The Leap Year Gene with Shelley Wood, Bestselling Author & Editor-in-Chief of TCTmd
EP 114: The Leap Year Gene of Kit McKinley with Shelley Wood, Bestselling Author & Editor-in-Chief of TCTMD

Average (ratings)
No ratings
 
  Your rating

In this week’s Parallax, Dr Ankur Kalra welcomes back Shelley Wood, best known for her work in the cardiology community as the editor-in-chief of TCTMD and Editorial Director of CRF. They discuss her work as a creative author and her second novel, The Leap Year Gene of Kit McKinley, set to be published by Harper Collins in Canada and Union Square Press in the US in August 2024.

Blending the intrigue of a medical thriller with a sweeping overview of the twentieth century, The Leap Year Gene of Kit McKinley tells the story of Kit McKinley, whose rare genetic condition causes her to age one year for every four. In this rich discussion, Ms Wood shares how her extensive experience as a medical writer and editor shaped her approach to crafting the novel. Dr Kalra and Ms Wood also explore one of the book’s central themes: eugenics, tracing its historical roots and examining its long shadow on medicine. Ms Wood, who balances a demanding full-time job with her creative writing, shares candid insights into her routine and the challenges of writing and publishing fiction.

Tune in for an inspiring conversation about creativity, the human condition and balancing responsibilities.

To pre-order Shelley Wood new novel search for The Leap Year Gene/ The Leap Year Gene of Kit McKinley in your favourite independent bookshop or here.


Read MoreRead Less
Also listen on
Share
Also listen on
Up Next
 EP 115: Navigating Cultures and Cardiology: Dr Janarthanan Sathananthan's Global Journey
EP115 • Jul 01, 2024 • 48m 15s
In this compelling episode of the Parallax Podcast, host Dr Ankur Kalra sits down with Dr Janarthanan Sathananthan, an interventional and structural cardiologist and the Chief Medical Officer of Interventional Cardiology at Boston Scientific. Dr Sathananthan recounts his life's journey, from being born in Sri Lanka during the civil war, and moving to Zimbabwe, New Zealand, Canada, and finally North America. He shares how his diverse upbringing profoundly shaped his career in cardiology.
Read More
All Episodes
EP 62: Bullying, Harassment and Jealousy at Workplace with Dr Srihari S Naidu
EP62 • Jan 31, 2022 • 43m 38s
In this week's Parallax, Dr Ankur Kalra is joined by Dr Srihari S Naidu, Director of Cath Labs and Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center at the Westchester Medical Center and President Elect of NY ACC, for an honest conversation on a challenging topic within the cardiology community.
Read More
EP 61: The Year 2021 in Review with Dr Sukh Nijjer — Top Trials in Heart Failure and Cardiac Surgery
EP61 • Jan 17, 2022 • 53m 30s
In the second part of Parallax’s review of 2021, Dr Sukh Nijjer, Interventional Cardiologist from Imperial College London, and Dr Ankur Kalra discuss key advances in the field of heart failure and cardiac surgery.
Read More
EP 60: The Year 2021 in Review with Dr Sukh Nijjer – Part 1| recent cardiology trials
EP60 • Dec 27, 2021 • 59m 18s
In the last Parallax episode of the year, Dr Ankur Kalra welcomed back Dr Sukh Nijjer, Interventional Cardiologist from Imperial College London, to review the most impactful events and advances in cardiology from 2021.
Read More
Parallax AHA Edition: 3 Trials that will change your practice with Dr Amit Khera
EP59 • Dec 06, 2021 • 44m 29s
In this AHA 2021 episode of Parallax, Dr Ankur Kalra’s guest is Dr Amit Khera, Professor and Director of Preventive Cardiology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas and Vice Chair of the Scientific Sessions. For this week’s show, Dr Khera selected three thought-provoking late-breaking trials that will inform or change clinical practice.
Read More
Parallax TCT Edition: 3 Trials that will Change Your Practice with Prof Mamas Mamas
EP58 • Nov 15, 2021 • 47m 52s
In this TCT 2021 episode of Parallax, Dr Ankur Kalra’s guest is Prof Mamas Mamas, Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust (UHNM), Professor of Cardiology at Keele University and Senior Clinical Editor of TCTmd.
Read More
Academic Success, Decision-making & Pragmatic Approach
EP57 • Nov 03, 2021 • 45m 52s
In celebration of Diwali, Dr. Ankur Kalra sat down with Dr. Ambarish Pandey, Assistant Professor at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School, to talk about his career path and the questions that shaped his decision-making over the years.
Read More
Parallax HFSA Edition: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging with Dr Nancy M. Albert
EP56 • Oct 11, 2021 • 44m 26s
This week’s Parallax in collaboration with the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) explores the many ways organisations can embrace the needs of a diverse community and create a culture that can react to the realities of patientcare.
Read More
EP 55: 5 Interventional trials that will change your practice: Review of ESC 21 with Dr Mirvat Alasnag
EP55 • Sep 28, 2021 • 53m 38s
In the second ESC 2021 episode of Parallax, Dr Ankur Kalra’s guest is Dr. Mirvat Alasnag, interventional Cardiologist and Director of Catheterization Laboratory at the King Fahad Armed Forces Hospital (KFAFH) in Saudi Arabia. Dr Alasnag was a programme committee member at this year’s ESC and regional PI of one of the late-breaking trials presented.
Read More
EP 54: 5 Trials that will change your practice: Review of ESC 21 with Dr Purvi Parwani
EP54 • Sep 06, 2021 • 1h
In this special ESC 2021 edition of Parallax, Ankur asks Purvi to review the highlights of the congress. Purvi summarises the design and findings of the trials and their importance in the treatment of patients. Ankur and Purvi discuss how the novel data presented at ESC will inform their practice.
Read More
EP 53: Belonging, Sparkplug & Purpose with Dr. Nasrien E. Ibrahim
EP53 • Aug 23, 2021 • 52m 54s
Dr Ankur Kalra’s guest is Dr Nasrien Ezzeldin Ibrahim, Director of Heart Failure Clinical Research at Inova Heart and Vascular Institute and the writer of SPARKPLUG: The Roadmap to Confidently Ignite and Navigate Your Career Without Compromising Your Dreams.
In this candid episode of Parallax, Nasrien and Ankur open up about their experiences of being an immigrant. Ankur asks Nasrien about her journey to medicine. Nasrien shares the lessons she took away from her years under the mentorship of Dr JoAnn Lindenfeld and later, Dr. James Januzzi. Finally, Nasrien shares her recent experience of writing Sparkplug and how she embraced life with its imperfections and found her purpose.
Read More
Parallax HFSA Edition: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging with Robert Mentz & Anuradha Lala
EP52 • Jul 19, 2021 • 53m 54s
This week’s episode starts a series in collaboration with the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA). Host, Ankur Kalra’s guests are Robert Mentz and Anuradha Lala Senior Editorial Team of the Journal of Cardiac Failure (JCF), the official journal of the HFSA and the Japanese Heart Failure Society (JHFS).
In this practical and insightful episode, Dr Kalra asks what does diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging mean to the editorial board of JCF and what were the steps taken to put these principles into practice.
Read More
Industry Pathway, Misconceptions & Perspectives with Dr Sameer Bansilal
EP51 • Jul 05, 2021 • 48m 54s
This week, Dr. Ankur Kalra’s guest is Dr. Sameer Bansilal, Executive Director of U.S Medical Affairs of Cardiovascular and Renal at Bayer Pharmaceutical.

