Atul R. Chugh. M.D.

Dr. Chugh completed his internship in Internal Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center followed by a residency at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, IL. Thereafter, Dr. Chugh pursued a specialty fellowship in Hypertensive Diseases at the University of Chicago Medical Center. Throughout his medical training, Dr. Chugh has been fascinated by the works of Drs. Piero Anversa and Roberto Bolli on adult stem cells with potential applications in clinical settings. As a result, Dr. Chugh specifically sought out his training in cardiovascular medicine under Dr. Bolli at the University of Louisville Medical Center. There, he had the opportunity to study cardiac-derived c-Kit+ve cells in in vitro and in animals. His focus remained firmly translational during this time. The primary focus of his cardiovascular medicine training was managing, alongside Dr. Bolli, the SCIPIO trial, a Phase I clinical study examining the effects of c-Kit+ve cells in patients with chronic ischemia. Dr. Chugh was intimately involved in all aspects of the trial, including trial design, patient enrollment, stem cell isolation, data analysis, and the interpretation and analysis of the cardiac MR imaging obtained in the trial. To this end, Dr. Chugh is currently pursuing post-doctoral training in advanced cardiac imaging at the Johns Hopkins University Medical Center to further develop the use of imaging modalities to more sensitively gauge the effects of stem cell therapy on the heart. Upon completion of his training at Johns Hopkins early next year, Dr. Chugh will join the faculty of the University of Louisville as an assistant professor to continue work on the therapeutic use of adult cardiac stem cells under the continued guidance of Dr. Bolli and lead the creation of a cardiac imaging center at the University of Louisville.