Wendy S. Post, MD, MS

Professional Titles

• Lou and Nancy Grasmick Professor of Cardiology
• Director of Cardiovascular Research, Division of Cardiology
• Johns Hopkins Cardiovascular Fellowship Research Director

Primary Academic Title

Professor of Medicine

Background

Centers and Institutes

• Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease
• Heart and Vascular Institute
• Women's Cardiovascular Health Center

Recent News Articles and Media Coverage

• Genetic Variation Doubles Risk of Aortic Valve Calcification (2/7/13)

  Johns Hopkins Study Shows Link Between HIV Infection and Coronary Artery Disease (03/31/14)

  Social Determinants of Health Are Important Contributors to Mortality Disparities in U.S., Study Finds (08/11/2022)

Research Interests

Cardiovascular and genetic epidemiology, Cardiovascular disease in HIV and COVID-19, Prediction and prevention of coronary heart disease and sudden cardiac death, racial/ethnic and sex different in CVD., Subclinical atherosclerosis imaging

Lab Website

Post Lab - Lab Website

• The Post Lab is involved in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), a collaborative study of the characteristics of subclinical cardiovascular disease (that is, disease detected non-invasively before it has produced clinical signs and symptoms) and the risk factors that predict progression to clinically overt cardiovascular disease or progression of the subclinical disease. As MESA researchers, we study a diverse, population-based sample of 6,814 asymptomatic men and women aged 45-84. Approximately 38 percent of the recruited participants are white, 28 percent African-American, 22 percent Hispanic, and 12 percent Asian, predominantly of Chinese descent. Participants were recruited from six field centers across the United States, including Johns Hopkins University. Each participant received an extensive physical exam to determine a number of conditions, including coronary calcification, ventricular mass and function, flow-mediated endothelial vasodilation, standard coronary risk factors, sociodemographic factors, lifestyle factors, and psychosocial factors. Selected repetition of subclinical disease measures and risk factors at follow-up visits have allowed study of the progression of disease. Participants are being followed for identification and characterization of cardiovascular disease events, including acute myocardial infarction and other forms of coronary heart disease (CHD), stroke, and congestive heart failure; for cardiovascular disease interventions; and for mortality. Wendy S. Post, MD, MS, is an associate faculty, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research, Johns Hopkins University, and a professor of medicine.

Research Summary

Dr. Post’s research interests include prediction and prevention of coronary heart disease and sudden cardiac death, noninvasive imaging of subclinical atherosclerosis, genetics of cardiovascular disease,  sex and racial/ethnic differences in cardiovascular disease, and cardiovascular disease in HIV/AIDS and COVID-19. She is the chair of the steering committee, and the principal investigator for the Hopkins field center for the NIH-funded Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and leads the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) Cardiovascular Disease sub-study. She has been the PI for three R01 grants from NHLBI investigating cardiovascular disease in HIV, and is dual PI on the cardiology NHLBI training grant, which has been continuously funded for over 45 years.

Selected Publications

• Post WS, Haberlen SA, Witt MD, Zhang L, Jacobson LP, Brown TT, Margolick JB, Kingsley L, Palella FJ Jr, Budoff M. Suboptimal HIV suppression is associated with progression of coronary artery stenosis: The Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) longitudinal coronary CT angiography study. Atherosclerosis. 2022 Jul;353:33-40. PMID: 35577614

• Post WS, Watson KE, Hansen S, Folsom AR, Szklo M, Shea S, Barr RG, Burke G, Bertoni AG, Allen N, Pankow JS, Lima JAC, Rotter JI, Kaufman JD, Johnson WC, Kronmal RA, Diez-Roux AV, McClelland RL. Racial and Ethnic Differences in All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality: The MESA Study. Circulation. 2022 Jul 19;146(3):229-239. PMID: 35861763

• Post WS, Budoff M, Kingsley L, Palella FJ, Witt MD, Li X, George RT, Brown T, Jacobson LP. Associations between HIV Infection and Subclinical Coronary Atherosclerosis. Ann Intern Med 2014;160:458-467. PMID:24687069. PMCID:PMC4143766

• Czarny MJ, Shah SJ, Whelton SP, Blaha MJ, Tsai MY, Denis R, Bertoni A, Post WS. Race/Ethnicity and Prevalence of Aortic Stenosis by Echocardiography in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2021; 78(2):195-197

• Heravi AS, Etzkorn L, Urbanek J, Crainiceanu C, Punjabi NM, Ashikaga H, Brown TT, Budoff MJ, D'Souza G, Magnani JW, Palella FJ Jr, Berger RD, Wu KC, Post WS. HIV Infection is Associated with Variability in Ventricular Repolarization: The Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS). Circulation 2020;21;141(3):176-87. PMC7077971

• Thanassoulis G, Campbell CY, Owens DS, Smith JG, Smith AV, Peloso GM, Kerr KF, Pechlivanis S, Budoff MJ, Harris TB, Malhotra R, O'Brien KD, Kamstrup PR, Nordestgaard BG, Tybjaerg-Hansen A, Allison MA, Aspelund T, Criqui MH, Heckbert SR, S-J Liu Y, Sjogren M, van der Pals J, Kälsch H, Mühleisen TW, Nöthen MM, Cupples LA, Muriel Caslake M, Di Angelantonio E, Danesh J, Rotter JI, Sigurdsson S, Wong Q, Erbel R, Kathiresan S, Melander O, Gudnason V, O'Donnell CJ, Post WS. Genetic Associations with Valve Calcification and Aortic Stenosis. N Engl J Med 2013; 368(6):503-512. PMCID:PMC3766627

• Wu KC, Haberlen SA, Plankey MW, Palella FJ, Piggot DA, Kirk GD, Margolick JB, Post WS. Human Immunodeficiency Viral Infection and Differences in Interstitial Ventricular Fibrosis and Left Atrial Size. Eur Heart J Cardiovasc Imaging. 2021; 22(8):888-895

Honors

• Member, American Clinical and Climatologic Association
• Member, Association of University Cardiologists
• Fellow of the American Heart Association, AHA, 6/1/22
• Elected to American Society of Clinical Investigation (ASCI), 1/1/15
• Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, 1/1/99

Memberships

• American College of Cardiology
• American Heart Association

Professional Activities

• Abstract Grader for Scientific Sessions, American Heart Association
• Circulation, Associate Editor
• Johns Hopkins University, Associate Faculty, Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research
• Johns Hopkins University, Co-chair, Johns Hopkins University Committee on the Biomedical Scientific Workforce
• Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Member, Professorial Promotion Committee
• Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, PI (dual), NHLBI Cardiology post-doc training grant, T32HL007227