From new clinical milestones to leadership appointments, here are five cardiologists making Becker’s headlines:
1. American College of Cardiology Past President Robert Frye, MD, died at age 94 after a career spanning more than 70 years in medicine, the ACC announced Aug. 7.
2. Sanjiv Kaul, MD, a longtime cardiologist and former director of Portland-based Oregon Health & Science University’s Knight Cardiovascular Institute, alleges the university illegally cut his pay and then retaliated against him after he sued.
3. The American College of Cardiology named Hani Najm, MD, as its next president. Dr. Najm serves as chair of pediatric and congenital heart surgery and executive co-director of the pediatric and adult congenital heart center at Cleveland Clinic. He also currently serves as vice president of the ACC.
4. Cardiovascular Logistics, a cardiology-focused management services organization, named Gary Kirsh, MD, as CEO.
5. A cardiologist who sued UPMC alleging retaliation after reporting an alleged conflict of interest involving the health system’s CEO has agreed to dismiss his lawsuit, with UPMC stating no money or compensation was paid. Hemal Gada, MD, filed suit in March alleging UPMC retaliated against him after he raised concerns about CEO Leslie Davis’ paid board seat at Edwards Lifesciences, a medical device company with multimillion-dollar transactions with UPMC, and her alleged use of the UPMC private jet to attend Edwards board meetings. Dr. Gada also alleged retaliation related to a separate complaint about racist text messages between two UPMC physicians. He was terminated in August 2025 after being placed on suspension and informed of an HR investigation into his professional conduct.
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