Meet the ESC Gold Medallists: Professor Roxana Mehran

Prof. Roxana Mehran , FESC

ESC Gold Medallist

Professor Roxana Mehran (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai - New York, USA) has propelled the field forward through groundbreaking research aimed at improving outcomes in patients undergoing interventional procedures, and through her mentorship of countless trainees.

“I was drawn to cardiology mainly because it offers the chance to improve patients’ lives, but also because of my inspirational and supportive mentors. Patient-centred research has always been at the core of what I do, striving to address the real-world questions that clinicians face when guidelines and dogma fall short. In one of my earliest projects, intravascular imaging led to the proposal of four-category angiographic patterns of in-stent restenosis.¹ I also challenged the status quo by questioning the routine use of aspirin in dual antiplatelet therapy after PCI — what many called a ‘crazy idea’. The TWILIGHT trial went on to prove that ticagrelor monotherapy was as effective as ticagrelor plus aspirin, while nearly halving clinically relevant bleeding rates.² In another line of work, I became concerned that while we were reducing ischaemic events in PCI, we were inadvertently placing patients at risk for acute kidney injury, which carries important adverse consequences. We devised a simple risk score,³ and the resulting awareness has contributed to a notable reduction in acute kidney injury rates.

Looking ahead, many of the trials I am involved in aim to bridge interventions and prevention, through cross-disciplinary collaborations and innovative technologies that enable earlier diagnosis – especially in patients who have traditionally been underrepresented in clinical research.

I have always fought to ensure that both the science we generate and the populations we study truly reflect the patients we see. This commitment is exemplified by the SMART trial in patients with severe aortic stenosis and a small aortic annulus, where nearly 90% of participants were women.⁴ Women are not ‘small men’. A highlight of my career has been leading the Lancet Women and Cardiovascular Disease Commission with my esteemed colleagues worldwide, with the ambitious goal of reducing this global burden by 2030.⁵

Promoting equity among healthcare professionals remains a personal mission. Together with Professor Marie-Claude Morice, I co-founded Women as One, a non-profit organisation dedicated to advancing women in our field. Our second RISE Conference, held in partnership with ESC Congress, was a tremendous success, and I look forward to continuing to empower talented women to climb higher, achieve more, and lead with confidence in the field of cardiology.”

References

1. Mehran R, et al. Circulation. 1999;100:1872–1878.
2. Mehran R, et al. N Engl J Med. 2019;381:2032–2042.
3. Mehran R, et al. Lancet. 2021;398:1974–1983.
4. Herrmann HC, et al. N Engl J Med. 2024;390:1959–1971.
5. Vogel B, et al. Lancet. 2021;397:2385–2438.

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