Dr. Bansilal was an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai when he decided to seek an alternative pathway to make an impact on patients’ lives.
Read More
EP 50: Conversation with Dr Deepak L Bhatt: Physician, Researcher, & Mentor
EP50 • Jun 21, 2021 • 46m 59s
Early in his career, Dr. Deepak L. Bhatt was considering becoming a basic science researcher. After an exchange with one of his mentors about doing science for the science’s sake, he had a self-realisation: He wanted his work to have a direct impact on patient care.

In the 50th episode of Parallax, Dr. Ankur Kalra’s guest is Dr. Deepak L. Bhatt leading physician, researcher, lecturer, and educator who has authored or co-authored over 1650 publications and was recipient of the ACC’s Distinguished Mentor Award in 2018 and AHA’s Distinguished Scientist Award in 2019.
Read More
EP 49: Workplace Hostility, Responsibility & Solutions with Dr Garima Sharma
EP49 • Jun 07, 2021 • 42m 13s
Dr Ankur Kalra’s guest this week is Dr Garima Sharma, Director of CardioObstetrics and Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University as well as an investigator of the “Global Prevalence and Impact of Hostility, Discrimination, and Harassment in the Cardiology Workplace”.
The American College of Cardiology surveyed cardiologists across the globe to have a more detailed understanding on the impact of hostility, discrimination, and harassment in the workplace. Of almost 6000 cardiologists who took part in the survey 44% reported hostile work environment.
Read More
EP 48: Supporting India During COVID: Prof Madhav Swaminathan, Duke Health and ASE Humanitarian Aid
EP48 • May 17, 2021 • 40m 3s
"A failure to finish is a failure to start"

In this week's latest podcast episode, host, Ankur Kalra, MD, meets guest Prof Madhav Swaminathan (Duke University Health System, NC, US) to discuss how he has orchestrated a major humanitarian effort, in association with Duke University Health and The American Society of Echocardiography, to supply ventilation equipment and PPE to hospitals and NGOs during the current COVID-19 crisis in New Delhi, India.

Hear them discuss the challenges and learnings associated with the supply chain, inventory, logistics and cost to deliver this humanitarian effort; which most recently resulted in $140,000 of life-changing equipment being delivered to four key hospitals in New Delhi. A most inspirational episode.
Read More