Master of Ceremonies Matt Iseman Emmy Award-Winning TV Host and Comedian

 

Pulse-Setter Leader
Samuel Conaway

For an exceptional leader who demonstrates unwavering commitment to perform at an elevated standard of excellence.

Samuel Conaway

Starting as a cardiovascular technologist more than 30 years ago, Sam Conaway leveraged his cath-lab experience to become a passionate leader in the medical device industry. Sam is currently the president of U.S. cardiology sales at Boston Scientific and a member of the executive leadership team, where he provides strategic direction for the interventional cardiology division. He was instrumental in establishing Boston Scientific’s prominent position in complex PCI, LAAC, and structural heart valves. Under Sam’s authentic leadership and ability to imagine the future, the company has successfully launched many new products, thereby helping thousands of patients. As chairman of Close the Gap, Boston Scientific’s health equity program, Sam works relentlessly toward ensuring that all patients — regardless of gender, age, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation — understand their medical conditions and have access to therapies to help them live better lives.

 

Pulse-Setter Trailblazer
Doug Evans - Lungpacer Medical
Awarded to a program that creates innovative uses for emerging technologies.

Doug Evans on behalf of Lungpacer Medical

Lungpacer Medical is a clinical stage medical device company pioneering a diaphragm pacing therapy system for critically ill patients who require mechanical ventilation. This unique device has the potential to help mechanically ventilated patients return to natural breathing more quickly by improving diaphragm strength and lung function.

Doug Evans is an accomplished medical device executive, business leader, and strategist with 30 years of industry, public, and private company experience. A professional engineer, Doug is president and chief executive officer of Lungpacer Medical Inc. and is a serial innovator of first-of-kind products. He holds more than 200 patents covering dozens of devices used by more than 15 million patients worldwide and generating greater than $4 billion in end-user sales.

Doug is the co-founder of Cure4Cam Childhood Cancer Foundation, which seeks to raise community awareness about childhood cancers and supports the development of new and more humane therapies for children.

 

Pulse-Setter Crusader
Foluso Fakorede, MD

For demonstrating leadership, effecting positive change, adopting innovative methods to improve access to care, or making an exceptional impact on health care delivery and patient quality of life.

Foluso Fakorede, MD

A leading voice in the effort to reduce health disparities, Dr. Foluso Fakorede practices interventional cardiology in central Mississippi, where he founded Cardiovascular Solutions of Central Mississippi to provide quality health care in a region where it is often lacking. As the co-chair of the PAD Initiative of the Association of Black Cardiologists, Dr. Fakorede devotes himself to reducing peripheral arterial disease (PAD) and promoting limb-salvage. He has testified on Capitol Hill about the PAD epidemic and his Sprint to Zero Amputation Campaign, which promotes policies to stop unnecessary amputation. As a result of Dr. Fakorede’s care and efforts, he has reduced amputations by 88% over a three-year period in the Mississippi Delta.

 

Pulse-Setter Champion
Roxana Mehran, MD - Women As One

For demonstrating a commitment to fostering greater equity, diversity, and inclusion through mentoring and broadening the talent pool in health care settings.

Roxana Mehran, MD, on behalf of Women As One

Dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women in medicine, Women As One was founded by Dr. Roxana Mehran and Dr. Marie-Claude Morice in 2019. The organization builds a more inclusive, diverse, and equitable workforce in medicine by connecting female physicians to funding, training, and professional opportunities.

Internationally renowned for her work in clinical trials with complex data analyses and outcomes research, Dr. Mehran is a professor of medicine and director of interventional cardiovascular research and clinical trials at The Zena and Michael A. Weiner Cardiovascular Institute at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York.

A program director of CRF’s Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT), Dr. Mehran also is a co-founder and program chair of SCAI's Women in Innovations, a global initiative to create and strengthen opportunities for research, education, and professional advancement among female interventional cardiologists.

The Pulse of the City Gala

Heart disease remains the number one cause of death globally and affects millions around the world. The Cardiovascular Research Foundation (CRF) is one of the world’s leading nonprofit organizations dedicated to interventional cardiology innovation, research, and education. For more than 30 years, we have been helping doctors improve survival and quality of life for people with heart and vascular disease. Our signature scientific symposium is the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) conference, the world’s premier meeting in interventional cardiovascular medicine.

