Dr. Catherine Wagner is an integrated cardiac surgery resident at the University of Michigan, interested in sex outcomes disparities after cardiac surgery. From Michigan originally, Dr. Wagner attended The Johns Hopkins University for her undergraduate studies, and received her bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering with a concentration in cell and tissue engineering, where she graduated with general and departmental honors. She spent time working for AstraZeneca prior to returning to her home state and attending medical school at the University of Michigan. As a medical student, Dr. Wagner was inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha, received the Dean’s Commendation for Excellence, graduated with Academic Distinction, and was awarded a merit-based scholarship for being one of the top graduating women in her class.

Dr. Wagner is committed to narrowing long-standing sex disparities in outcomes after cardiac surgery. She was selected to be a National Clinician Scholar (formerly the Robert Wood Johnson Fellowship) at Michigan and spent two years of academic development time studying sex-based disparities in outcomes where her work has been published in JAMA network journals, the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, and Annals of Thoracic Surgery. She also received her Master’s of Science of Clinical Research to lay a foundation to become an academic surgeon scientist. She is also interested in improving family planning for graduate medical trainees and has been invited to engage in national committees and panelists to offer her perspective on pregnancy and family planning as a resident.

Dr. Wagner wants to be a part of M-BRISC to take advantage of the opportunities for collaboration and partnership with other researchers and clinicians who are similarly motivated to improve cardiovascular outcomes for female patients. Through membership, Dr. Wagner could offer a trainee perspective to create programs that engage other early career members. Dr. Wagner would be honored to be a part of M-BRISC to work together to improve women’s cardiovascular outcomes through high-quality science and collaboration.