Postdoctoral Research Fellow @MethodistHosp @Almallah_Labs | MD’24🇱🇧 AAMC ID 15776510
Houston, TX
Joined January 2024
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Maria Alwan retweeted
6/ None of this happens alone. Thank you to my mentor, Dr. Al-Mallah, to Dr. Mahmoud Al Rifai, and to my coauthors and teammates. On to the next one. #CardioTwitter #NuclearCardiology #CardiacPET
@almallahmo
@MariaAlwan_
@ahmadyaman2000
@ElGhazawi_Alaa
@SarkisPatrick
Maria Alwan retweeted
Couldn't be happier to be back from #ASNC2026 in Las Vegas with big achievements. It was a full week, three presentations on stage, two papers out, and some news I'm proud to share below:
1) 🗣️Oral presentation: "Steal Phenomena as a Marker of Complete Occlusion in Patients Undergoing ⁸²Rb PET MPI"
2) 🗣️Oral presentation: "7-Minute Acquisition Protocol for [¹⁸F]Flurpiridaz PET Myocardial Perfusion Imaging: A Feasible Alternative to the Standard Protocol"
3) 🫀 Case presentation: "Improvement in Myocardial Flow Reserve Across Treated and Untreated Territories After PCI: Insights From Serial PET"
4) 🏆I've been selected for the ASNC Future Leaders Program. Honored to be included, and grateful to the people who've supported me along the way.
5) 🎤 My mentor, Mouaz Al-Mallah, MD, MSc, FACC, delivered the prestigious Mario Verani Memorial Lecture, a proud moment to see his work recognized on that stage.
6) 🌟 As a team, we delivered 14 presentations and came away with 5 awards. Incredibly proud of this group.
- On the SMuRF front: For decades we've built cardiovascular risk around the standard modifiable risk factors (SMuRFs): hypertension, diabetes, dyslipidemia, and smoking. Yet a growing share of patients develop coronary disease, and events, without a single one of them, and their outcomes aren't always better for it I am glad with the recent publications of my two SMuRF papers in JACC and EHJ.
JACC: Advances: "Prognostic Impact of CCTA According to Standard Cardiovascular Modifiable Risk Factors" how the prognostic value of coronary CT angiography tracks with a patient's SMuRF profile. jacc.org/doi/10.1016/j.jacad…
European Heart Journal: Cardiovascular Imaging: "Incremental Prognostic Value of Standard Modifiable Risk Factor Burden Across SPECT Myocardial Perfusion Categories a study of 38 917 patients" SMuRF burden added prognostic information across perfusion categories. doi.org/10.1093/ehjci/jeag14…
Thank you to my mentors Dr. Mouaz Al-Mallah MD MSc FACC, Dr. Mahmoud Al Rifai and my co-authors and colleagues Maria Alwan Ahmad El Yaman Ibrahim Hassan Patrick Sarkis. This is a team effort, always. @MyASNC @HMethodistCV @MethodistHosp @almallahmo @MariaAlwan_ @ahmadyaman2000 @IbrahimHassanMD @SarkisPatrick @MalekNayfeh #NuclearCardiology #CardiacImaging #CardiacPET #CVImaging #Cardiology #SMuRF #CardioTwitter #HoustonMethodist
Maria Alwan retweeted
🎉ASNC is excited to announce that Mouaz H. Al-Mallah, MD, MSc, MASNC, will deliver the Mario S. Verani Memorial Lecture at #ASNC2026.
His lecture, “From Perfusion to Precision: Charting the Future of Nuclear Cardiology in a Multimodality World,” will examine the evolving and essential role of nuclear cardiology in today’s increasingly multimodality-focused cardiovascular imaging landscape.
👉 bit.ly/4njgPVL
Maria Alwan retweeted
#ACC26
Attending & presenting our original research at my first in-person ACC was an early 2026 win.
Incredibly grateful to our mentor @almallahmo and all @Almallah_Labs teammates
@HMethodistCV
Extremely grateful to share that I matched at @MethodistHosp for Internal Medicine training.
Truly thankful to my incredible mentor @almallahmo for his guidance and unwavering support, and to the entire Houston Methodist family for their trust and support. This wouldn’t have been possible without Dr @WilliamZoghbi @HeartToProve @ mahmoudalrifai
Excited to continue learning and growing with the Methodist community!
#Match2026
Maria Alwan retweeted
Great case presentation by our research fellow @MariaAlwan_ 👏
Rb-82 PET showed normal perfusion, but F-18 flurpiridaz PET unmasked LAD territory ischemia ; highlighting the superior resolution and diagnostic sensitivity of F-18 imaging. @MyASNC
Maria Alwan retweeted
Always a great time at #ACC, where I get to reconnect with old friends and mentors, and make new ones.
