News

Phillip S. Cuculich, MD, Professor of Medicine in the Cardiovascular Division and his fellow Co-Director of the Center for Noninvasive Cardiac Radioablation, Clifford Robinson, MD presented the keynote address at the Presidential Symposium of the 2025  American Society for Radiation Oncology Conference.

From the earliest understanding of the body’s circulatory system to today’s groundbreaking treatments, the practice of heart and vascular medicine has continuously evolved in the search for new and better ways to protect and preserve the heart’s essential functions. Specialists at the Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Heart & Vascular Center are at the vanguard of this evolution, discovering new treatments and advancing compassionate care.

Doxorubicin has been a mainstay in cancer treatment for more than 50 years. Sometimes called “red devil chemo,” it is potent and effective against many cancer types. But it comes with a major downside — increased risk of severe heart failure, even decades after successful cancer treatment.Now researchers led by WashU Medicine cardiologist Ali Javaheri, MD, PhD, have identified a type of immunotherapy that prevents and treats the heart muscle damage caused by doxorubicin, based on their findings in human heart tissue, cell lines and mouse models of heart failure. The study appears in the journal Circulation.

“These medications are saving lives,” said Anubha Agarwal, MD, assistant professor of medicine of cardiology and co-director of the program in global cardiovascular health at WashU Medicine in St. Louis. “There is not a financial incentive to produce them, which is an issue in high-income countries like the US and the UK.”

Mark Huffman, MD, MPH served on roadmap committee, co-authored report for World Heart Federation. This WHF Roadmap outlines the scientific and clinical evidence to support the scale up of SPCs globally, before exploring some of the barriers that exist to their advancement. Among the major challenges are – limited manufacturing; the high cost of SPCs to both governments and patients; inconsistent international and national guidelines; and prescriber caution.

Justin S. Sadhu, MD, MPHS, FACC, Professor of Medicine in the Cardiovascular Division, joined the Department of Medicine in 2015. Dr. Sadhu completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois in Chicago, where he graduated with Highest Distinction in Biochemistry; Mathematics and Computer Science minor. He attended medical school at Washington University School of Medicine as a Distinguished Student Scholar, graduating in 2007 as a member of Alpha Omega Alpha. Dr. Sadhu completed internal medicine residency, cardiology fellowship, and a Master degree in Population Health Sciences at WashU/BJH