RISE Scholars - Jessica Pena, MD, MPH, FACC

Jessica Peña, MD, MPH, FACC
Montefiore Medical Center
RISE Cohort 4

I am a cardiologist and assistant professor at Montefiore Medical Center /Albert Einstein College of Medicine. I graduated from Brown University and received my medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College. I completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Cornell and a fellowship in cardiovascular medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. I also completed a Master of Public Health in Clinical Effectiveness from the Harvard School of Public Health.

As a cardiologist interested in disease prevention, I am humbled in my day to day practice by the burden of modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as obesity, inactivity, hypertension, and smoking. Although cardiology is a field ripe with evidence from many clinical trials, there is a large gap in translating evidence and guidelines into clinical practice in many populations. The field of implementation science holds promise in helping to bridge this gap.