11 minute read
COVER STORY
FINDING DISCOMFORT
THE RACING LIFE OF DR. FRED POORDAD
By Brian C. Davis
DISCOMFORT
CAR RACING
IS NOT FOR THE TIMID.
THAT’S WHY DR. FRED POORDAD KNEW THE NEXT TIME HE SLID INTO HIS RACECAR WOULD BE TELLING AND, PERHAPS, DETERMINATIVE.
He would not continue racing if he felt apprehensive when he drove his racecar for the first time after his accident. “I thought that if I had any trepidation, I wouldn’t be able to do it,” said Poordad, who quipped, “Fortunately, the concussion probably helped me forget a little bit.”
Poordad, who began racing in 2009, suffered a broken back and a severe concussion in the accident. But he otherwise accepts—even embraces—the demands of racing.
“It’s incredibly challenging both physically as well as mentally. When people ask me why I do it, that’s really the reason,” Poordad said.
He expects racing to push him to new and unfamiliar places.
“There’s some level of discomfort, sometimes, when you’re exploring something, or trying to stretch what you can do in a racecar to achieve a goal or a certain outcome. And it’s the same with life."
Breaking New Ground
The accident happened in 2012, as Poordad and his family were making the transition from California to Texas. He preferred the idea of raising his children in Texas—where he had grown up—rather than in Los Angeles.
Photo courtesy of Dr. Fred Poordad.
2007: Learns to race shifter karts 2009: Begins racing in Porsche Racing Club Wins Rookie of the Year
In moving to San Antonio, Poordad undertook a professional challenge in starting a new concept—the freestanding liver institute—which he and Eric Lawitz, MD, opened in early 2013.
“We only practice liver disease. We actually don’t do any gastroenterology,” said Poordad of the Texas Liver Institute, which partners with the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and the University hospital system.
This is not what Poordad expected when he chose gastroenterology. He pursued GI because there was history of colon cancer in his family.
“Once I got into the field, I realized that liver was my true passion and my true calling,” Poordad said.
Poordad has leapt from coast to coast throughout his career. He completed a gastroenterology fellowship at the University of South Carolina and a liver transplant fellowship at Johns Hopkins University. After finishing at Johns Hopkins, he moved to northern California to work at California Pacific Medical Center, before deciding to return to Baltimore and Johns Hopkins to serve as CoDirector of Liver Transplantation.
“I literally couldn’t afford to live there,” said Poordad, of living in California during the “Dot-com Bubble.”
Johns Hopkins is where Poordad says his career took shape. After a couple of years there, he moved back
2010: Races in the Porsche POC, Modified 911 Class Multiple Top-10 Finishes
Photo courtesy of Dr. Fred Poordad.
2011: Races in the Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA Multiple Top-10 Finishes
40 | GI.ORG/ACGMAGAZINERACE DAY OUTFIT Balaclava Fireproof head cover
Race Helmet
Features air blower, and is outfitted with radio communication system to race team
Head and neck restraint system (HANS device)
FIREPROOF RACE SUIT
Fireproof underwear and shirt
Race Gloves
Fireproof Socks
Race Shoes
2011: Competes in 24 hours of Daytona, in Ferrari GT Finishes 14th in class
to California, but this time to southern California and, specifically, to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. He stayed at Cedars-Sinai for 11 years, ultimately becoming Chief of Hepatology and Liver Transplantation.
Of course starting a new job—let alone launching a new concept—does not come without obstacles.
Management of a large staff, the regulatory challenges that come with performing lots of clinical research, and the uncertain future of health care in the United States are among the more significant issues Poordad perceives, though he says they are not unique.
“The problem is we don’t have a clear path of where health care is going. It’s always difficult—when you don’t know where you’re eventually going to end up— how to plan for it,” Poordad said.
“It really requires a lot of nimbleness and some forethought and planning.”
Not Slight
Poordad’s 2012 accident took place at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, WI. He was competing in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama, one of the two series in which he was racing.
The collision took place in the first lap, as he and his car exited the third corner.
“Another car had spun off and back onto the track,” Poordad said. “I was drafting behind another car and pulled out to pass, and hit the disabled car, destroying both cars.”
It took weeks for Poordad to recover from the concussion. He wore a brace for three months and endured six months of rehab, through physical therapy, to recover from his injuries and regain his flexibility.
“I don’t ever want to go through that again,” he said.
“This is not a sport you can participate in if you have anxiety or nervousness,” Poordad said. Accidents are “just one of those things that can happen with racing,” he said, but he considers himself fortunate to have been able to recover.
Poordad did not quit racing after his accident. This was likely his most trying time in racing, but the sport had tested him previously, and he had not relented. In 2007, before the accident—before Poordad even began racing cars—he had learned to race shifter karts, an aggressive type of open-wheel racing, while he was living in southern California.
“I decided my body couldn’t handle it,” Poordad said of shifter kart racing. Rather than abandoning racing altogether, he determined instead “I better get into a car,” which would have a more substantial platform and body.
2012: Races in the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge. He gets into a bad accident at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, WI, resulting in a broken back, severe concussion, and an end to his season.
From there, he began racing in the Porsche Racing Club. He hired a professional driver who worked with him for a year and acquired his racing license. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in his first year, 2009.
