EP 114: The Leap Year Gene of Kit McKinley with Shelley Wood, Bestselling Author & Editor-in-Chief of TCTMD
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
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
In one of her many posts on Instagram, we can see Dr Hafiza Khan holding a table summarising her reactogenicity after her second COVID shot. In the frame next to her is her son listing his own reactions. In this episode, Ankur asks Hafiza to talk about Instagram and reaching millennial and gen Z audiences, as well as the importance of developing and maintaining trust between different communities at a time of information overload.
Read More
Mallory was not prepared when she underwent her first heart surgery in seventh grade: She was hoping to regain her stamina, instead she experienced what she describes as a loss of self. Mallory was born with a rare heart disease called a Ebstein’s anomaly.
Read More
How does Dr Mehra think about building opportunities? What were his formative experiences? How does he think about the role of mentorship in medicine? What is Dr Mehra’s message to our listeners?Dr Mehra does not frame his experiences as failures or successes; he looks at all events with one question in mind: What can I learn from this?
In this week’s episode Ankur’s guest is Dr Mandeep R Mehra, Medical Director of Brigham Heart and Vascular Center and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
Read More
In this week’s episode Ankur’s guest is Dr Mandeep R Mehra, Medical Director of Brigham Heart and Vascular Center and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
In the first Parallax episode of 2021, Ankur welcomed back Sukh Nijjer from Imperial College London to review the most impactful events and advances in cardiology from 2020.
Which COVID19 patients require risk stratification with a stress test? What are the take-home messages for physicians taking care of patients diagnosed with COVID19? What were the key trials of 2020? What can we learn from the negative results of the STRENGHT study? How have studies like STOP-AF influenced clinical practice?
Read More
Which COVID19 patients require risk stratification with a stress test? What are the take-home messages for physicians taking care of patients diagnosed with COVID19? What were the key trials of 2020? What can we learn from the negative results of the STRENGHT study? How have studies like STOP-AF influenced clinical practice?
In the Season 2 finale, Ankur Kalra is joined by the legendary Martin B Leon, Professor at Columbia University, director of the TCT and chairman emeritus of the CRF.
What makes Dr Martin B Leon tick? What is his message to cardiologists and/or researchers at the beginning of their careers? How did the pandemic and his work as a clinician in New York change his perspective?
Read More
What makes Dr Martin B Leon tick? What is his message to cardiologists and/or researchers at the beginning of their careers? How did the pandemic and his work as a clinician in New York change his perspective?
This week Parallax welcomed its first non-physician/researcher guest: health advocate Lindsay Davis. Lindsay, ballerina with ambitions to study at Julliard, was experiencing the symptoms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) from her early teens, but she had not been diagnosed until she was 17.
In this episode Ankur asks Lindsay about her treatment path. Lindsay recalls her own journey to taking control of her condition and the important role of information in patient adherence. Lindsay, former Miss Ohio, talks how she used the pageant to create awareness. Lindsay talks about work in state legislation and her plans for 2021.
Read More
In this episode Ankur asks Lindsay about her treatment path. Lindsay recalls her own journey to taking control of her condition and the important role of information in patient adherence. Lindsay, former Miss Ohio, talks how she used the pageant to create awareness. Lindsay talks about work in state legislation and her plans for 2021.
In 2020, women still only represent 16% of editorial boards.
US Cardiology Review journal, has recently seen a 7-fold increase in female editorial board members in response to journal-based strategic initiatives and the stellar work of USC editorial board leadership, Ankur Kalra (Editor in Chief) and Bill Gogas (Deputy Editor in Chief), who were keen to drive this change. With thanks to Dr Anastasia Mihailidou’s tenure as a new board member and her suggested nominees, ten new female board members have recently joined US Cardiology Review’s editorial board.
Read More
US Cardiology Review journal, has recently seen a 7-fold increase in female editorial board members in response to journal-based strategic initiatives and the stellar work of USC editorial board leadership, Ankur Kalra (Editor in Chief) and Bill Gogas (Deputy Editor in Chief), who were keen to drive this change. With thanks to Dr Anastasia Mihailidou’s tenure as a new board member and her suggested nominees, ten new female board members have recently joined US Cardiology Review’s editorial board.
One of the first things painted by the young Mike Gibson, today Professor of Medicine at Harvard, researcher and interventional cardiologist, was a cloud. Years later while painting angiograms Dr Gibson came up with the idea of myocardial blush: The blush was that cloud of dye in the heart muscle.
In this episode, Mike opens up about his childhood in Stilwell, Oklahoma. Ankur and Mike discuss how the inductive quality of art can complement the deductive principles of science. Mike recalls earlier stages of his career and warns about the blinding effect of the ego-driven, competitive culture of cardiology. Ankur asks Mike about fatherhood and about his role as an educator.
