International Scholar Program

Dr. Abdelsayed earned his medical degree in 2023 from South Valley University in Egypt, pursuing a strong interest in cardiology. He later joined the Magdy Yacoub Heart Foundation, where he received a Paul Dudley White International Scholar Award from the American Heart Association and a travel grant from the European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure Association while leading and coauthoring multiple peer-reviewed publications in the field.

In addition to managing his ongoing research, Dr. Abdelsayed enjoys mentoring USMLE students from diverse backgrounds, drawing on his experience as an active member of the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations.

Ahmet Akyel, MD, joined the MHIF Center for Coronary Artery Disease as the Sens Senior International Scholar in May 2026. In this role, he supports many aspects of coronary artery disease and complex coronary artery disease research and education, including MHIF investigator-initiated studies such as the PROGRESS registries, the OPEN-SAFE Registry and the REBIRTH Trial.

Dr. Akyel completed medical school at Hacettepe University Faculty of Medicine in Ankara, Turkey, and his cardiology residency at Gazi University Medical Faculty, also in Ankara. After residency, he worked at tertiary referral centers in Istanbul and Ankara, where he managed complex cardiovascular cases and served as chief resident and as an associate professor of cardiology.

He also completed three years of clinical fellowship training under the mentorship of Omer Goktekin, MD, co-chair of the PROGRESS-CTO Middle East North Africa Turkey and Asia (MENATA) chapter. Beyond his expertise as a clinical interventional cardiologist, Dr. Akyel has strong academic interests and has initiated and collaborated on multiple clinical research studies, resulting in articles and case reports in peer-reviewed international journals.

Pedro E.P. Carvalho, MD, joined the Center for Coronary Artery Disease as the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation’s inaugural Raymond Ames and Barbara Thorndike International Scholar. In this role, Dr. Carvalho supports the expansion of CCAD research in intracoronary imaging, coronary physiology, microvascular disease and CT-guided PCI, in addition to the existing portfolio of research studies.

Originally from Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil, Dr. Carvalho graduated from medical school in December 2023 and received his medical degree from the Federal University of Minas Gerais. During medical school, he worked as a research assistant at the Hospital das Clínicas of the Federal University of Minas Gerais, contributing to research groups focused on improving outcomes for patients with rheumatic heart disease.

Dr. Carvalho has published systematic reviews and meta-analyses as both first and contributing author in leading cardiology journals such as JACC, International Journal of Cardiology and Catheterization and Cardiovascular Interventions, and has presented his work at ACC Latin America, the European Society of Cardiology and other local congresses in Brazil. He also has experience as an instructor for statistical methods in meta-analysis through an online course attended by students from more than 40 countries.

Marios Ioannis Tsourous, MD, joined the MHIF Center for Coronary Artery Disease as an international scholar in May 2026 from Athens, Greece. In this role, he supports coronary artery disease research and education, including investigator-initiated studies such as the PROGRESS registries, OPEN-SAFE Registry and REBIRTH trial.

Tsourous is a valedictorian graduate of the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School. He began his clinical research training under the mentorship of Kimon Stamatelopoulos, MD, PhD, professor of clinical therapeutics and cardiology at Alexandra Hospital in Athens. His work has focused on subclinical atherosclerosis, vascular inflammation, cardiovascular biomarkers and hemodynamics. His responsibilities have included patient recruitment, database management and statistical analysis.

He is currently preparing an original research manuscript on the role of systolic blood pressure in risk stratification for patients with AL amyloidosis, as well as a meta-analysis examining the effects of interventions, including statins, diet and exercise, on amyloid beta levels in blood and cerebrospinal fluid. He has also contributed to a neurology textbook for medical students in Greece. In addition, he is studying Python programming and exploring applications of artificial intelligence in research.

Dr. Johannes Kirchner, MD, joined the Cardiovascular Imaging Research Center as a senior international scholar in June 2026. He completed his medical training at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, where he earned his doctoral degree with distinction (magna cum laude). His research focused on inflammatory responses in human macrophages.

He is currently a resident physician in general and interventional cardiology at the Heart & Diabetes Center NRW. His clinical and research interests include structural heart interventions, valvular heart disease, and advanced cardiac CT imaging.

Dr. Kirchner has authored multiple first-author publications in leading cardiology journals and has presented his work at major international conferences, including the European Society of Cardiology.

Meghana Kodali, MBBS, MPH, joined MHIF’s Women’s and Prevention research teams as an International Scholar in May 2026. She received her medical degree from Dr. NTR University of Health Sciences in India and later earned a Master of Public Health with an emphasis in Healthcare Administration from the University of Michigan-Flint.

Most recently, Meghana supported the Women’s Cardiovascular Health Research Lab at Inova Health. Her research on GLP-1 use, postpartum hypertension and nutrition in menopausal women has been presented at national cardiology conferences, including those of the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology.

Dr. Sachiyo Ono recently joined the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation Valve Science Center as an international research scholar under the mentorship of Drs. Vinnie Bapat and Miho Fukui. She received her medical degree from Kagawa Medical School and comes from Kurashiki Central Hospital in Okayama, Japan, where she practiced as a cardiologist specializing in structural heart imaging.

Dr. Ono is an experienced echocardiographer with advanced skills in transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiography and a growing focus on multimodality imaging for transcatheter structural heart interventions. She is actively involved in clinical research, including several ongoing manuscripts on mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair and left atrial appendage occlusion, and has contributed to multiple presentations and registry-based studies in these areas.

Dr. Hiroshi Tsunamoto recently joined the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation Valve Science Center as an international research scholar under the mentorship of Drs. Vinnie Bapat and Miho Fukui. He received his medical degree from Nippon Medical School in Tokyo and comes from Kobe University Hospital in Kobe, Japan, where he earned his PhD.

Dr. Tsunamoto is a structural interventionalist and board-certified cardiac echocardiographer with expertise in procedural intervention and advanced cardiac imaging. He holds instructor certification for transcatheter aortic valve replacement in Japan, serves as an echocardiography proctor for mitral transcatheter edge-to-edge repair procedures and is a published researcher.

Theodoros (Theo) Vichos, MD, joined the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation Center for Coronary Artery Disease as the inaugural Fleischhacker Family Scholar. In this role, he supports a broad range of coronary and complex coronary disease research and education efforts, including investigator-initiated studies such as the OPEN-SAFE registry, the PROGRESS registries and the REBIRTH trial.

Originally from Athens, Greece, Dr. Vichos earned his medical degree from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. He developed an early interest in clinical research and later pursued postdoctoral training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, where he investigated immune dysregulation in systemic lupus erythematosus.

Dr. Vichos has authored 10 peer-reviewed publications in leading journals, including Science Translational Medicine, Nature Communications and Arthritis & Rheumatology. A computational biology enthusiast, he brings a strong translational research background to his work in interventional cardiology at MHIF.