Said Saab, MD, MED

Dr. Blume has a consultative rheumatologic practice with a special interest in inflammatory rheumatic diseases, including Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (Lupus), Rheumatoid Arthritis and Vasculitis. Throughout his career, Dr. Blume has received numerous professional accolades, including being recognized as a "Top Doctor" by Castle/Connolly and New Yorkmagazine, among others. In addition to his clinical practice, Dr. Blume is a Professor of Clinical Medicine at Columbia University where he has an integral role Rheumatology Fellowship Training Program. Dr. Blume is the Director of the Harkness Report, a long-standing Columbia tradition for junior and senior residents on outpatient rotations to present cases to a two-attending panel. Dr. Blume's reputation and dedication as a senior educator in the Department has led this conference to be coined as "Blume Rounds".

James H. Garvin, MD, PhD, is a board-certified pediatric hematologist-oncologist who specializes in the care of children and adolescents with brain tumors. He is Principal Investigator at CUMC for the Head Start Program of radiation-sparing intensive chemotherapy for infants and young children with brain tumors. He was principal investigator for a Children's Oncolgy Group protocol for childhood ependymoma. He also offers novel therapies for recurrent brain tumors through our program's membership in Developmental Therapeutics Program of the COG. In addition, Dr. Garvin started the pediatric bone marrow transplant program, and continues as a member of the BMT group. He has particular interest in autologous transplant for brain tumors and allogeneic transplant for metabolic disorders and bone marrow failure syndromes, as well as supportive care for BMT patients. Dr. Garvin became interested in pediatric hematology/oncology through research during medical school in the laboratory of a pediatric hematologist. He is a member of numerous professional societies in the field.

Torsten P. Vahl, MD, is the Director of Translational Research and an attending physician at Columbia University Irving Medical Center/NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. He is also an Assistant Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.Dr. Vahl is board-certified in interventional cardiology, cardiovascular disease, echocardiography, and internal medicine. He specializes in the percutaneous treatment of coronary artery disease and structural heart disease, including cardiac catheterization. His primary focus areas include transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR), transcatheter mitral valve repair and replacement (TMVR), and left atrial appendage closure.Dr. Vahl is involved in preclinical and first-in-human studies through his work with the Cardiovascular Research Foundation. He served as the national principal investigator for the ALIGN-AR trial, following his involvement in the device's preclinical research. He also proctors other interventional cardiologists on TAVR using the Trilogy valve and on TMVR with the Cephea valve. In the area of left atrial appendage closure, he has helped develop an intracardiac echo program that enables patients to undergo the procedure without general anesthesia or transesophageal echocardiography (TEE).Dr. Vahl earned his medical degree from Philipps-Universität in Marburg, Germany. He completed his residency in internal medicine and his fellowship in cardiovascular disease at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City. He then completed fellowships in interventional cardiology and structural interventional cardiology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.