About Us
Timir S. Baman, M.D.
Dr. Timir S. Baman is co-founder of Project My Heart Your Heart. He is currently a cardiac electrophysiology fellow at the University of Michigan Hospitals. He graduated from the University of Chicago in 1998 and the Pennsylvania State College of Medicine in 2003. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Chicago Hospitals from 2003 to 2006 followed by a clinical fellowship in cardiology at the University of Michigan from 2006 to 2009. He is expected to complete his cardiac electrophysiology fellowship at the University of Michigan in 2011.
He has an interest in improving access to electrophysiological healthcare to third-world nations philanthropically. His other research interests include advancement of ablation strategies for atrial fibrillation, premature ventricular contractions and ventricular tachycardia. He has published more than 15 peer-reviewed articles, edited seven book chapters and is in the process of editing a cardiovascular manual for internal medicine physicians.
Thomas Crawford, M.D.
Dr. Thomas C. Crawford has been a faculty at the University of Michigan School of Medicine since 2008 and is currently an assistant professor. He graduated from the University of Tennessee School of Medicine in 2000. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Duke University Medical Center in 2003. He received his cardiology and electrophysiology training at Washington University, St. Louis, and the University of Michigan. He has an interest in improving access to healthcare in developing nations, and has had first hand experiences in healthcare delivery in Eastern Europe and North Africa. He has also traveled to Guatemala on medical missions. He has an interest in establishing safety and efficacy of pacemaker re-utilization in countries with poor access to healthcare. His academic interests include ablation of atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, and cardiac sarcoidosis. He has published more than 40 peer-reviewed manuscripts, several book chapters, and numerous abstracts.
Kim A. Eagle, M.D., M.A.C.C.
Dr. Kim Eagle is co-founder of Project My Heart Your Heart. He is the Albion Walter Hewlett Professor of Internal Medicine and Director of the Cardiovascular Center at the University of Michigan Health System. He graduated from Oregon State University in 1976 and from Tufts University Medical School in 1979. He completed his residency and chief residency in Internal Medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital from 1979 to 1983, followed by research and clinical fellowships in cardiology and health services research at Harvard Medical School and The Massachusetts General Hospital from 1983 through 1986. From 1986 to 1994, Dr. Eagle served The Massachusetts General Hospital where he was promoted to Associate Director of Clinical Cardiology and Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard.
Since his recruitment to the University of Michigan, he has overseen a vigorous outcomes research program focusing on quality, cost-effectiveness, use of practice guidelines in cardiovascular care, evaluation and management of acute coronary syndromes, the evaluation and management of aortic diseases, the fight against childhood obesity, heart disease in special populations and reuse of pacemakers in third world nations. His outcomes research team has led quality improvement initiatives across the state of Michigan in acute MI, heart failure and coronary angioplasty. Dr. Eagle has contributed extramural presentations to nearly 83,000 learners in 30 U.S. states and eight countries. He has published more than 370 peer-reviewed articles, 49 chapters, and edited seven books including his latest, The Heart of a Champion, co-written with legendary Michigan football coach, Bo Schembechler. He maintains an active inpatient and outpatient practice and was a member of the team that created the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center.
Al Romero, M.D.
Dr. Al Romero is a co-founder of Project My Heart Your Heart. He is a private practice family physician in the metro Detroit area. He graduated from the University of the Philippines - Diliman in 1976 and from University of the Philippines School of Medicine in 1981. He completed a residency in general surgery at Philippine General Hospital in 1987 and a residency in family practice at Wayne State University in 1997. He was then appointed an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at Wayne State University. He was on the teaching faculty of Sinai-Grace Hospital in Detroit, MI until 2002, when he entered private practice.
His research focuses on meconium screening to assess fetal exposure to toxins. He is co-author of four peer-reviewed articles on the subject. He is also interested in philanthropic work addressing health disparities in the developing world. He has coordinated several medical mission trips and has worked closely with World Medical Relief to procure and distribute medical supplies to institutions providing health care to indigent patients in the Philippines, including refurbished pacemakers.
Patricia Sovitch, R.N., B.S.N.
Patricia Sovitch has been a nurse at the University of Michigan for 22 years. She is currently working in the Electrophysiology/Device Clinic. She provides outpatient follow-up for pacemaker and defibrillator recipients and facilitates support groups for ICD patients. She received her undergraduate nursing degree from Michigan State University in 1987. She is currently enrolled in the Graduate Family Nurse Practitioner program at Michigan State and is expected to graduate in May 2010.
She has a great interest in providing health care to underserved populations. She has served on medical missions in Nicaragua, providing medical care to thousands of patients. She also volunteers at local clinics that provide free medical care to low-income uninsured adults and children.
Joshua Romero
Joshua Romero is a co-founder of Project My Heart Your Heart. He is a second year medical student at the University of Michigan Medical School class of 2012. Before that, he graduated with a BA in History and a BS in Human Biology from Michigan State University in 2008.
His interests revolve around issues in global health care. He has been on medical missions to the Philippines, China and the Dominican Republic. He is co-author of a study on in utero exposure to nicotine in Southeast Asia, a case series on implantation of refurbished pacemakers in the Philippines and author of a case report on a 65 year old woman in a developing country who received a refurbished pacemaker donated from the metro Detroit area.
Lindsey Gakenheimer
Lindsey Gakenheimer is a collaborator with Project My Heart Your Heart. She is a second year undergraduate at the University of Michigan with a prospective major in Nutritional Studies. She plans on attending medical school upon her undergraduate graduation. She holds an athletic scholarship for being a member of both the Varsity Cross Country and Track and Field teams.
She is interested in international underprivileged medicine and has traveled to Haiti and Alaska for medical missions. She also enjoys pursuing philanthropic projects both internationally and in her community. She was president of her community’s Youth Advisory Council, which awards grants to youth programs in the area. She works with Michigan Cardiovascular Outcomes Research and Reporting Program (MCORRP), studying heart disease as well as nutrition among middle school students.
With its headquarters in Detroit, World Medical Relief was established in 1953 to address the needs of Korean War orphans. Over the years, the organization has expanded its mission to impact the well-being of the medically impoverished on a local, national and international basis and provided medical aid to thousands of under served people in the Detroit metropolitan area and in over 130 developing nations worldwide. WMR achieves this through the collection of financial donations and goods, including medical, dental and laboratory items, as well as through the purchase and distribution of such commodities. Goods are distributed in a non-discriminatory manner without regard to race, color, gender, religion,
nationality or political beliefs.
