LQTS Advisor

Dr. Dominic Abrams is the Co-Director of the Center for Cardiovascular Genetics at Boston Children’s Hospital, where he leads a program providing comprehensive clinical care and translational research for a wide range of cardiovascular genetic disorders. He is also a member of the Cardiovascular Genetic Program at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and serves as an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. 

Dr. Abrams' research focuses on inherited arrhythmia syndromes and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathies, with a particular emphasis on developing novel therapies that target underlying genetic abnormalities. His work also explores the mechanisms of variant penetrance, seeking to improve the understanding of how genetic variations influence disease expression and patient outcomes. 

Dr. Abrams trained in both pediatric and adult cardiology at The Royal Brompton, University College, and St. Bartholomew’s Hospitals in London. He later served on the faculty at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital as an adult interventional cardiologist and electrophysiologist. He holds a research doctorate from the University of London and an MBA from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 

LQTS Advisor

Dr. Michael Ackerman is a Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Molecular Pharmacology at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. He serves as the Director of the Long QT Syndrome/Inherited Arrhythmia Clinic and the Sudden Death Genomics Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic, where he leads pioneering research and patient care for inherited arrhythmia syndromes. 

Dr. Ackerman has dedicated his career to advancing the understanding and treatment of cardiac channelopathies. Since 2006, he has served as President of the Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndromes (SADS) Foundation, where he has played a key role in raising awareness of inherited arrhythmias and supporting families affected by conditions such as Long QT Syndrome (LQTS). 

After graduating from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, Dr. Ackerman earned his MD and PhD from the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. He completed his residency in Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, followed by a fellowship in Pediatric Cardiology and postdoctoral training in Molecular Genetics at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine. He joined the Mayo Clinic faculty in 2000 and has since become a leading expert in sudden infant death syndrome, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and congenital long QT syndrome. 

Dr. Ackerman’s research and clinical expertise have made a significant impact on the diagnosis, management, and prevention of life-threatening arrhythmias, positioning him as a key figure in the field of inherited cardiovascular disorders. 

LQTS Advisor

Dr. Marco Perez is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he serves as Director of the Stanford Inherited Arrhythmia Clinic, Director of the Stanford Electrocardiography Laboratory, and Faculty Associate Director of the Stanford Center for Cardiovascular Diseases. 

Dr. Perez earned his undergraduate and medical degrees from Harvard University before completing his internal medicine residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. He then moved to Stanford University, where he completed fellowships in Cardiology and Electrophysiology. In 2010, he founded the Stanford Inherited Arrhythmia Clinic and has since been managing families with inherited arrhythmic conditions. His research focuses on the epidemiology and genetics of inherited arrhythmias, including Long QT Syndrome (LQTS), catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia (CPVT), and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, as well as early-onset atrial fibrillation. He has also used bioinformatics to identify genomic therapeutic targets for heart failure. 

Dr. Perez has led multiple high-impact research studies, including the NIH/NHLBI-funded WHISH STAR study, which examined the effects of exercise on cardiac arrhythmias in the elderly. He was co-PI of the groundbreaking Apple Heart Study, which tested wearable algorithms to detect atrial fibrillation. Currently, he serves as PI of the Clinical Coordinating Center for the REACT-AF trial, which explores the use of wearable devices to guide anticoagulant therapy in patients with atrial fibrillation. His laboratory also applies machine learning tools to assess cardiovascular disease risk. 

Dr. Perez’s work is supported by funding from the NIH/NHLBI, Apple Inc., Janssen, and the Colson Foundation. 

Senior Clinical Advisor

Dr. Philip Sager is a cardiac electrophysiologist with an extensive career spanning academia, drug development, and regulatory policy. He was a tenured faculty member at the UCLA School of Medicine and currently serves as an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at the Stanford University School of Medicine. 

Dr. Sager has held senior leadership roles in the pharmaceutical industry, including Vice President of CV/Metabolic Development at Gilead Sciences and Executive Director at AstraZeneca. In these roles, he led the development of several major drugs, including Zetia, Vytorin, Crestor, Letairis, and Brilinta, and contributed to multiple NDAs and sNDAs. He also served on the Board of Directors of Anthera, Inc., a public biotechnology company, and is a co-founder of Thryv Therapeutics. 

Dr. Sager is a past chair of the FDA Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee and a Founding Member and Executive Committee member of the FDA-Sponsored Cardiac Safety Research Consortium. He has played a significant international leadership role in cardiovascular safety issues in drug development and public health policy and served as the ICH E14 (the "QT Guidance") PhRMA Expert Working Group Topic Leader. 

Dr. Sager holds an M.D. from Yale University School of Medicine and B.S. degrees in Biology and Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He completed his training in internal medicine, cardiology, and cardiac electrophysiology at Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Sager has authored more than 200 original manuscripts and abstracts.