UArizona Cardiologist Receives ‘Escalator Award’ from Women as One International Organization

TUCSON, Ariz. – Khadijah Breathett, MD, MS, assistant professor of medicine in the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Tucson, Division of Cardiology, was one of five physicians selected to receive a Women as One Escalator Award.

Dr. Breathett, a member of the UArizona Sarver Heart Center, is a board-certified advanced heart failure and transplant cardiologist whose research focuses on racial/ethnic and gender disparities in cardiovascular disease. Her most recent research focuses on disproportionately higher rates of cardiovascular disease for American Indians and Alaska Natives.

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“I am grateful for the honor of receiving this inaugural award, and thankful for the support of my mentors and institution. I will use this award to advance my research agenda in reducing bias in the allocation of advanced heart therapies, strengthen international research collaborations, and support the careers of my mentees in cardiovascular medicine,” Dr. Breathett said.

Women as One was founded in 2018 to broaden and promote the global talent pool in medicine by providing unique professional opportunities to female cardiologists. In addition to a $50,000 stipend, the Escalator Awards offers a year-long program aimed at accelerating the careers of qualified women in cardiology by providing clinical and leadership skills training, research support, speaking opportunities and a cadre of key professional contacts of use in furthering their career. The award review panel was made up of eight senior physicians from Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America. Dr. Breathett and the four other winners were selected from 70 global applicants.

“Women As One is a highly impactful organization laser focused on attracting women to careers in cardiology, and helping all women cardiologists thrive personally and professionally. I expect the Escalator Award to be a highly impactful catalyst to advance women to leadership postions in our profession. For one of the five awards given this year to come to Dr. Breathett and the University of Arizona is recognition of the environment we have built here in which women can thrive and talented scientists such as Dr. Breathett can make rapid and important strides to change the lives of patients with cardiovascular disease,” said Nancy K. Sweitzer, MD, PhD, Sarver Heart Center director and College of Medicine – Tucson cardiology chief.

“As a member of Women As One since 2018, I have enormous admiration for Dr. Mehran’s passion to this cause, and was delighted to see Dr. Breathett receive this important award,” Dr. Sweitzer added.

After selecting the winners, Women as One Co-Founder Roxana Mehran, MD, stated, “We were and continue to be amazed by the incredible talent of women in cardiology around the world, and are truly humbled by the interest in this award. To us, it signifies a huge global need for training, mentorship and substantial opportunities for women in cardiology and we are now more motivated than ever to see these opportunities become realities.”

A central part of Women as One is its talent directory, which allows women in medicine from around the world to set up a professional profile that includes details about their experience, interests and demographics. This information is then used to increase visibility and match skills with opportunity. For more information about the awards and Women as One, please visit womenasone.org.

A version of this article appeared originally on the Sarver Heart Center website.

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NOTE: Photos available upon request.

About the Sarver Heart Center
The University of Arizona Sarver Heart Center's 160 members include faculty from cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, pediatric cardiology, neurology, vascular surgery, radiology, endocrinology, emergency medicine, nursing, pharmacy and basic sciences. The UArizona Sarver Heart Center emphasizes a highly collaborative research environment, fostering innovative translational or "bench-to-bedside" research; dedicated to innovating lifesaving patient care. If you would like to give permission for Sarver Heart Center to contact you about heart research studies, please complete a Cardiology Research Registry Information Form. The academic mission of the Sarver Heart Center encompasses four fellowship programs in cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology, advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology, and electrophysiology. For more information: heart.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube).

About the University of Arizona Health Sciences
The University of Arizona Health Sciences is the statewide leader in biomedical research and health professions training. UArizona Health Sciences includes the Colleges of Medicine (Tucson and Phoenix), Nursing, Pharmacy, and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, with main campus locations in Tucson and the Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix. From these vantage points, Health Sciences reaches across the state of Arizona, the greater Southwest and around the world to provide next-generation education, research and outreach. A major economic engine, Health Sciences employs nearly 5,000 people, has approximately 4,000 students and 900 faculty members, and garners $200 million in research grants and contracts annually. For more information: uahs.arizona.edu (Follow us: Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | LinkedIn | Instagram).