News Heart Center Welcomed New Faculty in 2024
Heart Center Welcomed New Faculty in 2024
The Heart Center added new specialists to their team with expertise in transplant, cardiac critical care, electrophysiology, cardiogenetics, imaging, sleep medicine and more.
Dr. Raya Safa joined the faculty in early 2024. She completed a fellowship training in pediatric cardiac critical care in 2017 before moving to take a position with Wayne State until 2023. At Lurie Children’s she will focus on general cardiology patients, and she has been promoted to Associate Professor of Cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Safa has an interest and expertise in global clinical research training and clinical trials and completed a post-graduate training course at Harvard Medical School.
The Heart Center welcomed Dr. Rohit Loomba in June 2024. Dr. Loomba has done extensive work with Prof. Robert Anderson in London and has developed an expertise in cardiac morphology. Currently in the CICU at Lurie Children’s, his continued effort in cataloging our cardiac specimen registry and using this organized effort in teaching remains his focus. Dr. Loomba is involved with the program’s research endeavors as well as oversight of the fellow scholarship committees. Dr. Loomba is an Associate Professor of Cardiology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.
The electrophysiology team welcomes Jeff Hong, MD, in 2024 after completing an electrophysiology fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Boston. Dr. Hong’s work will include invasive electrophysiology as well as coverage of the inpatient EP service, and outpatient EP services.
Dr. Edward “Teddy” Jones addition to the team in 2024 brings a unique expertise in cardiogenetics. In addition, he is part of stepdown inpatient team and the imaging team. Dr. Jones completed his fellowship in pediatric cardiology at Texas Children’s Hospital as well as additional training in cardiogenetics. As a cardiogeneticist, Teddy will be partnering with the connective tissue disorder team, the bicuspid aortic valve team, the electrophysiology team and the heart failure team.
Sheena Mansukhani, DO, joined the cardiac imaging team as well as the stepdown inpatient team after completing an advanced imaging fellowship Advocate Christ Medical Center. She focuses on fetal cardiology as well as general echocardiography.
Lindsey Gakenheimer-Smith, MD, completed her fellowship in pediatric electrophysiology from the University of Utah School of Medicine in 2024 before joining our team. She will focus her time on general cardiology patents as well as electrophysiology.
Andrew Ligsay, MD, joined the Heart Center faculty in August and is dual-trained in pediatric cardiology and pediatric sleep medicine. Dr. Ligsay completed his fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology at the University of Michigan and most recently his one-year sleep medicine fellowship at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. His responsibilities are equally divided between the Heart Center and Pulmonology and Sleep Medicine.