The physical demands remained a constant, irrespective of the vehicle type. The cars are extremely hot. Drivers have to maintain cardiovascular fitness and a degree of flexibility, in order to enter and exit the car through the roll cage.
“The physical demands of these cars are not slight,” Poordad said. “It is physically much more grueling than people think.”
Escaping Comfort
Poordad had ample time to recover from the accident, as his workload was still light when he first moved to San Antonio. He was back racing the next season, resuming competition in both the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge, an East-Coast racing series, and the Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy USA, a West-Coast series.
In 2014—a year after he returned to racing—Poordad competed in the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Gold Championship, finishing in third place. His success has not subsided. In 2015, Poordad won the Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy Championship. In 2016, he finished second in the IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge Platinum Masters Championship, and he continues to race in both series.
Pushing himself inside the car has benefitted Poordad outside of the car. His personal health has improved due to the physical demands of car racing.
“It’s forced me to get into much better shape than I otherwise would have been in,” Poordad said. “I’m more fit than I have been in the past 30 years.”
Racing is a “learned behavior. It’s definitely not agile,” Poordad said. Data engineers and team members help drivers focus. As a result, he has improved his focus in other areas of his life.
“When I’m racing, I really can’t think about anything else, so I’m incredibly focused on the task at hand. That has
Bottom: Dr. Fred Poordad with his daughter, Riley, and son, Austin. Top right: Dr. Fred Poordad with his daughter, Riley, and wife, Judy Kim, MD, who is an internist. Courtesy of Dr. Fred Poordad.
2013: Returns to IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge - Gold Class MULTIPLE TOP-10 FINISHES
2014: IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge - Gold Class Championship 3rd Place
DO YOU HAVE A RACE DAY GOOD LUCK CHARM OR SUPERSTITION?
Text to my kids and silent prayer to keep all racers safe
WHAT'S THE COOLEST PIECE OF RACING TECH YOU USE?
The computerized data acquisition system in the race car that allows the race engineer to assess all facets of what the car is doing on track. The data collected is the best way to assess car and driver and is both learning tool, but also a set up tool to allow the team to make set up changes to the car, and allow the driver to adapt and change technique when needed.
2015: Pirelli GT3 Cup Trophy Championship 1st Place
2016: IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge - Platinum Masters Championship 2nd Place
allowed me to actually grow in many ways and remain focused,” Poordad said.
Being in a racecar might not seem, to an outsider, like the ideal setting for sustaining one’s focus, but Poordad advises otherwise.
“It’s not an adrenaline rush, as people might think. It’s a very controlled environment.”
Racing has taught him that commitment and perseverance—to the point of discomfort—will be required at times to “get things done.”
“You have to get into uncharted territories and tolerate a little bit of discomfort, whether that’s doing something that you’ve not done, negotiating various deals you were unable to do before, or setting up a new program,” Poordad said.
Big Challenges Are the Best Challenges
Starting a new program also has begun to bear fruit. The Texas Liver Institute now maintains more than 100 employees and eight liver doctors. According to Poordad, it is the busiest clinical liver research facility in the United States.
The Institute has done lots of work in viral hepatitis, and it is now focusing its attention and resources on fatty liver disease, anti-fibrotics and liver cancer. Poordad, who says he wakes up every day enjoying what he does, welcomes the imminent, unavoidable challenges in his field. He says the sheer volume of people with advanced fibrosis and fatty liver disease requires that advances take place.
“We can’t ignore it. We really have to take this head on and dedicate a lot of research to these areas,” Poordad said. “I see that happening, so it’s very exciting for me.”
Poordad is optimistic about the treatment prospects for fatty liver disease, cirrhosis and liver cancer.
“I’m very excited for the patient with these conditions because I think over the next 10 years we’re going to have viable therapies,” Poordad said.
“That really is amazing when you think about it. I mean, we’re all impressed by what happened with the Hepatitis C world, but I actually think the next 10 years will even dwarf what’s happened in Hepatitis C.”
Do not expect Poordad to give up racing during that time period.
“Well, you know, Paul Newman raced until he was in his early 70s, so I think I’ve got some time still,” Poordad said. “I’ll hang up the racing gloves when the passion is no longer there and the drive to compete at this level is no longer there.”
Bottom: Dr. Fred Poordad finishes in second place in the 2016 IMSA Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge – Platinum Masters. Photos courtesy of Dr. Fred Poordad. 1990 | EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA
University of Alberta, Medical Doctorate, to
1990–1993 | AKRON, OHIO
Northeastern Ohio College of Medicine, Internal Medicine Residency, to
1993–1995 | COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA
University of South Carolina, Gastroenterology Fellowship, to
1995–1996 | BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
Johns Hopkins University, Hepatology/Liver Transplantation Fellowship, to
1996–1999 | SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
California Pacific Medical Center, to
1999–2001 | BALTIMORE, MARYLAND
Johns Hopkins University, Co-Director of Liver Transplantation, to
2001–2012 | LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Chief of Hepatology and Liver Transplantation, to
2012–PRESENT | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
Texas Liver Institute, Co-Founder, Vice President, Academic and Clinical Affairs. Joined the faculty of The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio.
