Dr. Pamela Susan Douglas is a distinguished cardiovascular physician-scientist whose pioneering work has transformed the field of cardiac imaging and clinical research. She currently serves as the Ursula Geller Distinguished Professor of Research in Cardiovascular Diseases at Duke University School of Medicine and leads the Multimodality Imaging Program at the Duke Clinical Research Institute. With over three decades of experience in academic medicine, she previously held faculty positions at Harvard University and the University of Pennsylvania, and served as Chief of Cardiology at both Duke University and the University of Wisconsin. Her career trajectory reflects a deep commitment to advancing cardiovascular care through rigorous scientific inquiry and clinical innovation.
Dr. Douglas is internationally recognized for her landmark contributions to cardiovascular imaging, particularly her leadership of the PROMISE Trial, a 10,000-patient randomized study that established new standards for evaluating non-invasive cardiovascular testing. Her pioneering work has significantly influenced clinical practice guidelines, with authorship of over 700 peer-reviewed articles and 30 practice guidelines published in leading journals including The New England Journal of Medicine and JAMA. She has been instrumental in developing national standards for imaging utilization, informatics, and analysis that have improved the quality and appropriateness of cardiac imaging in clinical care and research. Dr. Douglas has also been a trailblazer in establishing several critical specialty areas including heart disease in women, sports cardiology, and cardio-oncology.
As a transformative leader in cardiovascular medicine, Dr. Douglas has served as President of both the American College of Cardiology and the American Society of Echocardiography, where she championed evidence-based practice and quality improvement initiatives. She continues to shape the field through her current research on molecular predictors of cardiovascular events and innovative applications of imaging technology, as evidenced by multiple active NIH-funded grants extending through 2028. Her dedication to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion has reshaped the culture of cardiology, fostering greater wellness and representation across the cardiovascular workforce. Dr. Douglas remains at the forefront of cardiovascular research, with her ongoing work on inflammatory markers in coronary artery disease and cardio-oncology poised to further advance personalized approaches to cardiovascular care.
