Yale University
Principal Investigator (PI), Steering Committee

Dr. Nanna is an Assistant Professor and Interventional Cardiologist at Yale School of Medicine, specializing in coronary interventions, with a focus on the care of older adults living with coronary artery disease and multiple chronic conditions. His research interests center around improving risk prediction, evidence generation for existing therapies, and shared decision- making in older adults at risk for or living with cardiovascular disease. He is the recipient of several research awards including a GEMSSTAR (Grants for Early Medical/Surgical Specialists’ Transition to Aging Research) award from the National Institute on Aging to address the medical needs of older adult patients at high risk for cardiovascular disease and dementia, as well as a geriatric cardiology professional development award from the American College of Cardiology (ACC) Foundation supported by the George F. and Ann Harris Bellows Foundation and a Pepper Center REC Small Grant Award. In collaboration with the Yale Pepper Center, he is the national PI for the LIVEBETTER trial, a PCORI randomized trial of anti-anginal therapies in older adults with stable ischemic heart disease and multiple chronic conditions.

Yale University
Project Manager

Mary Geda is the Project Manager of the LIVEBETTER trial. She has over 25 years' experience in the research field with experience that ranges from recruiting participants into drug and device trials to running national coordinating centers. She managed several national cardiology studies including SILVER-AMI, a research study to develop and validate risk stratification tools for older adults admitted to the hospital with an Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI) and VIRGO, the largest prospective observational study of young and middle-aged women and men with AMI designed to examine sex differences in the presentation, treatment, and outcomes of young and middle-aged patients with AMI. Ms. Geda is currently the Associate Program Director for the Yale Program on Aging and is excited to have an opportunity to contribute to this important clinical trial.

Yale University
Site Investigator, Steering Committee

Jeptha P. Curtis, MD, is a Professor in the Section of Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale School of Medicine. He received his medical degree from the Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons before training in internal medicine at the Duke University Medical Center and completing his fellowships in clinical and interventional cardiology at Yale. Dr. Curtis directs the American College of Cardiology Analytic Center at CORE. He has also led the development of registry-based outcome measures for CMS examining 30-day mortality following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and ICD and currently oversees the maintenance of the registry measures, contributes to the development of new measures, and assists in the development of approaches to cardiovascular surveillance. In addition to his role on the LIVEBETTER study, he is currently conducting a mixed methods research study of hospitals that perform PCI (TOP PCI). Through critically examining the practice of interventional cardiology, Dr. Curtis hopes to improve the quality of care delivered to patients with coronary artery disease and those undergoing PCI.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Site Investigator, Steering Committee

Dr. Ajar Kochar is an interventional cardiologist with a deep passion for the intersection of interventional cardiology and critical care. He completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and subsequently pursued a fellowship in cardiology at Duke University. As part of his cardiology fellowship at Duke, he pursued a research fellowship at the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI) focused on learning clinical research skills in outcomes investigations and randomized clinical trials. While engaged in his DCRI fellowship, he obtained formal research training through a master’s in health sciences from Duke University. He joined the faculty of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in October 2019 and currently serves as the program director for the Interventional Cardiology Fellowship. He has also developed an interest in Geriatric Cardiology, especially where it intersects with critically ill patients, and is currently leading several analyses examining the role of frailty in cardiogenic shock.

Duke University
Site Investigator, Steering Committee

Dr. Michelle Kelsey is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at Duke University. She practices as a general cardiologist at Duke University in the Cardiometabolic Clinic and at the Durham VA Medical Center. She completed her residency in internal medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (Massachusetts) and subsequently pursued a fellowship in cardiovascular disease at Duke University. She specializes in cardiovascular prevention, with a focus on hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and lifestyle changes that can help improve quality of life over the long-term. Her research interests include the full spectrum of cardiovascular disease and metabolic conditions, with a particular focus on lipid management, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular risk assessment. She also works as an investigator at the Duke Clinical Research Institute, where she has been involved in several clinical trials on evaluation for stable angina, use of metformin in pre-diabetes, and implementation of type 2 diabetes care.

