Pooja Amin, MD, is a clinical research associate at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. She is a medical graduate from International American University in St. Lucia with a bachelor of science from the University of California, Irvine. Her research focuses on implementation of PREdiction of Sudden death in mulTi-ethnic cOmmunities (PRESTO) clinical activities in Ventura County.

Andrea Binz is a research associate at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. She graduated from Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina with a dual degree in biology and Asian studies and joined the Chugh Lab with a background in molecular biology.

Ronald Mariani, EMT-P, is a research associate at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. As a retired fire paramedic and captain in the Portland Fire Bureau, he functions as liaison to the collaborating Emergency Medical Services agencies and the Oregon State Medical Examiner Office. He also maintains current protocols with the participating Oregon hospital IRBs.

Sharon Mariani coordinates and manages the recruitment and sample procurement process of the study participants and oversees administrative aspects.

Sandeep Nair, MD, is a cardiac electrophysiologist and a researcher with interests in the pathological aspects of sudden cardiac death. He has previous experience with cardiac autopsies and coronary pathology and is currently working on elucidating the mechanisms and pathology of sudden cardiac death.

Kotoka Nakamura, PhD, is a project scientist at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. She earned her doctorate in biological chemistry from UCLA and went on to work initially as a postdoctoral fellow and then as an assistant researcher in the laboratory of Richard Gatti, MD, at UCLA, where she investigated the genetics and molecular mechanisms underlying neurodegenerative DNA repair disorders. The focus of her research in the Chugh Laboratory is in the area of human genetics and the molecular basis of human disease.

Summit Pandat, MD, is an internal medicine resident involved in Chugh Lab research at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. He received his bachelor’s degree from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, and medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. His area of focus is studying echocardiographic predictors of sudden cardiac death.

Kyndaron Reinier, PhD, MPH, is a research scientist at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute and lead epidemiologist for the Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study. She received her doctorate in epidemiology and master of public health at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Public Health. Her research interests include social, demographic and clinical predictors of sudden cardiac arrest.

Arayik Sargsyan, MD, MPH, is a Clinical Research Associate at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. He is a surgeon from Armenia with training and experience in public health and clinical research. He is coordinating implementation of PREdiction of Sudden death in mulTi-ethnic cOmmunities (PRESTO) clinical trial in Ventura County.

Jason Tso, MD, is an internal medicine resident and member of the Chugh Lab at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. He received both his bachelor’s degree and medical degree from the University of Southern California. His research is focused on angiographic findings and sudden cardiac death.

Audrey Uy-Evanado, MD, is a cardiologist and research associate at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. She leads the patient recruitment and phenotyping efforts for the Oregon Sudden Unexpected Death Study.

Orison Woolcott, MD, studies the pathophysiology of obesity and Type 2 diabetes. He also studies the association of environmental factors (e.g., altitude, latitude) with obesity and Type 2 diabetes. More recently, Woolcott has been interested in exploring new clinical predictors of body adiposity and obesity-linked conditions such as stroke, myocardial infarction, cancer, sudden cardiac arrest and sudden cardiac death.

Yang Yang, MD, is an internal medicine resident and researcher with the Chugh Lab at the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute. His research interests include novel predictors of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) as well as the interaction between chronic diseases and SCA risk.