Each year, the ACC's commitment to cultivating the next generation of global cardiovascular leaders comes to life through programs that open doors, accelerate careers and spark new ideas. Among the most transformative are the Hani Najm Global Scholar Awards and the William A. Zoghbi Global Research Initiative.

The Hani Najm Global Scholar Awards offer early career cardiologists from low‑ to middle‑income countries a rare chance to elevate their training through participation in the ACC Annual Scientific Session and a U.S.-based Observership Program. For many, it is a pivotal experience that reshapes their clinical perspective, expands their professional networks and strengthens their ability to bring new knowledge back to their home communities.

The William A. Zoghbi Global Research Initiative serves a different but equally vital purpose: fueling innovative research with the potential to improve outcomes for patients living with or at risk for cardiovascular disease. Supported by William A. Zoghbi, MD, MACC; Bayer; Wael Al Mahmeed, MD, FACC, and a generous gift from Raghib Hussain in honor of Jamal S. Rana, MD, PhD, FACC, the effort provides each recipient with a $25,000 grant supporting one year of focused investigation.

Cardiology reconnected with several of last year's recipients to see where their journeys have taken them since their awards were announced. Their stories underscore why these programs matter, not just to individual clinicians and researchers, but to the future of cardiovascular care worldwide.

A Heart Surgeon's Mission: From Dreams to Complex Interventions

Born and raised in Dar es Salaam to an Asian family with decades-long roots in East Africa, Khuzeima Khanbhai, MD, says it was his late grandfather's dream for him to pursue medicine. "The day I graduated he was the happiest man," he says.

A self-described team player, Khanbhai practices at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute, the largest cardiac facility in East Africa, where he is considered one of the country's leading interventional cardiologists.

Through his observership at the Cleveland Clinic, Khanbhai hopes to improve and expand his technical skills with the goal of being able to train other doctors and helping to address the critical shortage of specialists in the region.

From Sudan to Cleveland: A Pioneer's Transformative Journey

Fellowship programs in heart failure (HF) in Sudan are few, contributing to a severe shortage of specialists. Other challenges include limited access to advanced technologies and prohibitive medication costs, significantly impacting patient outcomes.

During his four-week observership in the Cleveland Clinic's advanced HF unit, Ahmed Mohamedkhair Ahmed Mohamed, MD, experienced for the first time what he describes as a "state-of-the-art advanced HF service."

The experience provided critical insights into the benefits of multidisciplinary heart team, managing acute decompensated HF, optimizing medical therapy and coordinating seamless transitions from hospital to home – elements often fragmented in resource-limited settings like Sudan. He also gained practical insights into routine patient follow-up at the HF clinic, while time in the catheterization laboratory highlighted the importance that interventional procedures play in HF management. Perhaps most impactful was the transplant/VAD clinic.

"I hope this award will provide me with the knowledge and experience to become a leader in HF care in my country, he says.

Data-Driven Care: A Mission to Complete the Picture

Opeyemi Olalekan Oni, MD, practices in the heart of Nigeria's Oyo state at LAUTECH Teaching Hospital in Ogbomoso, a regional tertiary health care center. He is just one of two cardiologists in the region.

Working in what he describes as "an indigent part of the country," Oni recognized that many patients couldn't afford the basic examinations needed for proper diagnosis and optimal care. In 2018, he and colleagues created the Ogbomoso Cardiovascular Disease Registry. To date, roughly 1,000 patient records are in the registry, but only about 25-30% have echocardiographic data, <10% have EKG data, and 12-32% have lab values for blood glucose, cholesterol and serum creatinine.

Addressing these data gaps and performing full workups for indigent patients visiting cardiology clinics is the focus of Oni's project funded by the Zoghbi research award initiative. The end goal: ensuring prompt diagnosis and initiation of appropriate care. His vision also extends beyond data collection to informing policymakers about disease patterns, facilitating proper health care planning and possibly creating a template for other regional centers to develop similar databases for nationwide health planning.

Personal Experience Drives Professional Mission: One Cardiologist's Fight For Maternal Heart Health

The Dominican Republic (DR) faces cardiovascular challenges that parallel many resource-limited settings but with unique characteristics shaped by the region's demographics and health care infrastructure. For Jenniffer Mateo Soto, MD, who lives in Santo Domingo, the underdiagnosis and undertreatment of cardiovascular disease in women, especially during pregnancy and perimenopause, is particularly concerning.

Through her Zoghbi award, Mateo is developing an educational program in cardio-obstetrics throughout the DR. This goal is personal. During her own pregnancy, she experienced a cardiovascular complication she initially failed to recognize, despite being a physician. Thanks to the timely action of the medical team around her, the damage was minimized.

"By strengthening education in cardio-obstetrics, we can help reduce preventable maternal deaths, increase awareness among health care providers, and offer safer outcomes for mothers and their babies nationwide," she says. In addition, by documenting cardiovascular complications in Dominican pregnant women and evaluating effective educational interventions, she hopes her work will contribute valuable data for developing Caribbean-specific guidelines and protocols.

Keywords: Cardiology Magazine, ACC Publications, CM-Mar-2026, Awards and Prizes, Mentors, Goals