Duke University
Site Investigator, Steering Committee

Dr. Schuyler Jones is an interventional cardiologist, and his clinical interests include peripheral artery disease, coronary artery disease, and percutaneous coronary intervention. He currently serves as the Director of the Duke University Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory. Dr. Jones is also the medical director of the Duke Heart Center Clinical Research Unit (that oversees site-based research within the Heart Center) and director of site-based research in the Duke Cardiac Catheterization Laboratories at Duke. Dr. Jones works as an investigator at the Duke Clinical Research Institute where he has been part of the leadership team for several clinical trials across a broad spectrum of cardiovascular care, including CAD, PAD, PCI, and CABG. In addition to his role on the LIVEBETTER study, he is a co-principal investigator of the PCORI-funded demonstration project called Aspirin Dosing: A Patient-Centric Trial Assessing Benefits and Long-Term Effectiveness (ADAPTABLE) study. He is also the chair of the Recruitment and Retention Core for the PREVENTABLE study which will enroll 20,000 patients over 75 years of age without established cardiovascular disease at PCORnet and Veterans Affairs centers.

Yale University
Steering Committee

Eric J. Velazquez, MD, the Robert W. Berliner Professor of Medicine, is an internationally recognized authority in heart failure, cardiovascular clinical trials, and cardiac imaging. Dr. Velazquez serves as the section chief for Cardiovascular Medicine for Yale School of Medicine and the Physician-in-Chief of the Heart and Vascular Center for Yale New Haven Health. Additionally, he is the Deputy Director, Clinical Trials Innovation at the Yale Center for Clinical Investigation. Velazquez chose to pursue a career in cardiovascular medicine twenty years ago and has facilitated multicenter clinical research programs and quality initiatives with substantive focus and impact on vulnerable and underserved populations at high medical risk. As a clinical investigator, he has made major contributions in the design, development, and implementation of landmark clinical trials that have altered international guidelines and the treatment of patients with chronic heart failure. Today, much of his research and clinical work focuses on the intersection between heart failure and coronary heart disease.

Yale University
Site Investigator, Steering Committee

Jennifer Frampton, DO, MPH, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology at Yale School of Medicine. She completed her medical training, inclusive of residency, fellowship, and interventional cardiology training at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Dr. Frampton practices as an interventional cardiologist at Yale New Haven Hospital, and her clinical interests include coronary artery disease and performing procedures including coronary angiography and percutaneous coronary intervention. In her clinic, she focuses on long term management of cardiovascular disease, with an emphasis on longevity and maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle. Her research interests include the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and diagnosis of STEMI, and the applications of percutaneous coronary interventions. She is enthusiastic about joining the LIVEBETTER team, as the goal of the study is to further understand how to best manage our aging population with coronary artery disease.

Yale University
Steering Committee

As a board-certified geriatrician and epidemiologist, Dr. Gill has performed ground-breaking research on the epidemiology and prevention of disability, a challenging and complex problem of immense importance to older persons, their families, and society. He directs the Yale Center on Disability and Disabling Disorders, which conducts longitudinal studies and clinical trials to enhance the scientific knowledge base of the disablement process and to rigorously evaluate promising intervention strategies. Dr. Gill has had a leadership role in the Yale Program on Aging and National Institute on Aging (NIA)-sponsored Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center for the past 20 years and has served as its director since 2010. He Is a prior recipient of an NIA MERIT Award and has authored more than 370 original reports. During the past 25 years, Dr. Gill has acquired considerable experience and expertise in the design and implementation of high-quality single site and multi-center clinical trials among vulnerable older persons.

Inova Center of Outcomes Research
Site Investigator, Steering Committee

Abdulla A. Damluji, MD, PhD is the Director of The Inova Center of Outcomes Research in Falls Church, VA. He is a practicing interventional cardiologist and structural heart disease specialist at the Inova Heart and Vascular Institute. Dr. Damluji is an Associate Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He obtained a Master of Public Health (MPH '07) and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD '20) in Clinical Investigation from the Johns Hopkins University, where he served as a Pepper Scholar at the Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center. His NIH-funded study, Frailty and Resiliency in Older Adults with Acute Myocardial Infarction, examines health outcomes, geriatric syndromes, and multisystem dysregulation in older adults undergoing cardiovascular interventions. He is a Dean's Scholar in the Executive MBA Programs (Stern DC '23; Concentration Finance and Business Analytics) at NYU Stern School of Business. Dr. Damluji is dedicated to the study of cardiovascular aging and improving the quality of life for older adults living with cardiovascular disease.

