The ACC welcomed Dipti Itchhaporia, MD, FACC, as its 70th president, effective April 1. Itchhaporia, an interventional cardiologist, is the Eric and Sheila Samson Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Health, director of disease management for Hoag Heart and Vascular Institute, and associate professor at the University of California, Irvine, School of Medicine.

Itchhaporia has a long history of involvement and leadership with the College. In addition to serving on the Board of Trustees (BOT) as vice president and secretary, she was also chair of ACC's Board of Governors and president of ACC's California Chapter. She has also served on ACC's Lifelong Learning Oversight Committee, Science and Quality Committee, Governance Committee, among others, and has also helped to inform ACC's Innovation Program efforts. Most recently, Itchhaporia chaired ACC's Task Force on Health Equity and served as co-chair of the ACC Middle East Conference in 2019 and 2020.

"I am truly honored to serve as president of the ACC," said Itchhaporia. "What the post-pandemic world will look like remains to be seen, but I believe we have a real opportunity in the next year to prove ourselves as leaders and apply the lessons we have learned this past year to achieve our Vision of a world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and outcomes."

Itchhaporia is the College's first president of South Asian descent, and while she is the College's fifth female president, she is the first in College history to assume the presidency from another female president – ACC Immediate-Past President Athena Poppas, MD, MACC.

Itchhaporia completed her residency in internal medicine at Stanford Health Care, as well as fellowships in cardiology at Georgetown University Medical Center and in interventional cardiology at Stanford Health Care. Her professional interests include quality measurement and improvement and cardiovascular disease prevention in women. Most recently, she has focused on technology and innovations that can propel digital transformation and disrupt care delivery, ultimately improving the lives of clinicians and patients and helping achieve health equity worldwide.

In addition to Itchhaporia taking on the ACC presidency, the College's newest officers and trustees, including Edward T. A. Fry, MD, FACC (Vice President), Christopher M. Kramer, MD, FACC (Treasurer) and Joseph Edward Marine, MD, MBA, FACC (Secretary and BOG Chair), assumed their roles on April 1. New Trustees include BOG Chair-Elect Malissa Jane Wood, MD, FACC; Hani K. Najm, MD, MSc, FACC; and Thomas M. Maddox, MD, MSc, FACC. Read more about them here.

Outgoing members of the BOT include Immediate-Past President Richard J. Kovacs, MD, MACC, Immediate-Past BOG Chair Daniel M. Philbin Jr., MD, FACC, Immediate-Past Treasurer Howard "Bo" T. Walpole Jr., MD, MBA, FACC, and Trustee Daniel José Piñeiro, MD, FACC.

Read more about Itchhaporia's vision for the coming year in an exclusive interview with Cardiology magazine. Access a Q&A with Poppas on the highlights and lessons learned from her presidential year. Also hear from both women during Convocation as part of the ACC.21 all-virtual experience.

Keywords: Leadership, Trustees, Fellowships and Scholarships, Cardiovascular Diseases, Internal Medicine, Academic Medical Centers, Government, Disease Management, Female

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