The generosity of Paula and Rusty Walter established the Walter Centennial Chair Challenge (C3), which ignited a powerful philanthropic response from many Houston visionaries that exceeded our expectations.
Siddhartha Ganguly, MD, FACP
Carol Cockrell Curran Distinguished Centennial Chair in Hematologic Oncology Dr. Ganguly is a faculty member of the Dr. Mary and Ron Neal Cancer Center and professor of clinical oncology in the Houston Methodist Academic Institute. Dr. Ganguly is a board-certified hematologist specializing in the clinical care and research of hematological malignancies, cellular therapeutics and bone marrow transplantation, and he is a full member of the Houston Methodist Research Institute. Dr. Ganguly received his medical degree in India and completed his residency in internal medicine and a fellowship in hematology at Baylor College of Medicine. He concluded a second fellowship in bone marrow transplantation at the Baylor College of Medicine Center for Cell and Gene Therapy.
R. Mark Ghobrial, MD, PhD J.C. Walter Jr. Presidential Distinguished Chair in the J.C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center at Houston Methodist
Dr. Ghobrial is director of the J.C. Walter Jr. Transplant Center, director of the Sherrie and Alan Conover Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation, and director of Transplantation Research at Houston Methodist. He is also a professor of surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College. A primary goal of his research is to increase donor transplant acceptance and prolong the life of the transplanted organs in transplant recipients. His areas of expertise include hepatobiliary disorders, liver resection, liver disease, liver transplant and hepatocellular carcinoma. The addition of organ rejuvenation and regeneration to the immunobiology and clinical research programs will add significant strength to the transplant program at Houston Methodist, one the topMethodist transplant research endeavors in the country. Hospital Foundation 14 ofHouston
Zsolt Garami, MD
The Allison Family Centennial Chair in Cardiovascular Innovation I Dr. Garami is the medical director of the Vascular Ultrasound Lab at Houston Methodist and associate professor of clinical cardiovascular surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College. He has a clinical background in radiology and received further specialization training in intracranial ultrasound in Europe and the U.S. In recent years, Dr. Garami has become a nationally recognized leader in transcranial doppler. His research focuses on understanding and treating intracranial flow disturbances that cause stroke resulting from emboli to the brain. He has numerous publications on monitoring the cerebral vasculature during vascular procedures, such as coronary artery bypass grafting and carotid artery surgery.
Muralidhar Hegde, PhD
Everett E. and Randee K. Bernal Centennial Chair for the Neurological Institute Dr. Hegde is a professor of Neurosurgery in the Houston Methodist Academic Institute and a full member of the Research Institute, where he directs a research program focused on delineating the role of genome damage/repair responses in human brain disorders (neurodegeneration, brain hemorrhage and injury) and cell proliferation (cancer) and on developing novel, mechanism-based treatment strategies. He is also a professor of neurosurgery at Weill Cornell Medical College and has over 90 peer-reviewed publications, including more than a dozen as a senior author. Dr. Hegde’s laboratory is interested in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease and stroke.
