Newsworthy Notes from Summer 2023

The NATF Board of Directors, Medical Advisory Board, and staff are pleased to share some exciting developments!

Dr. Bikdeli is a cardiologist, vascular medicine specialist, and researcher with an interest in blood clotting disorders and therapies. After medical school, Dr. Bikdeli completed a research fellowship at Yale/YNHH Center for Outcomes Research and Evaluation (CORE). He stayed at Yale for his Internal Medicine residency training and completed a Cardiovascular Disease fellowship at New York- Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University. He then came to Brigham and Women’s Hospital
& Harvard Medical School for an Advanced Vascular Medicine fellowship.

Dr. Bikdeli has a longstanding history with NATF. Over the last decade, he’s been both an attendee and faculty member at many of our educational programs and writes a monthly blog for healthcare professionals called “What’s Hot in Clots.” He’s a top-notch cardiology and blood clot “tweeter” [on X, formerly known as Twitter] and is also a frequent flyer to our patient support groups. We’re so happy to have him join our team as a Cardiovascular Medicine Advisor!

Jody is a highly experienced administrative professional who works closely with NATF Board and staff members to plan and coordinate projects, events, meetings, and workshops. She is a bridge between NATF and the public, serving as the primary point of contact for external offices and organizations.

Jody brings valuable experience from her previous positions at the University of Massachusetts and the International College of Christian Ministries. She has a strong passion for event planning and has successfully coordinated various events for the Boston Disciples nonprofit ministries over the last three years. Jody has also been a dedicated volunteer for Maximizing Effort for Relief Care and Youth (MERCY) Worldwide for over a decade, participating in events across different cities such as Boston, New York City, Paris, and Lagos.

Samarth is a second-year medical student at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA. Since high school, Samarth has been a part of the Georgia Thrombosis Forum, now called the Global Thrombosis Forum (GTF). During his time with GTF, he helped create educational resources to raise awareness about blood clotting conditions and disorders.

Over the past several months, Samarth has been working on an exciting NATF research initiative to help patients with thrombosis and recently presented at a conference on behalf of NATF. His research interests are broad but primarily include patient-centered communication and the prevention of blood clots and cardiovascular disease.

*Originally published in The Beat — August 2023. Read the full newsletter here.