Our Leadership
Shepard D. Weiner, MD
Dr. Weiner is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC)/New York-Presbyterian (NYP). He is the Medical Director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center at CUIMC/NYP, and specializes in the diagnosis and management of patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center utilizes all the resources at the medical center to provide comprehensive care including advanced cardiac imaging, participation in clinical trials, cardiogenetics evaluation, and invasive septal reduction therapies (septal myectomy or alcohol septal ablation) when indicated.
Dr. Weiner also is an Attending physician at CUIMC/NYP’s Cardiovascular Ultrasound laboratory where he performs and interprets stress echocardiograms, transesophageal echocardiogram, and transthoracic echocardiograms on HCM patients.
Dr. Weiner has published extensively on HCM research topics, and speaks nationally and internationally sharing his HCM expertise. He is the site principal investigator for many HCM clinical trials involving cardiac myosin inhibitor therapy.
Under his direction the CUIMC/NYP HCM Center has been recognized as a Center of Excellence by the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association (HCMA) since June 2022.
He is proud to provide exceptional care to HCM patients seen at CUIMC/NYP, and lead an expanding HCM program at the medical center during this exciting time for HCM patients given the many recent advances in the field.
Hiroo Takayama, MD, PhD
Dr. Takayamais Chief of Adult Cardiac Surgery at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC)/New York-Presbyterian (NYP). He is the Surgical Director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center at CUIMC/NYP as well as the Director of Aortic Surgery, and has more than 20 years of experience in treating patients with heart and vascular problems. During this time, he has contributed to the care of over 4,000 patients by performing a variety of aortic and cardiac surgical procedures, approximately 300-350 operations every year. He is one of the most experienced surgeons performing septal myectomy for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy worldwide.
Dr. Takayama is internationally recognized for his work on septal myectomy for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, complex aortic surgery, and heart failure surgery. He is also a leader in outcomes research in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, aortic diseases, and heart failure. He has published more than 300-350 manuscripts in prestigious, peer-reviewed journals and has authored numerous book chapters about heart disease.
Yuichi J. Shimada, MD, MPH
Dr. Shimada is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC)/New York-Presbyterian (NYP). He is the Research Director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center at CUIMC/NYP. He is also a Faculty of the Frontiers in Cardiovascular Discovery Workshop as a part of the Body in Health and Disease Course at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Dr. Shimada has been internationally recognized for his research in advancing our understanding of HCM. He has served as an ad-hoc reviewer/judge for research grant funding systems of American Heart Association (5 times), University of Muenster (Germany), and Swiss National Science Foundation (twice). He is an editorial board member of 3 peer-reviewed scientific journals. He has performed peer-review as an ad-hoc reviewer for >40 scientific journals, and the list includes top journals such as Circulation, European Heart Journal, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, JAMA Cardiology, and Annals of Internal Medicine. He has also received multiple awards and prizes for his research and gave >100 invited lectures nationally and internationally (e.g., Portugal, Korea, and Japan). Dr. Shimada has been a site investigator and site principal investigator of several multi-center, international, randomized controlled trials on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and heart failure. Additionally, Dr. Shimada serves as a Board Member and Chair of Scholarship Committee at Japanese Medical Society of America.
Lusha Liang, MD, MS
Dr. Liang is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC)/New York-Presbyterian (NYP). She is the Associate Medical Director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center at CUIMC/NYP, and specializes in the diagnosis and management of patient with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center utilizes all the resources at the medical center to provide comprehensive care including advanced cardiac imaging, participation in clinical trials, cardiogenetics evaluation, and invasive septal reduction therapies (septal myectomy or alcohol septal ablation) when indicated.
Dr. Liang is also an Attending physician at CUIMC/NYP’s Cardiovascular Ultrasound laboratory where she performs and interprets stress echocardiograms, transesophageal echocardiograms, and transthoracic echocardiograms on HCM patients.
Dr. Liang has published extensively on HCM research topics, and speaks nationally and internationally sharing her HCM expertise. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, and Echocardiography. In her practice, she strives to provide cutting edge cardiovascular care that is compassionate and patient-centered.