Transformational Gift from The Levant Foundation Enables Cardiovascular Advances
Through a generous donation from The Levant Foundation, three important positions in the field of cardiovascular health care and research have been established.
“I am incredibly proud of The Levant Foundation’s support for driving innovation and advancing cardiovascular research at Houston Methodist,” said Jamal Daniel. “I know that the outstanding work of Dr. Nagueh, Dr. Nasir and Dr. Zoghbi as well as the numerous other researchers and physicians will be instrumental in saving many lives.”
Dr. Sherif F. Nagueh, the inaugural holder of The Levant Foundation Chair in Cardiovascular Diseases, will advance the applications of cardiovascular imaging in the evaluation of patients with heart failure and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction to address the disorder’s higher morbidity, mortality and rates of hospitalization.
The Levant Foundation Innovations in Cardiovascular Disease Research Endowment, led by Dr. Khurram Nasir, Director of Cardiovascular Prevention and Wellness and the William A. Zoghbi, MD Centennial Chair in Cardiovascular Health at the DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center, will provide steady funding that will allow physician-scientists to harness the power of artificial intelligence and big data to pioneer new techniques for early heart disease detection and prevention.
The recipient of The Levant Foundation Presidential Distinguished New Century Chair in Cardiovascular Diseases will launch new research and health care strategies and strengthen existing ones, such as the Adult Congenital Heart Program, to find and care for the high percentage of adults with congenital heart disease who go untreated.
“In keeping with The Levant Foundation’s long history of commitment to health care organizations throughout the world as well as the impact they have had in our community, we are tremendously grateful that they are choosing to support Houston Methodist and the DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center in such a meaningful way,” says Dr. William Zoghbi, Elkins Family Distinguished Chair in Cardiac Health at the DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center and chair of the Department of Cardiology. “This transformative gift will have a profound impact on our ability to provide outstanding care to the population we serve and improve their quality of life through the various proposed avenues of innovation that will be enabled. I want to personally thank The Levant Foundation Board for their commitment to improving health care and their trust to realize this bold and comprehensive vision.”