Michael J. Polydefkis, MD

Faisal Rahman, BMBCh, FACC, FSCAI, is an interventional structural cardiologist at Johns Hopkins. He is an assistant professor with the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, and serves as the Co-Medical Director of the Catheterization Laboratory at Frederick Health Hospital.Dr. Rahman has specific interest and expertise in the management of coronary artery disease, including complex coronary interventions, as well as ultra-low contrast percutaneous coronary intervention for patients with kidney disease. He also specializes in the management of structural heart disease, including valvular disease with transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI/TAVR), transcatheter edge-to-edge repair (TEER including MitraClip), transcatheter mitral valve replacement; select adult congenital defects such as patent foramen ovale (PFO), atrial septal defect (ASD), ventricular septal defect (VSD); and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy using alcohol septal ablation. He is also an expert in critically ill patients including cardiogenic shock and established the Johns Hopkins Medicine Cardiogenic Shock Team. After receiving his medical degree from the University of Oxford, Dr. Rahman completed a residency in internal medicine at Boston University Medical Center where he held the title of Chief Medical Resident. He then completed fellowships in cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology and structural cardiology at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, MD.Dr. Rahman has contributed to numerous research publications, article reviews, book chapters and editorials. He has also served on multiple national committees as well as major professional medical societies. He has a strong interest in quality improvement, healthcare efficiency, and system development focusing on patient outcomes and providing quality care.

Dr. Jihad Mohamad Alhariri is an assistant professor of dermatology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. His areas of clinical expertise include dermatology and medical dermatology.Dr. Alhariri received his undergraduate degree from the American University of Beirut. He earned his M.D. from the American University of Beirut and his M.P.H. from the Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Good Samaritan Hospital of Maryland and a residency in dermatology at Johns Hopkins.

Dr. Jaishri Blakeley is the Marjorie Bloomberg Tiven Professor of Neurofibromatosis in Neurology, Oncology, and Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, director of the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Neurofibromatosis Center and director of the Neurofibromatosis Therapeutic Acceleration Program (NTAP). She is an active clinician-scientist specializing in the care of people with NF1, NF2, LZTR1, SMARC1 schwannomatoses, and primary brain tumors. Her research expertise in the development of clinical trials for nervous system tumors and specifically, early clinical-translational studies including tumor pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic investigations, imaging biomarkers for rare nervous system tumors, and incorporation of patient-focused, functional endpoints into efficacy studies. She has been the national or international leader of 7 clinical trials focused on therapies for glioblastoma, NF1 and NF2. In 2012 she cofounded the NTAP to dramatically shift the landscape of NF1 via necessary, efficient, and expert discovery, translational and clinical research. NTAP focuses on therapeutics, fosters collaboration, facilitates open and timely sharing of results, and streamlines the research process to accelerate therapies for plexiform and cutaneous neurofibromas. Through NTAP, Dr. Blakeley has supported and collaborated with more than 80 laboratories and research teams across the globe enabling meaningful therapeutic development for NF1-associated neoplasms and supporting the development of an exceptional community of clinician scientists focused on NF1 via the Francis S. Collins Scholars Program in Neurofibromatosis Clinical and Translational Research. Her research and programmatic efforts are all in the service of improving outcomes for the patients with NF1, NF2, schwannomatosis, and primary brain cancer for whom she is honored to provide care.