this technology. bavitall@uic.edu
Joan Briller, MD - Assistant Professor of Medicine, Director of the Womens Health Program and of the Treadmill Exercise Laboratory. She has had a long interest in women's issues in cardiac disease, especially with regard to the more difficult diagnosis of heart disease in women, gender differences in risk factors and therapy, and in pregnancy and heart disease. Clinical interests include echocardiography and she has now cared for several hundred women who were pregnant with cardiac complications. She has been a participant in numerous clinical trials addressing reducing cardiovascular risk in women and was recent honoree of the American Heart Association for her contributions to that organization and her commitment to addressing cardiac issues in women. briller@uic.edu.
Eva Chomka, MD - Associate Professor of Medicine; Dr. Chomka is a noninvasive cardiologist who pioneered electron beam-ultrafast CT at the University of Illinois starting in 1984. Her currents interests include cardiac CT: all aspects including extensive coronary calcium, CT angiography, echocardiography and MR imaging. Women and heart disease, preventive and integrative cardiology (including botanical medicine and mind-body medicine), imaging congenital heart disease, diabetes mellitus, metabolic syndrome, and osteoporosis in relation to cardiovascular disease are other areas of interest. She invites patients to participate and consciously transform their lives. evchomka@uic.edu
Robert Danziger, MD - Associate Professor of Medicine, Physiology, and Pharmacology. Primary research interest hypertension and genetics of complex disorders such as high blood pressure. Recipient of National Institute of Health, Veterans Administration, and American Heart Association funding. rdanzig@uic.edu.
Leon Frazin, MD - Professor of Clinical Medicine; Director of Echocardiography at Jesse brown VA Hospital and Director of Transesophageal Echocardiography Services at UIC Hospital. In 1975 he introduced transesophageal echocardiographic methodology which today is used worldwide. Research work with ultrasound since that time has included the first description of helical blood flow in the descending aorta, development of ultrasonic techniques for heart catheterization without X-ray, modification of the transesophageal probe for evaluation of abdominal aortic branches and establishing anatomic landmarks for imaging the descending aorta. He holds multiple patents on ultrasound technology. lfrazin@uic.edu.
Samuel Dudley, MD, PhD (View lab Web site »)
Professor of Medicine and Chief, Section of Cardiology, recipient of National Institute of Health, Veterans Administration and American Heart Association funding. Dr. Dudley’s research focuses on cardiac biology. He has contributed to understanding the structure, regulation, and pathophysiology of the cardiac sodium channel, including 1) describing the function of the promoter, 2) describing transcriptional effects of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS), 3) identifying a new gene for Brugada syndrome, and 4) identifying transcription dysregulation in human heart failure (HF). These discoveries have lead to a plausible hypothesis for the anti-arrhythmic effects of RAS inhibitors, a possible blood test to predict arrhythmic risk in HF, and a potential new treatment for this risk. He is investigating how the RAS system and reactive oxygen species contribute to atrial fibrillation (AF) by downregulation of channels involved in impulse conduction. AF results in increased oxidative stress, most predominantly in the left atrium. This endocardial remodeling contributes to the propensity for thrombus formation in this chamber and may represent part of the reason for the success of ablation strategies focused on this chamber. This line of investigation has led to insights into oxidative stress and diastolic HF, a potential new blood test for AF risk, and a human clinical trial to see statins will reduce atrial fibrillation (AF) recurrences. Finally, he has developed a tissue engineered approach for cardiac cell replacement. He was one of the earliest figures in the development of embryonic stem cells for this use and recently described a new approach to increase cell engraftment. scdudley@uic.edu.
Abraham G. Kocheril, MD, FHRS - Professor of Medicine; pioneer in catheter ablation of atrial fibrillation and cardiac resynchronization therapy for heart failure, has led multicenter trials and spoken internationally on atrial fibrillation. Research interests also include cardiac evaluation of athletes, the electrophysiologic effects of harp music on the heart, and chaos modeling of cardiac electrical oscillations. A dedicated teacher, he has received teaching awards from every institution he has been affiliated with. akocheri@uic.edu
George T. Kondos, MD - Professor of Medicine; Chief, Clinical Cardiology Service, recipient of NIH funding and American Heart Association Funding. Dr.Kondos is co-investigator on five NIH sponsored grants evaluating subclinical cardiovascular disease on various cohorts. Dr. Kondos’ research interests focus on the evaluation and detection of subclincal cardiovascular disease using Electron Beam Computed Technology. Dr. Kondos has been a pioneer in the field of early detection of cardiovascular disease. Dr. Kondos’ clinical interests include diagnostic cardiac catheterization and hemodynamic assessment, cardiovascular prevention, early detection of cardiovascular disease, diagnosis and management of coronary disease, heart failure and valvular heart disease. Dr. Kondos has also developed one of the few Cardiovascular Teaching Centers in the Midwest using Harvey, a patient mannequin, to simulate twenty-seven different cardiovascular diseases. The Cardiovascular Simulation Center houses two Harvey mannequins, a Heart Sound Simulator, and numerous multimedia computer assisted instruction programs. gtkondos@uic.edu
Adhir Shroff, MD, MPH - Assistant Professor of Medicine; Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Service. Dr. Shroff is a cardiac and peripheral interventionalist. His research interests relate to outcomes research in PCI, quality of care, medication adherence, and gender disparities. arshroff@uic.edu
Tom Stamos, MD - Assistant Professor of Medicine, Director of the UIC Cardiology Fellowship Program, Director of the UIC Heart Failure Program and Director of the Outpatient Heart Center, participant in numerous trials investigating novel therapies and diagnostic strategies inpatients with congestive heart failure. His clinical areas of interest include heart failure and echocardiography. His research interests involve the study of novel pharmacologic agents for the treatment of heart failure and risk predication in heart failure patients using non-invasive imaging techniques. tstamos@uic.edu
Mladen Vidovich, MD - Assistant Professor of Medicine; Director of the Chest Pain Center at the Jesse Brown VA, is an interventional cardiologist with clinical interests in coronary and peripheral intervention as well in CT angiography. His research interests are in clinical outcomes, vascular depression and emerging technologies. He is a participant in several clinical trials investigating intervention in ST elevation myocardial infarction and new pharmaceutical agents in non-ST elevation myocardial infarction. He is the Director of the UICORE UIC Division of Cardiology Center for Outcomes Research. Dr. Vidovich is Co-Director of the Heart and Mind Clinic, an interdisciplinary project between the departments of Medicine/Cardiology and Psychiatry to focus on an integrative approach in the comprehensive evaluation and management of comorbid cardiovascular and brain conditions, such as mood disorders. miv@uic.edu.
