The LIVE Award
A Leader In EndoVascular Education Award — The LIVE Award recognizes those vascular specialists who have dedicated their professional careers to educating students, postgraduate trainees, and peers in all aspects of vascular medicine and intervention.
VIVA is proud to honor the 2021 recipient
James F. Benenati, MD
James F. Benenati, MD, has practiced interventional radiology at the Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute (MCVI) in Miami, Florida, since 1990. He now works full time as the Chief Medical Officer for Penumbra, Inc. in Alameda, California.
Dr. Benenati completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Notre Dame and attended medical school at the University of South Florida College of Medicine. He completed a diagnostic radiology residency at the Indiana University School of Medicine and a fellowship in cardiovascular and interventional radiology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dr. Benenati is a Clinical Professor of Radiology at Florida International University Herbert Werthheim College of Medicine, and Collaborative Professor of Radiology at the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine. Dr. Benenati is the founding Medical Director of the Nova Southeastern University Health Sciences BS/RVT program. He is the former fellowship/residency program director and former Medical Director of the Non Invasive Vascular Laboratory at MCVI.
He received the Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) Gold medal in 2020 and gave the Charles T. Dotter Lecture for SIR in 2014. He served as SIR President in 2010 and served as the Annual Meeting Chairman for the SIR in 2005, as well has having served on the Executive Committee for the Society in several capacities. He now serves as the SIR representative to the Intersocietal Accreditation Committee (IAC), and has served as the President of the IAC Vascular Testing Division. He received the “James F. Benenati Award for Excellence in Education” in 2020 by the fellows and staff at MCVI.
A participant in numerous clinical research projects and national trials, his clinical interests include peripheral arterial disease, abdominal aortic aneurysm therapy, management of pulmonary embolism, management of acute clot, and uterine fibroid embolization. With over 100 publications, he has lectured internationally on a variety of endovascular topics. He has also served as a program director of the International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy (ISET) for 30 years.
Previous LIVE Award Recipents
| 2019 | BRUCE H. GRAY, DO |
| 2018 | DIERK SCHEINERT, MD |
| 2017 | THOMAS ZELLER, MD, PhD |
| 2016 | MARK BATES, MD |
| 2015 | TIMOTHY SULLIVAN, MD |
| 2014 | J. MICHAEL BACHARACH, MD |
| 2013 | JOHN LAIRD JR., MD |
| 2012 | MICHAEL DAKE, MD |
| 2011 | MARK WHOLEY, MD |
| 2010 | MICHAEL R. JAFF, DO |
| 2009 | GARY ANSEL, MD |
| 2008 | EDWARD DIETHRICH, MD |
| 2007 | L. NELSON HOPKINS III, MD |
| 2006 | BARRY KATZEN, MD |
| 2005 | KENNETH ROSENFIELD, MD |
The ATLAS Award
A Teacher, Leader, And Scholar Award — The ATLAS Award celebrates the career and impact of physicians who have distinguished themselves as scholars and leaders in their respective vascular fields. They have committed their careers to advancing the care of patients with vascular disorders, and they have taught countless numbers of physicians techniques to expand care across the United States and the world.
VIVA is proud to honor the 2021 recipient
John Bartholomew, MD
John "Jerry" Bartholomew, MD, is a vascular medicine specialist serving as the Section Head of Vascular Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic from 2004 to the present. He is a staff physician in the Sydell and Arnold Family Heart, Vascular and Thoracic Institute and is also a member of the Taussig Hematology and Oncology Department.
His academic pursuits include being a Professor of Medicine at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University.
Dr. Bartholomew is a Master of the Society for Vascular Medicine and has served as a trustee and a past President of the Society for Vascular Medicine. Additionally, he is the Medical Director of the Cleveland Clinic Thrombosis Center and the Cleveland Clinic Pulmonary Embolism Response Team (PERT). His leadership includes being a former trustee of the PERT Consortium and representing the Cleveland Clinic as one of PERT’s founding institutions. He was also part of the team of physicians who received the Cleveland Clinic’s coveted CEO Award for their role in the Enterprise Venous Thromboembolism Prevention Program.
Dr. Bartholomew has been recognized as a Master Clinician at the Cleveland Clinic for his lifetime commitment to outstanding patient care and for his national leadership and knowledge of vascular disease.
Other national and international roles for Dr. Bartholomew include being a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, a member of the American Society of Hematology, and a member of the International Society of Thrombosis and Hemostasis. He is also a member of the Johns Hopkins Medical and Surgical Society.
