USA Health names Luanda Grazette, M.D. division chief of cardiology
Grazette will lead strategic efforts to expand cardiovascular services, strengthen research initiatives, and cultivate an environment that supports clinical excellence and academic growth.
By Michelle Ryan
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Luanda Grazette, M.D., MPH, FACC, a distinguished physician-scientist, educator, and national leader in the field of advanced heart failure and transplant cardiology, recently joined USA Health as its new division chief of cardiology. She brings a wealth of clinical expertise, research accomplishments, and visionary leadership to her new role.
“Dr. Grazette is a nationally recognized expert in heart failure with an impressive record of excellence in clinical care and research,” said Nasser Lakkis, M.Sc.-M.D., FACC, chair of internal medicine at USA Health. “Her appointment marks an exciting new chapter for the division of cardiology in our department.”
Her career spans academic medicine, clinical trials, and biopharmaceutical innovation. A native of Docena, a small town outside Birmingham, Alabama, Grazette said her early experiences shaped her deep commitment to improving the lives of patients affected by heart failure—one of the most common and debilitating chronic conditions among adults older than 55.
“Almost every family is touched by heart failure which creates an enormous societal burden, and patients suffering from heart failure are unduly burdened by fatigue and suffering,” she said. “I am interested in research that expands treatment options for patients with heart failure and specifically in those interventions than can reverse the ravages of the condition.”
Grazette earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham and completed both medical school and a master’s in public health administration at Harvard University. She finished her internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston, followed by a fellowship in cardiovascular medicine at Emory University in Atlanta, and returned to MGH for advanced training in heart failure and transplantation.
The Whiddon College of Medicine professor is board-certified in cardiovascular disease and advanced heart failure and transplantation by the American Board of Internal Medicine.
Her career as a physician-scientist has included NIH-funded research on the mechanisms of cardiotoxicity related to cancer therapeutics. In the biopharmaceutical sector, Grazette served as a global medical director at Amgen, where she had leadership roles in the development of novel cardiovascular drugs including Repatha® and Omecamtiv Mecarbil.
In 2010, Grazette returned to academic medicine to pursue her passion for patient care and mentorship. At the University of Southern California, she served for a decade as co-director of advanced heart failure and cardiomyopathy, launched a successful heart failure research program, initiated and served as program director for the fellowship in advanced heart failure and transplantation and trained and supported future leaders in cardiology. Most recently, she served as director of advanced heart failure and heart failure recovery and therapeutic innovation at the University of Miami, which achieved American Heart Association Gold Recognition in Heart Failure in less than three years.
“Academic medical systems hold the responsibility for the future of medicine,” Grazette said. “This responsibility lies in the generations of clinicians socialized and trained and also in the efforts to expand knowledge and improve care. These fundamental ideals of academic medicine mirror my ideals as a physician.”
Lakkis said that as division chief Grazette will lead strategic efforts to expand cardiovascular services, strengthen research initiatives, and cultivate an environment that supports clinical excellence and academic growth.
“She brings a strong vision for advancing cardiac care with a deep commitment to improving health outcomes in our community, and to close gaps in access and improve the lives of individuals we serve,” he said. “Equally important, Dr. Grazette is an inspiring educator and mentor, and our trainees will benefit greatly from her knowledge, bedside teaching, and research.”
Grazette has experience treating congestive heart failure, amyloidosis, peripartum and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, advanced heart failure and transplantation, arrhythmia, cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and more.
She is accepting new patients at the USA Health Cardiology clinic, located at 6300 USA Health Blvd. in Mobile. To schedule an appointment, call 251-873-6280.
