Sokos named interim chair of the new Department of Cardiology

George G. Sokos, D.O., FACC, has been named interim chair of the School of Medicine's new Department of Cardiology. Ramesh Daggubati, MD, FACC, FSCAI, professor and chief of Interventional Cardiology, will serve as the department's vice chair.

"We're honored to have a great leadership team in place as we continue to build the School's new cardiology department and continue to offer excellence in education, training, clinical care and research," Clay Marsh, M.D., chancellor and executive dean for Health Sciences, said.

Dr. Sokos will serve as the primary point of contact for all cardiology services at the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute, working closely with hospitals throughout the WVU Health System to advance cardiology care and enhance the program's national reputation.

In addition to his new role, Sokos will continue to serve as a professor and medical director of the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute's Advanced Heart Failure Program and the WVU Medicine Transplant Alliance's Heart Transplant Program.

Sokos has multiple publications in high-impact journals and serves on numerous national committees in the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation.

He has served as a clinical investigator in more than 50 clinical trials in heart failure, transplantation, mechanical circulatory support and pulmonary hypertension, and he has received funding from the AHA, ACC, Pennsylvania Department of Health, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.

Prior to joining WVU Medicine, Sokos was the program director of the Allegheny Health Network Advanced Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplantation Fellowship Program. He was also an assistant professor of medicine at the Drexel University College of Medicine and a cardiologist at Allegheny General Hospital's heart failure and transplant program.

He received a pharmacy degree from WVU and his medical degree from the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Allegheny General Hospital, where he also served as chief resident and completed two fellowships: one in cardiovascular medicine at Allegheny General Hospital and one in heart failure and cardiac transplant medicine at the Cleveland Clinic.

The Department of Cardiology has also named Ramesh Daggubati, M.D., FACC, FSCAI, professor and chief of Interventional Cardiology, as the department's vice chair.

In his new role, Dr. Daggubati will provide strategic leadership over all interventional cardiology programs across the WVU Heart and Vascular Institute and the WVU Health System, helping with quality and innovation.

Dr. Daggubati specializes in structural heart disease and complex coronary interventions. His clinical expertise and research interests include complex, high-risk coronary interventions and transcatheter valve therapies. He has multiple publications in high-impact journals and is a highly sought-after national and international lecturer. He has proctored many physicians to perform transcatheter aortic valve replacement and mitral valve edge-to-edge repair worldwide.

He is currently the chair of the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions International Program Committee. During the past four years as chair, he and his team have increased the number of educational programs from 12 to 44 across the world, keeping diversity, equity and inclusion as their focus.

-WVU-