Z. Ozlem Soran, MD, MPH, FACC, FESC

Dr. Soran was highly successful in developing a research program in the area of enhanced external counterpulsation (EECP) and heart failure and she has earned both U.S. and international recognition for her research activities during the past 20 years both here in Pittsburgh and in Europe. First, Dr. Soran and her colleagues recognized that EECP was safe and effective in patients with ischemic heart disease and compromised left ventricular function (European Heart Journal, 2000). This important observation led her to undertake a safety and efficacy study of EECP in patients with both ischemic and non-ischemic left ventricular dysfunction and heart failure (Congest Heart Fail 2002). Based on these a multi-center clinical study – the PEECH Trial – was begun and completed. Findings from these studies lead the FDA to approve the use of EECP treatment in heart failure management on June 2002.

Dr. Soran also holds a MPH degree from the University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health and served as an Associate Professor of Epidemiology/ Research between 2005- 2014.

In the heart failure arena, Dr. Soran received a grant from Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to study the influence of home monitoring systems on the care of patients with heart failure.The results of this clinical trail was selected for presentation at the Late Breaking Clinical Trials at the HFSA 2007 and ACC 2008.

Collaborative research studies in which Dr. Soran directed including Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services grant and industry sponsored studies with a research budget of $3,151,752 million.

Dr. Soran graduated from Ankara College in 1982 and Ankara Medical School in 1989. In 1987 she was a scholar as an International Federation of Medical Students Fellow in the General Alvarez de Castro Hospital in Spain and received her medical degree in 1989 after serving an internship in Ankara. She received her specialization degree in cardiology in 1996 and was made a Chief Instructor at the M. Ulker Teaching Hospital.During her residency Dr. Soran received a Japanese Government Scholarship to spend a year studying invasive cardiology. In 1997, Dr. Soran came to the University of Pittsburgh as a Postdoctoral Fellow. She returned to Turkey in 1999 and served as an attending cardiologist in the Cardiology Department of the Dr. MU Teaching and Research Hospital.
In 2001 she returned to the University of Pittsburgh as Research Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Cardiology and was appointed Director of EECP Resarch Lab between 2001 and 2011 and in 2011 she became the Director of EECP Treatment lab. Dr. Soran was promoted to an Associate Professor of Medicine in 2003 followed by a promotion to Professor of Medicine.She worked as a full time faculty for 14 years.

Dr Soran established herself as an outstanding educator, performing at a superlative level in teaching the Cardiovascular Section of Pathophysiology for the Sophomore Medical Students.Indeed, several times, she has received the highest grades of anyone in the Cardiology Department for her outstanding teaching effort. Dr. Soran also served as the Director of EECP Training program for Cardiology fellows between 2012 and 2017.
Currently, she focused her activities on Medical education.