Maria Alwan retweeted
Honored to attend my first #ACC2026 conference with a moderated poster on MFR & secondary prevention
🚀 Proud to be part of an exceptionally productive team
🙏 Grateful to my mentors for their continuous guidance and support
@HMethodistCV @ACCinTouch
Dream Team🌟
Houston Methodist showing up strong at #ASNC 🙌
And a special cameo from a former Methodist legend in the front 😄
Great to see familiar faces and our fellows doing amazing work!
@DeBakeyCVedu @MohakGuptaMD @MariaAlwan_ @almallahmo
Wrapping up Day 2 with a series of very interesting case-based discussions 🫀✨
Highlighting the role of:
• PET for viability in ischemic cardiomyopathy
• PET FDG in non-ischemic cardiomyopathy
• PET in ANOCA
• PET for transplant vasculopathy
Incredible insights from all presenters and panelists!
@AabuzaidDr @m_alfawara @MyASNC #CVNuc #ThinkPET
Starting Day 2 of Nuclear Cardiology Now: Middle East with an exciting session by Dr. @PanithayaC on ¹⁸F Flurpiridaz PET MPI 🫀✨
Key highlights:
🔹 Superior image quality: high spatial resolution, high count statistics & excellent contrast resolution
🔹 Residual activity subtraction avoids flow overestimation & restores defect severity
🔹 Adoption barriers: cost, infrastructure, training needs & reimbursement limitations
🔹 Pathways forward: regional distribution, standardized protocols, expanded training & equity-focused implementation
Exciting momentum for the future of ¹⁸F PET MPI!
@MyASNC #CVNuc #ThinkPET #CVD
Great talk by Dr. Aljizeeri on the incorporation of MBF into routine practice and its impact on patient outcomes 🫀
Key conclusions:
🔹 MBF & MFR are robust tools for evaluating chest pain and help explain symptoms in patients with or without obstructive CAD
🔹 MFR provides prognostic value across the full spectrum of cardiovascular disease
🔹 Should be integrated into clinical decision-making when evaluating patients with chest pain
@MyASNC #CVNuc #CVD #ThinkPET
Excellent overview by Dr. @falbadarin on advances in cardiac amyloidosis imaging
Key conclusions:
🔹 SPECT (+/– CT) with demonstration of myocardial uptake should be standard ; planar-only imaging is not sufficient
🔹 Always rule out plasma cell dyscrasia
🔹 PET tracers hold strong promise in overcoming limitations of 99mTc-based imaging
@MyASNC #CVNuc #CardiacAmyloidosis
Maria Alwan retweeted
PET/CT is a powerful tool for diagnosing infective endocarditis, especially in patients with prosthetic valves or devices, where echocardiography and blood cultures can be inconclusive. Key teaching points are that PET/CT offers both high sensitivity and specificity for prosthetic valve endocarditis, provides invaluable information in ambiguous clinical scenarios, and can detect extracardiac complications or septic emboli—enabling comprehensive patient evaluation. Integration of PET/CT into the diagnostic algorithm can reclassify uncertain cases, guide targeted therapies, and ultimately improve outcomes, making it an essential modality for modern endocarditis care
@MyASNC @JNCjournal @EANM_NucMed @emiratescardiac
#CVNUC #THINKPET
Starting off the first session of Nuclear Cardiology Now: Middle East! ✨
Kicking off with Dr. @mdicarli 's talk on Practical CAD Assessment in 2025, followed by insights from an outstanding expert panel.
A great start to two days of top-tier nuclear cardiology education! 🫀
@MyASNC
@almallahmo @falbadarin
Key takeaway 🔍
A risk-based approach is essential in CAD evaluation:
🔹 Low–intermediate risk: CCTA has high NPV
🔹 Intermediate–high risk: Functional testing + CAC → improved risk stratification
🔹 MBF quantification enhances accuracy for both obstructive & non-obstructive CAD
@mdicarli
@MyASNC #CVNuc #CVD @almallahmo @falbadarin
Maria Alwan retweeted
Don’t miss the ASNC Middle East virtual event—where experts unite to deliver real-world nuclear cardiology cases and high-impact presentations designed to sharpen your skills. Join your peers for interactive learning and discover the latest breakthroughs shaping cardiac imaging across the region. Link ⬇️⬇️⬇️
@almallahmo @falbadarin @PanithayaC @ShadyAbohashem @RamiDoukky @LPhillipsMD @JBourqueMD @mdicarli @MariaAlwan @MyASNC #ASNCME @emiratescardiac
asnc.ecsociety.com/registrat…
Maria Alwan retweeted
Join us & the Emirates Cardiac Society for NC Now: Middle East, Nov. 14-15.
This 2-day virtual conference will focus on the latest advancements in nuclear cardiology & evidence-based treatment options for patients w/ suspected #CVD.
Register now👉bit.ly/3JuPDEl
