Elizabeth Ratchford, MD

Dr. Brian Gustav Kral is Assistant Professor in the Division of Cardiology and General Internal Medicine as well as Assistant Professor of Radiology and Radiological Sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He is currently engaged in research on genetic and biological mechanisms of coronary atherosclerosis with an emphasis on plaque morphology and composition as well as coronary blood flow at different stages of disease progression.Dr. Kral received his undergraduate degree in economics and pre-medicine from The Johns Hopkins University. He received a master’s in public health from The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health. He also earned a medical degree from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Kral completed his residency at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine. He rejoined the Johns Hopkins community as a fellow in 2005 where he remained on Faculty after completion of his training. Besides his teaching and clinical engagements, Dr. Kral is currently the Program Director of Nuclear Cardiology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Kral is also Director of Clinical Studies for The Johns Hopkins GeneSTAR Research Program. The program aims to identify genetic and biological determinants of subclinical and clinical atherosclerotic disease and thrombosis in individuals with a strong family history of early-onset coronary artery disease. He has been recognized with the Stanley L. Blumenthal Cardiology Research Award for outstanding clinical research in cardiovascular disease from The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions.

Rani K. Hasan, M.D., M.H.S., is an attending interventional cardiologist at The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and Suburban Hospital, as well as an assistant professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Hasan has a clinical interest and expertise in the management of coronary artery disease and structural heart disease, including valvular disease; transaortic valve replacement (TAVR); select adult congenital defects such as patent foramen ovale (PFO), atrial septal defect (ASD) and ventricular septal defect (VSD); and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Dr. Hasan also has an interest in hybrid interventional and surgical approaches to manage complex cardiac surgery cases. He established the Johns Hopkins Structural Heart Disease Program at Suburban Hospital, a monthly clinic that draw patients for evaluation for TAVR and other transcatheter valve therapies. Dr. Hasan received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He completed a residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, followed by fellowships in cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology, and an advanced fellowship in structural heart and peripheral vascular interventions at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He also earned a Master of Health Science degree in clinical investigation from Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health and served as chief fellow in the Division of Cardiology.Dr. Hasan serves on the telemetry subcommittee of the High Value Care Committee at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He is a peer reviewer for journals such as the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, American Journal of Cardiology, American Heart Journal, Clinical Cardiology, and Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions. Dr. Hasan is a member of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Cardiology. Dr. Hasan has contributed to numerous research publications, article reviews, book chapters and editorials. His research interests include the impacts of frailty and delirium among elderly patients undergoing cardiac procedures, and improving outcomes following interventional cardiac procedures. He is the principal investigator on a study of frailty among patients undergoing TAVR and is working to establish a database of TAVR patients at Johns Hopkins Medicine to develop collaborative research projects based on their data. Dr. Hasan has also provided clinical instruction in the classroom and instructs interventional cardiology fellows and general cardiology fellows on the cardiac catheterization rotation at The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. He has received numerous research awards, such as the Henry Denison Strong Research Award from Johns Hopkins University, the Cancer Research Training Award from the National Institutes of Health, and the Johns Hopkins Claude D. Pepper Older Americans Independence Center Research and Career Development Core Award.

Dr. Ronald Sweren is an assistant professor of dermatology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His areas of clinical expertise include cutaneous lymphoma/mycosis fungoides, phototherapy/ photopheresis and melanoma. Dr. Sweren also serves as director of the Phototherapy/Photopheresis Program in the Department of Dermatology.Dr. Sweren earned his M.D. from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He completed his residency in dermatology at University of Maryland Medical Center and in pediatrics at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore.