Martha Gulati, MD, MS, FACC, FAHA
Division Chief, Cardiology
UA College of Medicine
Physician Director
Banner - University Medicine Heart Institute
Phoenix, AZ

Dr. Martha Gulati is a Professor of Medicine and the Chief of Cardiology at the University of Arizona. She held the Sarah Ross Soter Chair in Women’s Cardiovascular Health and was the Section Director for Women’s Cardiovascular Health and Preventive Cardiology at The Ohio State University until 2015. She is the author of the best-seller, Saving Women’s Hearts. She is the Editor-in-Chief of the American College of Cardiology (ACC)'s CardioSmart, the patient education and empowerment initiative. She serves as the chair of the national chest pain guidelines.

Her exceptional commitment to the study of women and cardiac diseases has won her numerous awards and distinctions, including being named by Crain’s Chicago Business as one of Chicago’s Top 40 under 40. In 2011, she received the first CREDO (Coalition to Reduce Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Cardiovascular Outcomes) Award from the ACC that was given to honor her contributions to improve cardiovascular healthcare of women patients. In 2012, she was awarded the National Red Dress Award for her efforts in raising awareness of heart disease in women and advancing research in this field. In 2019, she was chosen as the most influential woman in Arizona and received the 2019 ACC’s Bernadine Healy Award for her leadership and accomplishment in the field of cardiovascular disease in women.

Dr. Gulati is passionate about the study of women and heart disease and prevention of heart disease. She is the principal investigator of the St. James Women Take Heart Project, a study examining cardiac risk factors in women, which set standards for women’s fitness levels and heart rate response to exercise in women. She also is a co-investigator on the Women Ischemic Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) and previously served as a co-investigator on the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI).

She is a member of numerous advisory boards and societies, including the American Heart Association, the ACC and the American Society of Preventive Cardiology (ASPC). She serves on the board of the ASPC and is now the president-elect. She has published articles in peer-reviewed publications, including The New England Journal of Medicine, Circulation, and Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Her research has been featured in hundreds of newspapers across the world, including The New York Times and USA Today. She has also been featured on Oprah and been feature on NBC Nightly News, CBS National News, The Today Show, Canada AM, in addition to many others. She recently was listed on the Marquis 2020 Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the World, and Who’s Who in American Women.

Dr. Gulati is Canadian and completed medical school at the University of Toronto, Canada. She went on to complete her internship, residency and cardiology fellowship at the University of Chicago. She received a Master in Science at the University of Chicago and is a fellow of the ACC and the American Heart Association. She is board certified in cardiovascular disease.

Albert J. Hicks III, MD, MPH
Interim Medical Director, Advanced Heart Failure Mechanical Circulatory Support & Cardiac Transplantation
Division of Cardiology
Associate Program Director of Cardiology Fellowship
Clinical Assistant Professor, Dept. of Medicine
Texas A&M College of Medicine
Baylor Scott & White Health
Temple, TX

Dr. Albert Hicks is an Advanced Heart Failure & Transplant Cardiologist. He completed his fellowship in Cardiology and Advanced Heart Failure at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Hicks works at Baylor Scott and White in Temple, Texas where he serves as the Medical Director of the Advanced Heart Failure, Mechanical Circulatory Support, and Cardiac Transplantation, as well as the Associate Program Director of the Cardiology Fellowship.

Clarence W. Legerton III, MD, FACR
Managing Partner
Articularis Healthcare
Charleston, SC

Dr. Clarence W. Legerton currently serves as Managing Partner of Articularis Healthcare in Charleston, SC. Dr. Legerton is a native of Charleston, SC, graduated Davidson College (cum laude) in Davidson, NC, and received his M.D. degree from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) in 1986 where he was awarded the Clinical Science and Physical Diagnosis Award. He matriculated to Vanderbilt University to complete a 3-year internship and residency in Internal Medicine, followed by Fellowships both in Internal Medicine/Health Promotion and in Rheumatology. While at Vanderbilt, he served as Chief Resident in Internal Medicine at Saint Thomas Hospital from 1990-1991.

