As touchCARDIO approaches 20 years of providing education for busy cardiologists, we are looking to the future—and it certainly looks bright!
This year, we are celebrating our inaugural touchCARDIO Future Leaders to recognize the outstanding talent that has entered our field in recent years. These individuals are set to innovate and transform cardiology in the years to come.
Selected by our expert Editorial Board and contributing faculty, we are excited to highlight their achievements so far and explore what the future holds for them. We had the pleasure of learning about their unique journeys, career motivations, and the inspirations that have shaped their paths. They also shared their perspectives on the most exciting advancements in cardiology today and their hopes for the future of the field.
Congratulations to all our touchCARDIO 2025 Future Leaders, and thank you for sharing your stories, insights and ambitions with us!
Salik Ur Rehman Iqbal
Inselspital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
“It is projected that the burden of AF will increase with time. However, despite of newer evolving treatment avenues, the success rates are still suboptimal, again highlighting the need of better understanding this disease. This opens up a whole avenue of research opportunities.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Iqbal here.
Nadia Chaher
King’s College London, London, UK
“I was drawn to the idea of working in a field that is always evolving, tackling real medical challenges and improving patient care. The potential to create solutions that make a tangible difference to peoples’ lives is what truly excites me about biomedical engineering.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Nadia Chaher here.
Monika Sanghavi
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
“Women remain understudied, underdiagnosed and undertreated when it comes to cardiovascular disease. Changing the paradigm is critically important, and I am committed to help drive that change.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Monika Sanghavi here.
Sean Zheng
Imperial College London, London, UK
“What inspires me most is the complete research journey—from initial conception through development to seeing work evolve into meaningful scientific contributions. While I’ve been extraordinarily fortunate to achieve career highlights like presenting at prestigious conferences and publishing in leading journals, the true joy lies in the personal growth throughout the process: acquiring new skills, exchanging innovative ideas and the creative freedom of blue-sky thinking.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Sean Zheng here.
Jenna Spears
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
“Our interventions can be life-saving, restore cardiac function and dramatically improve quality of life. What stays with me the most, however, are the moments after the procedures, sitting with patients in clinic, hearing them say they’re able to walk their dog again, travel, or play with their grandchildren. Those stories remind me why this work matters.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Jenna Spears here.
Courtney Bennett
Mayo Clinic School of Medicine and Science, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
“Cardiology remains a dynamic specialty, with rapid advancements essential to addressing cardiovascular disease, which continues to be a leading cause of mortality worldwide.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Courtney Bennett here.
Azin Kheirkhah
Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
“What I find most fulfilling is the process of turning a hypothesis into a funded project and watching the results unfold. There’s something deeply rewarding about asking your own research questions and contributing to knowledge that may, even in a small way, advance science or improve patient care.”
Read our Q&A with Dr Azin Kheirkhah here.
C Fielder Camm
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Oxford, UK
“In my experience, meaningful impact comes from a combination of three things: finding an issue that is meaningful (not just to you but to the wider community), committing to that issue, and bringing people with you on that journey. Issues could be clinical, academic, societal or beyond. We only have so much time to contribute, and so selecting meaningful projects is so important.”
Read our Q&A with Dr C Fielder Camm here.
Opening soon!
Nominations for touchCARDIO Future Leaders 2026
We are excited to announce that nominations for the touchCARDIO Future Leaders 2026 will open soon, and we invite the cardiology community to share their suggestions for exceptional individuals who are shaping the future of cardiology through innovation and excellence in patient care.
Register below to hear about nominations as soon as they open!
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