“Sex-Specific Risk Factors for Cardiovascular Disease in Women”
Tuesday, April 7, from 12-1 p.m.
Health Sciences Learning Center Room 1335
or on the Video Library
Light snacks and refreshments served, while supplies last
Join us for the AΩA Visiting Professor Excellence in Medicine Lecture. This annual grand-rounds style medical lecture is designed to showcase the medical contributions of this year’s AΩA Visiting Professor, a distinguished UW School of Medicine and Public Health alumnus.
We are honored to welcome Athena Poppas, MD ’89, the Director of Brown University Health Cardiovascular Institute at Rhode Island, Miriam, and Newport Hospitals, and the Chief of the Cardiology Division and Professor of Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Poppas’s clinical and research areas of focus are echocardiography and the treatment of patients with valvular heart disease and heart disease during pregnancy. Dr. Poppas’s lecture will explore how cardiovascular disease affects women differently from men and why recognizing these differences is essential for improving diagnosis and treatment. It will also highlight current trends in cardiovascular health, explain how risk is assessed, and outline key factors that influence outcomes.
Athena Poppas, MD ’89:
2025 AOA Dr. David de Harter and Diane de Harter Visiting Professor.
Athena Poppas, MD ‘89, is the Director of Brown University Health Cardiovascular Institute, at Rhode Island, Miriam, and Newport Hospitals, and is Chief of the Cardiology Division and Professor of Medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University. Dr. Poppas received a Bachelor of Science degree from Brown University and a Doctor of Medicine from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics and fellowship in Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Chicago Hospital.
Her clinical and research areas of focus are in echocardiography and in treating patients with valvular heart disease and heart disease during pregnancy, and has over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 200 international invited lectures. Poppas is currently a board member of the World Heart Federation and a member of the WHO Innovation Lab for NCD in women. She has held numerous leadership roles within the American College of Cardiology including President and Board Chair 2020, chair of the ACC Annual Scientific Session in 2015- 2016, chair of the Women in Cardiology Section, chair of the ACC Sections Steering Committee and chair of the ACC Governance Committee. Dr. Poppas is also a Fellow of the American Society of Echocardiography, where she has served on committees, including ethics, nominating and scientific programs.
Generous gift makes visiting professorship possible
DJ de Harter, MD, is a retired radiation oncologist and medical director who grew up in Wisconsin and earned his medical degree from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in 1968.
As a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Medical Society and a philanthropist, Dr. de Harter — along with his late wife Diane — decided to create the David J. and Diane L. de Harter/Alpha Omega Alpha Visiting Professorship at his alma mater.
They hope their gift will encourage other physicians and families to consider what they might do through activism or targeted giving to help the profession of medicine.