In 1992, Dr. Legerton returned to Charleston to join the faculty at MUSC in the Division of Rheumatology where he was actively involved in graduate education, research, and clinical care of patients with a wide variety of rheumatic diseases. In addition to his clinical and research interests, he, along with Dr. Julius Sagel, directed the Internal Medicine Core for Junior medical students and served as both Vice-President and President of the Medical Staff of the MUSC Hospital. His efforts as a teacher and clinician resulted in appointment to the AOA National Medical Honor Society. In 2002, he joined Low Country Rheumatology. During his tenure, Low Country Rheumatology has expanded as Articularis Healthcare into several southeastern states and has grown to include more than 45 rheumatologists.

Dr. Legerton is a member of the American College of Physicians, the American College of Rheumatology, the Charleston County Medical Society which he served as treasurer, Vice-President, and President, and the South Carolina Rheumatology Society which he has served as Program Chair and President. He is listed as a member of the Best Doctors in America. He continues his strong interest in clinical research, participating in many clinical trials involving rheumatic diseases.

Eddie Needham, MD, FAAFP
Program Director and Academic Chairman
AdventHealth Winter Park Family Medicine Residency Program
Professor of Medicine, University of Central Florida College of Medicine
Clinical Associate Professor, Florida State University College of Medicine
Winter Park, FL

Dr. Eddie Needham is the Program Director and Academic Chairman for the AdventHealth Winter Park Family Medicine Residency Program in Winter Park, Florida. Additionally, he is a Professor of Medicine at UCF-COM and Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at FSU-COM. He practices full-service family medicine providing care from “conception to resurrection”. He has taught family medicine for 25 years and performs many outpatient and inpatient procedures. He served as a physician in the US Army for seven years. In 2013, Dr. Needham received the Full-Time Florida Family Physician Educator award. He has previously received the AFMRD Gold Award as a Program Director in 2017, the GAFP Teacher of the Year in 2007 and the 1996 AAFP Parke-Davis Teacher awards. It is his joy and passion to teach students of medicine the wonders of the human body. He loves his wife of 32 years, his five adult children and first granddaughter, the rigors of triathlons, the wonder and surprise of fishing, and mountain top experiences with friends.

Kevin M. Pantalone, DO, ECNU, FACE
Staff Endocrinologist
Director of Diabetes Initiatives
Department of Endocrinology
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, OH

Dr. Kevin M. Pantalone is a board certified Staff Endocrinologist at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. He currently serves as the Director of Diabetes Initiatives in the Department of Endocrinology. He previously served as the Director of Clinical Research for the Department of Endocrinology from 2014-2019. Dr. Pantalone is a graduate of Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his internal medicine residency and endocrinology fellowship at Cleveland Clinic. He was designated a Fellow of the American College of Endocrinology (FACE) in 2015. His clinical focus is on the glycemic management of type 2 diabetes, as well as the diagnosis and management of low testosterone in men, thyroid disorders, and pituitary tumors. His research interests are related to the adverse effects of diabetes therapies, particularly those related to sulfonylureas. He is also actively involved in health outcomes research using the enterprise-wide electronic health record system at Cleveland Clinic.

Brian Pearlman, MD FACP FAASLD AAHIVS
Medical Director, Center for Hepatitis C, Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center
Professor of Medicine, Medical College of Georgia
Professor of Medicine, Emory School of Medicine
Atlanta, GA

Dr. Brian Pearlman is the Medical Director for Wellstar Atlanta Medical Center's Center for Hepatitis C in Atlanta, Georgia, and is Professor of Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia and Professor of Medicine at Emory School of Medicine. He completed his medical degree at the University of Miami and post-graduate training at both the University of Texas, Southwestern and Baylor University Medical Center.

Dr. Pearlman is Fellow for the American College of Physicians, and Fellow for the American Association for the Study of Liver Disease as well as certified by the American Academy of HIV Medicine. He is also a member of the American Gastroenterological Association. He had sat on the Board of Directors for The American Liver Foundation, Southeast Chapter.