Previous ATLAS Award Recipents
| 2019 | CHRISTOPHER J. WHITE, MD |
| 2018 | FRANK VEITH, MD |
| 2017 | NICK HOPKINS, MD |
| 2016 | THOM ROOKE, MD |
| 2015 | GARY S. ROUBIN, MD |
| 2014 | BARRY T. KATZEN, MD |
| 2013 | JERRY GOLDSTONE, MD |
| 2012 | JOHN SPITTELL, MD |
| 2011 | GIANCARLO BIAMINO, MD, PHD |
| 2010 | ERNEST RING, MD |
| 2009 | JESS YOUNG, MD |
| 2008 | NORMAN HERTZER, MD |
The Vascular Career Advancement Award
VIVA and LINC have collaborated to develop the Vascular Career Advancement Award to recognize young physicians who show promise as potential leaders in the vascular field. Recipients are selected for their dedication to a philosophy of multidisciplinary vascular care and improving the care and outcomes of patients with vascular disease.
VIVA is proud to honor the 2020-21 recipients
Venita Chandra, MD
Venita Chandra, MD, is currently a Clinical Associate Professor of Surgery in the Division of Vascular Surgery at Stanford University Medical Center, the Medical Director of the Stanford Advanced Wound Center, the Associate Program Director of the Vascular Surgery Fellowship, and the Founder of the Stanford Extremity Preservation Program.
Earning her bachelor’s degree in genetics and cell biology Summa Cum Laude from the University of Minnesota, Dr. Chandra went on to receive her medical degree from the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society.
Dr. Chandra completed her general surgery residency at Stanford in 2011 and is a graduate of the Stanford Biodesign program. She went on to complete the Stanford Vascular Surgery Fellowship and is double boarded in general and vascular surgery.
Dr. Chandra's research and clinical interests include limb salvage, technology development, and treatment optimization for complex open and endovascular approaches to peripheral vascular and aneurysmal disease.
Yoshimitsu Soga, MD, PhD
Originally from Shiga, Japan, Yoshimitsu Soga, MD, PhD, is a 2000 graduate of Kochi Medical School. Dr. Soga began training as an internal medicine specialist at Kyoto University Hospital and completed his residency at Kokura Memorial Hospital where he developed his interest in interventional cardiology. He was influenced during his time there by Dr. Masakiyo Nobuyoshi, who is the first clinician to perform percutaneous coronary intervention in Japan.
Dr. Soga went on to complete a fellowship at the Kokura Memorial Hospital Department of Cardiology and has practiced there since 2004. His clinical focus is on the endovascular treatment for peripheral artery disease in addition to coronary intervention.
Dr. Soga has also led clinical research focusing on various atherosclerotic disease, coronary intervention, cardiac rehabilitation, and heart failure as well as endovascular therapy. He currently has 45 publications as a first author in this field and has contributed to clinical trials as the Director of the Department of Cardiology at Kokura Memorial Hospital.
Dr. Soga holds certifications as a specialist in Internal Medicine, Cardiology, and Interventional Cardiology, and Faculty of American College of Cardiology (FACC).
He has been recognized with the YIA Excellence Award from the Japanese Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation (2006), and Best Performance Award from Japanese Endovascular Treatment Conference (2015).
Previous VCA Award Recipents
| 2019 - 2020 | STEVEN KUM, MD; & PARAG J. PATEL, MD |
| 2018 - 2019 | OSAMU IIDA, MD; & SABINE STEINER, MD |
| 2017 - 2018 | EHRIN ARMSTRONG, MD; & DANIELA BRANZAN, MD |
| 2016 - 2017 | SAHER SABRI, MD; & ANTONIO MICARI, MD |
| 2015 - 2016 | RAGHU KOLLURI, MS, MD; & THEODOSIOS BISDAS, MD, PHD |
| 2014 - 2015 | FELIX MAHFOUD, MD: & GUSTAVO ODERICH, MD |
| 2013 - 2014 | MEHDI SHISHEHBOR, DO: & MARTIN WERNER, MD |
Venous Educator, Innovator and National Statesman Award
Venous Educator, Innovator, and National Statesman Award - The VEINS Award honors those individuals who have made significant contributions to improving the care of patients with venous disease.
VIVA is proud to honor the 2021 recipient
Mark H. Meissner, MD
Mark H. Meissner, MD, attended medical school at the University of Colorado and completed his general surgery residency as well as fellowships in vascular surgery and interventional radiology at the University of Washington. He also completed a research fellowship under the mentorship of Dr. D. Eugene Strandness.
Dr. Meissner is currently the Peter Gloviczki Professor of Venous & Lymphatic Disorders at the University of Washington Medical Center. He is the past President of the American Venous Forum, President-Elect of the American Vein & Lymphatic Society (formerly the American College of Phlebology), and Secretary General of the International Union of Phlebology. His clinical interests include acute and chronic venous disease, pelvic venous disorders, and venous reconstruction. He has published over 100 peer-reviewed manuscripts with research interests including the natural history of acute deep venous thrombosis and evidence-based venous disease.
Previous VEINS Award Recipents
| 2019 | SURESH VEDANTHAM, MD |
| 2018 | SAMUEL Z. GOLDHABER, MD |
