Cardiologist and researcher Dr. Brian Houston, Professor of Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina and Volpe SmartState Endowed Chair in Cardiovascular Biomarker Development & Molecular Proteomics, will visit the University of Georgia for the Professor Larry H. Beard & Linda N. Beard School of Medicine Lectureship, presenting a talk titled “Poetry of the Commonplace: The Power of Narrative in Medicine.” The lecture will take place Wednesday, April 1, from 12:00–1:00 p.m. in Wright Hall, Room 150 on the Health Sciences Campus, with lunch provided beginning at 11:45 a.m. The event is open to students, faculty, staff, and the public.

Dr. Houston specializes in advanced heart failure care, including the management of patients before and after heart transplantation and the use of left ventricular assist devices (LVADs). A graduate of Emory University School of Medicine, he completed his residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he served as assistant chief of service of the Thayer Firm while helping instruct residents and medical students. He remained at Johns Hopkins for his cardiology fellowship and additional training in advanced heart failure, LVAD therapy, and cardiac transplantation.

Dr. Houston has presented his research at international scientific meetings and has particular interests in cardiac sarcoidosis and the systemic effects of LVAD support on the gastrointestinal tract, blood, and right-sided heart function. He was named a finalist for the American Heart Association’s Young Clinician Award in 2015. The Professor Larry H. Beard & Linda N. Beard School of Medicine Lectureship was endowed by Linda N. Beard ’71 and Dr. Larry H. Beard ’64, ’65, ’74.