Cardiac Care and Vascular Medicine
Site Investigator, Steering Committee

Dr. Nanna is a Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine in the Cardiology Division of Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He currently serves as the Medical Director at Cardiac Care & Vascular Medicine, a companion practice to Nirvana Integrative Medicine. Dr. Nanna is also an Associate Editor at Wiley, a global leader in publishing, education, and research. He previously served as Director of the Coronary Care Unit and Director of the Cardiac Ultrasound laboratory at Jacobi Medical Center. Dr. Nanna received his Doctor of Medicine at the University of Bari, in Bari, Italy and completed a fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Southern California. His research interests are extensive, with particular focus on cardiac ultrasonography, congestive heart failure, ischemic heart disease, and valvular heart disease. Most recently, he co-authored a study that explored whether 99m Tc-radiolabeled fibroblast activation protein inhibitor imaging can detect early myocardial fibrosis in hypertensive patients. Dr. Nanna’s practice actively participates in numerous advanced clinical trials and aspires to remain at the forefront of cardiovascular innovation.

Nirvana Integrative Medicine
Site Investigator, Steering Committee

Dr. Rafique is the CEO and Medical Director at Nirvana Integrative Medicine in Bronx, New York. She received her medical degree from SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn and MPH from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. Dr Rafique has extensive knowledge in mind body medicine, integrative holistic medicine, and patient centered care and wellness models, and is a Diplomate from the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine. She has been an active member of the Bravewell Collaborative and participated in the Integrative Medicine Summit at the National Academy of Medicine. Dr. Rafique has a comprehensive history of community outreach, with particular focus on Women’s Health, cancer screening and prevention, and health issues that are prevalent in South Asia. She has presented abstracts at the SGIM National Meetings, covering topics such as Hormone Replacement in Multi-Ethnic Urban Populations and Osteoporosis in Urban Minority Populations. Her clinical interests include Public Health, Holistic Primary Care, and Preventative Health.

Yale University
Investigator, Lead Diversity Supplement; Steering Committee

Dr. Norrisa Haynes is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Yale University. She has served on the ACC/AHA joint guidelines committee, ACC FIT Women in Cardiology group (WIC), and the AHA Metabolic Writing Group. Dr. Haynes currently serves on the board of the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) and as co-chair of the global health committee. She completed medical school and internal medicine training at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. During medical school, she received a Master of Public Health (MPH) from Harvard University. After residency, she worked for Partners in Health (PIH) in Haiti for 2 years at Hôpital Universitaire de Mirebalais (HUM). After spending 2 years in Haiti, Dr. Haynes started her cardiology fellowship at UPenn, during which time she teamed up with her co-fellows and faculty members at UPenn to deliver virtual instruction to residents at the PIH Hospital in Mirebalais. Inspired by her work in Haiti, she founded the global cardiovascular health non-profit Global MedEd with her founding partners. Dr. Haynes’ clinical interests include echocardiography, global cardiovascular health, Implementation Science, and Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR).

Mount Sinai
Site Investigator, Steering Committee

Dr. Krishna Patel is an Assistant Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Population Health Science and Policy at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Director of Cardiac PET service at Mount Sinai Morningside Hospital. She also serves as core faculty within the Blavatnik Family Women’s Health Research Institute. Dr. Patel completed her medical school at N.H.L Municipal Medical College in Gujarat, India before moving to the US for further training. She completed her internal medicine residency at the Cleveland Clinic, a combined T32-cardiovascular outcomes research and clinical cardiology fellowship at Saint Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute and University of Missouri-Kansas City, and advanced cardiovascular imaging training at Mid America Heart Institute and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital before joining Mount Sinai as faculty. Dr. Patel has extensive expertise in advanced multimodality CV imaging and outcomes research, with a special focus on women and older adults and on patient-centered outcomes such as symptoms, function, and quality of life. Her clinical interests include women’s heart health, geriatric cardiology, angina with non-obstructive coronaries or microvascular angina, and cardiovascular prevention.