What does it mean to be fearless as a medical professional? How can you protect yourself from the emotional toll of the profession? What is Mike’s advice to early career cardiologists?
Sponsored by Edwards.
Read More
In this episode, Mike opens up about his childhood in Stilwell, Oklahoma. Ankur and Mike discuss how the inductive quality of art can complement the deductive principles of science. Mike recalls earlier stages of his career and warns about the blinding effect of the ego-driven, competitive culture of cardiology. Ankur asks Mike about fatherhood and about his role as an educator.
What does it mean to be fearless as a medical professional? How can you protect yourself from the emotional toll of the profession? What is Mike’s advice to early career cardiologists?
Sponsored by Edwards.
In this week’s episode Ankur Kalra asks Dr Suzanne J Baron, Director of Interventional Cardiovascular Research at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center: How do we measure the value of a novel technology?
During her interventional cardiology fellowship, Dr Baron became fascinated by the implementation of novel technologies. She earned her degree in Clinical Epidemiology and spent a year working at the FDA’s Device Evaluation unit.
In 2019 Dr Baron presented the results of her late-breaking trial, COAPT. Ankur invites Suzanne to discuss the economic analysis of the study and to give a short introduction to cost-effectiveness analysis. Suzanne provides an overview of the trial and they talk about the importance of understanding the value and benefits of new devices from both the patient and the health-economic point of viewpoint.
Read More
During her interventional cardiology fellowship, Dr Baron became fascinated by the implementation of novel technologies. She earned her degree in Clinical Epidemiology and spent a year working at the FDA’s Device Evaluation unit.
In 2019 Dr Baron presented the results of her late-breaking trial, COAPT. Ankur invites Suzanne to discuss the economic analysis of the study and to give a short introduction to cost-effectiveness analysis. Suzanne provides an overview of the trial and they talk about the importance of understanding the value and benefits of new devices from both the patient and the health-economic point of viewpoint.
In this week’s Parallax, host Ankur Kalra is joined by Charles (Chuck) Simonton, Vice President and Chief Medical Officer of Abiomed. Chuck talks about how his father’s leadership and service as a Methodist minister inspired him to become a doctor. He recalls the dawn of interventional cardiology: the birth of angioplasty and stenting. Drawing from his experiences as a trialist who worked with some of the most influential minds, he offers practical tips to young doctors. Finally, Ankur asks Chuck about the Impella device controversy and the recent decision of Abiomed to accelerate their clinical research.
How should you start building a research programme? What are Chuck Simonton’s thoughts on the relationship between doctors and the industry? What is Chuck’s message to young cardiologists?
Read More
How should you start building a research programme? What are Chuck Simonton’s thoughts on the relationship between doctors and the industry? What is Chuck’s message to young cardiologists?
This week’s guest on Parallax is Dr Jonathan Fisher Cardiologist and Organizational Well-Being and Resiliency Leader at Novant Health.
Read More
In this engaging episode, Ankur asks Shelley about her journey to medical journalism from theheart.org to TCTMD. Shelley recalls the early days of online news and shares her thoughts on what makes a content stand out in 2022. We learn more about the editorial decisions that go into leading one of the most trusted cardiology news services. Shelley, author of a bestselling novel, talks about how she balances her journalistic work with her creative writing.
Read More
In this engaging and in-depth episode, Dr Kalra and Dr Bhatt talk about the state of digital transformation today: They discuss the challenges and opportunities of telemedicine, artificial ‘collaborative’ intelligence and novel technologies that could enhance medical training. Dr Kalra asks Dr Bhatt about how she balances her responsibilities and her tips for approaching complex problems. Dr Bhatt also shares insights on the practicalities of her role as Chief Innovation Officer of ACC.
Read More
In this unique episode Dr Kalra and Dr Cherwek discuss highly innovative solutions in ophthalmology that could be implemented in cardiovascular medicine.
They talk about AI assisted consultation, learning pathways incorporating simulators for early career practitioners and the Flying Eye Hospital. Dr Cherwek shares his experiences about working with local teams globally and the work that goes into setting up trials across the world.
Read More
They talk about AI assisted consultation, learning pathways incorporating simulators for early career practitioners and the Flying Eye Hospital. Dr Cherwek shares his experiences about working with local teams globally and the work that goes into setting up trials across the world.
In a 1-minute video, wearing scrubs, Dr Siyab, Md voices his concerns over the decision to end mask mandate on certain US airlines. “The people that are so intensely against these mask mandates, they are not the ones who are taking buses or trains to get to work and get back home every day because they are part of the privileged class.” Dr Siyab’s mission is to be a voice of reason and appeal to those who are hesitant or against getting vaccines. His plight goes out to his 405.3K followers on TikTok every day.
Read More