News

Dr. Douglas Hall joins the Department of Medicine in the Cardiovascular Division as an Assistant Professor as of August 2026. Dr. Hall completed his undergraduate training in Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University before earning his medical degree and completing his medical training at Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr. Kenji Lim joins the Department of Medicine in the Cardiovascular Division as an Instructor as of August 2026. Dr. Lim is currently a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Department of Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis, where his research focuses on understanding the roles of the immune system in cardiac homeostasis and disease.

The Department of Medicine is proud to announce that over 170 of our faculty, including 38 cardiovascular faculty have been selected for the 2026 Castle Connolly Top Doctors® list.

“We’ve got an increasing population in age, but also in prevalence of cardiometabolic disease and non-direct cardiac conditions, so more people have orthopedic issues, or cerebral vascular issues, or kidney issues, and they all make it more complex for cardiac disease and elevate the risk,” said Thomas M. Maddox, MD, MSc, a professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis. “On the supply side, we’ve got an aging cardiology workforce, there’s uneven geographic distribution, and people are retiring.”

William Bowen Professor of Medicine and Professor of Public Health Mark Huffman, MD, MPH, has been appointed to the advisory board of the Fogarty International Center at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Huffman received the invitation from U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Nathan Stitziel, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and genetics at WashU Medicine, has received $1.9 million over five years from the Leducq Foundation as part of an international Network of Excellence award to identify genetic pathways that drive atherosclerosis and uncover new strategies to prevent heart attacks and strokes.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Missouri and across the nation, claiming more than 15,000 lives in the state each year. New research suggests rising rates of high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes among women could drive more heart attacks, strokes and heart failure in the decades ahead. Dr. Karen Joynt Maddox, cardiologist at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, said the most common risk factor for heart disease is high blood pressure.