Dr. Pearlman is widely published in leading journals such as The Lancet, Gastroenterology, Hepatology, The Lancet Infectious Disease, Clinical Infectious Diseases and the American Journal of Medicine. He is active in both patient care and in teaching physicians. He has been the recipient of numerous teaching awards and is an active investigator in multiple liver-related clinical trials, some of which were in collaboration with the CDC's Division of Viral Hepatitis.

Veronica K. Piziak, MD, PhD
Professor of Medicine
Texas A&M University
Director, Diabetes Education Section
Senior Staff Physician
Endocrinology Baylor Scott & White Clinic
Temple, TX

Dr. Veronica K. Piziak is Emeritus Director for the Division of Endocrinology and Director of the Diabetes Center for Baylor Scott & White in Temple, Texas. She has attained the rank of Professor of Medicine at Texas A&M University College of Medicine. She completed her Internal Medicine Residency at the Akron General Medical Center in Akron, Ohio and received her specialty training/fellowship in Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH. Her patient care emphasis is on diabetes, lipids disorders, and osteoporosis prevention and treatment and professional activities include obesity and osteoporosis research. She has been on the list of Super Doctors in Texas from 2004 - 2018 and Best Doctors in America 2000 - 2016. She has published numerous papers, lectures extensively, and organizes CME activities.

David M. Plourd, MD, FACOG
Staff Obstetrician & Gynecologist & Obstetric Hospitalist
Formerly Naval Hospital
San Diego, CA

Dr. David M. Plourd has been an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego, and at UCSD, for two decades, before he joined the Obstetric Hospitalist Team at Scripps Hospital. Dr. Plourd has been teaching and lecturing nationally and internationally on numerous women’s healthcare topics. He was voted “Teacher of the Year” by the interns & residents at the Naval Medical Center. Dr. Plourd has been a Board Examiner for the American Board of OB/GYN. He is also a Medical Consultant for the Medical Board of California.

Andrew W. Urban, MD
Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases
University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health
Madison, WI

Dr. Andrew W. Urban, Professor of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison. Dr Urban graduated from the University Of Illinois College Of Medicine and completed his Internal Medicine residency and fellowship in Infectious Diseases at the University of Wisconsin. He is board certified in Internal Medicine and ID and is certified as a HIV Specialist by the American Academy of HIV Medicine. He has received numerous teaching awards and is extensively involved in medical education at all levels. His clinical interests include primary care of individuals with HIV and consultative general infectious diseases.

Matthew R. Weir, MD
Professor of Medicine
Chief of Nephrology Division
University of Maryland School of Medicine
Baltimore, MD

Dr. Matthew R. Weir is attending physician and Director of the Division of Nephrology in the Department of Medicine at the University of Maryland Hospital, Baltimore. He is also Professor of Medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Weir’s primary research interests include the use of antihypertensive therapy for the treatment of diabetic nephropathy, hypertensive renal injury in African Americans, and preventing allograft nephropathy in transplant recipients. He has written more than 600 manuscripts and book chapters about these topics. He has edited 8 books: on topics in nephrology, transplantation, and hypertension. He has presented at numerous international scientific association meetings, hospitals, and medical schools. Dr. Weir currently reviews manuscripts for more than 30 major medical journals, including the American Journal of Kidney Disease, the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, and Archives of Internal Medicine. He is on the editorial board of 12 journals and is Section Editor of Current Hypertension Reports and Current Opinion in Hypertension and Nephrology. He has 3 active NIH supported grants from NIDDK and two from NHLBI. In addition, he is a member of numerous associations, including the American Society of Nephrology, the National Kidney Foundation, the American Heart Association, and the American Society of Transplantation. Dr. Weir received his medical degree from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. He completed his internship and residency programs in medicine at the Waterbury and Yale-New Haven Hospitals in Connecticut, and completed his nephrology training at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School, in Boston, Massachusetts. He then moved to the University of Maryland where he has been a full-time faculty member since 1983.