First UTSW job: My first job was to join the UTSW faculty as a pediatric cardiologist right out of a fellowship.

Best part about my job: I have always liked working for UT Southwestern because it’s a great place to do clinical work and research – both basic and clinical – which is well supported by the Division of Pediatric Cardiology and the Department. Innovation, education, and flexibility are encouraged and appreciated and make working here in pediatrics an ideal job. I will always be thankful for the opportunities I have been afforded.

How co-workers describe me: Reliable and flexible.

Best UTSW memory: Some of my best memories were as a basic science researcher from 1989 to 1996 when I was investigating pulmonary endothelial responses and partnered with researchers from different departments. It was easy to collaborate, and everyone was so willing to share their time and resources.

My proudest UTSW accomplishment: I am very proud of my administrative leadership roles, as I was made the second Chief Medical Officer at Children’s Medical Center Dallas and Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs at UTSW from 2003-2008. I was appointed the second Chief Clinical Officer at the Children’s Plano campus from 2016-2022, then became Executive Director of the Heart Center from 2022-2023.

I’m really good at: Clinically, I am very good with all aspects of interventional cardiology. Administratively, I am good at finding common ground upon which to build collaboration and relationships.

Hobbies: I play golf, paint, and read a lot.

Surprising fact: I am actually a bit of an introvert.

Claims to fame: They include several firsts in pediatric cardiology. Specifically, I was the first at Children’s Medical Center Dallas to: create an organized interventional cardiology program; perform a cardiac and vascular stent, including a covered stent; complete a transcatheter closure of a patent ductus arteriosus (PDA); do an atrial septal defect (ASD) or fenestration in a fenestrated Fontan procedure; and place a transcatheter pulmonary valve in a patient. I was also the first at Children’s to develop the single ventricle monitoring program and to create a cardiac camp for our patients.

Final note: I have always been extremely happy with the opportunities afforded to me by UTSW and Children’s, which allowed me to create programs and pursue administrative work as well as varied clinical work. Administratively, I was allowed to become the CMO at each hospital location and the Vice President of Medical Affairs for Children’s Health, which has also allowed me to be active in continuing and graduate medical education and, most recently, participate on the Medical Student Admissions Committee, which has been incredibly fulfilling despite the large workload that it represents. I am ecstatic that UTSW hired me as a young junior faculty member.

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