Our annual fundraiser has become a hallmark event of the holiday season, drawing hundreds of luminaries in cardiovascular medicine and other medical disciplines, as well as high-ranking leaders in government, business, and the community who are passionate about improving treatment for patients with heart and vascular disease. Now more than ever, CRF needs your support to help meet the needs of the growing prevalence of cardiovascular disease resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Funds raised at The Pulse of the City Gala allow CRF to pursue innovative areas of research, train tomorrow’s physician leaders, and educate the medical community and public about heart health.

This year, CRF is proud to inaugurate the 2022 Pulse-Setter Awards, to be presented to individuals who harness innovation in unique ways to improve access to medical care.

With your help, we can significantly reduce the worldwide health and economic burden of heart disease.

Co-Chairs:
Juan F. Granada, MD
Martin B. Leon, MD
Gregg W. Stone, MD

Support the Gala

Thank you for your interest in supporting our signature fundraiser. Proceeds benefit CRF’s medical research and educational programs. Your contribution will make a significant difference in the care of people with heart disease by allowing us to pursue innovative areas of research, train tomorrow’s physician leaders, and educate the medical community and the public about heart health. We are deeply grateful for your support.

Reserve a table or purchase tickets using the online form below.

You can make a secure, tax-deductible donation today to CRF – whether you are able to attend the gala or not.

SPONSORSHIPS
CRF offers several underwriting opportunities for the gala. To learn how you can become a sponsor, contact Irma Damhuis at 646-434-4690 or idamhuis@crf.org.

Premier ($55,000)
Includes an exclusive VIP cocktail reception, premier seating for 10, special recognition during program, recognition on digital signage, digital advertisement, and logo on CRF’s Gala website.

Leadership ($35,000)
Includes one table for 10 with premium seating, special thanks announcement during program, recognition on digital signage, digital advertisement, and logo on CRF’s Gala website.

Benefactor ($30,000)
Includes seating for 10 and recognition on digital signage.

Fellows
Please contact us for more information on special pricing.

TICKETS
Patron ($2,500)
Includes preferred seating for one person and recognition on digital signage.

Individual ($1,500)
Includes seating for one person.

ADS
Digital Advertisement ($3,500)

Please contact Judy Romero at 646-434-4608 or jromero@crf.org.

Past Honorees

About CRF

LET’S DEFY HEART DISEASE TOGETHER.

For over 30 years, CRF has been dedicated to helping doctors improve the survival and quality of life for people suffering from heart and vascular disease.

No other organization combines cutting-edge preclinical and clinical research with exceptional medical education to achieve one practical goal: to get better therapies into doctors’ hands quickly. By covering all aspects of the research continuum, we’re able to accelerate the speed that breakthrough therapies reach patients through doctors, so patients everywhere can live longer, healthier lives.

We need your help to accelerate our efforts so that more people can benefit from the medical advances being made each day. Together, we can give millions of people around the world hope for a brighter, healthier future.

Our Model to Defy Heart Disease

 

Cardiovascular Research Foundation


President and Chief Executive Officer
Juan F. Granada, MD


Faculty

Alexandre Abizaid, MD, PhD
Andrea Abizaid, MD, PhD
Ziad A. Ali, MD, DPhil
Ori Ben-Yehuda, MD
Daniel Burkhoff, MD, PhD
David J. Cohen, MD, MSc
Michael B. Collins, MD
George D. Dangas, MD, PhD
Anthony N. DeMaria, MD
Jose M. Dizon, MD
Philippe Généreux, MD
Isaac George, MD
Juan F. Granada, MD
Rebecca T. Hahn, MD
Allen Jeremias, MD, MSc
Nisha Jhalani, MD
Greg L. Kaluza MD, PhD
Dimitrios Karmpaliotis, MD, PhD
Omar K. Khalique, MD
Ajay J. Kirtane, MD, SM
Susheel Kodali, MD
Ioanna Kosmidou, MD, PhD
Nicholas J. Lembo, MD
Martin B. Leon, MD
Akiko Maehara, MD
Roxana Mehran, MD
Gary S. Mintz, MD
Jeffrey W. Moses, MD
Tamim M. Nazif, MD
Manish A. Parikh, MD
Sahil A. Parikh, MD
LeRoy E. Rabbani, MD
Robert J. Sommer, MD
Torsten P. Vahl, MD
Giora Weisz, MD
Geng-Hua Yi, MD

Board of Directors

Eric B. Woldenberg, Esq
Chairman
Joseph G. Beck
Colette Y. Gardner
Juan F. Granada, MD
William A. Himmelsbach, MPH, FACHE
Steven Hochberg
Karen G. Krasney, JD
Teresa Leste
Frank Litvack, MD
Jeffrey W. Moses, MD
Eric A. Rose, MD
Marvin L. Woodall