An interview with Dr. Alan Lumsden, medical director of the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Center and chairman of the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Houston Methodist.
Dr. Lumsden, what is the Houston Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center (HMDHVC)?
The HMDHVC, founded on the legacy of renowned heart surgeon and medical pioneer Dr. Michael E. DeBakey, offers an interdisciplinary approach to patient care, research and education.
Our departments are integrated, and cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons, imaging specialists, cardiovascular anesthesiologists and critical care specialists collaborate to tailor care for each patient. We treat more than 20,000 patients a year from across the U.S. and 19 foreign countries.
As a leading academic medical center, Houston Methodist’s focus is threefold: clinical care, translational research and medical education. The latter two missions are increasingly under severe financial pressure and can only be successful with robust philanthropic support. Funding for research and education continues to be our greatest area of need at HMDHVC.
How do the HMDHVC and the Houston Methodist Hospital Foundation work together?
The Houston Methodist Hospital Foundation started more than 10 years ago, and in that time the HMDHVC and the Foundation have been fortunate to engage the Houston community, and our generous benefactors have helped us create truly innovative programs.
Through the creation of endowed chairs, we’ve attracted internationally known physician-scientists. As federal funding continues to shrink, however, we depend even more on our philanthropic partners to help us continue our mission.
What kind of community partnerships exist?
Our one-of-a-kind Pumps & Pipes program is a uniquely Houston collaborative between the energy, aerospace industries and cardiovascular medicine. We explore common challenges and shared technologies each December at the annual Pumps & Pipes Conference.
Now in its eighth year, the conference attracts international interest because of the rare collaborative projects we introduce. Exxon Mobil engineers developed software for a heartbeat simulator used to test cardiovascular devices. Heart-valve function and well-bore optimization is studied using medical MRI scans. Space suits are studied for leaks using CT scanners.
Pumps & Pipes also is a major supporter of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in Houston middle and high schools, and helped the district successfully apply for federal funding of magnet STEM middle schools.
Would you tell me more about your research and education initiatives?
A major donation allowed us to establish the Entrepreneurial Institute, which leverages new ideas and device concepts generated by our busy clinicians, supported by a group of biomedical engineers.
The CardioDesign Laboratory and Cardiovascular Hemodynamic Imaging Laboratory, part of the Entrepreneurial Institute, works to develop new treatments, devices and protocols in fighting heart and blood vessel diseases. Recently, we announced the Kostas Center for Cardiovascular Nanomedicine, the nation’s first to integrate clinicians and basic scientists.
Philanthropy has also allowed us to create the educational arm of HMDHVC — the DeBakey Institute for Cardiovascular Education and Training, where we deliver state-of-the art instruction for cardiovascular professionals at every stage of their career. ●
For more information, visit:
Kostas Center for Cardiovascular Nanomedicine: www.houstonmethodist.org/kostas-center
DeBakey Institute for Cardiovascular Education and Training: http://bit.ly/1IUWkpK
Pumps and Pipes: www.pumpsandpipes.com
