by Matt Batcheldor
Joshua Beckman, MD, MSc, professor of Medicine and director of VUMC’s Section of Vascular Medicine, has been named president of VIVA Physicians, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to advancing the field of vascular medicine and intervention through education, research, advocacy and collaboration.
VIVA (Vascular InterVentional Advances) Physicians brings together experts and those who want to be experts with leaders from CMS, the FDA, industry and patient advocacy groups to advance the care of patients with vascular disease in a multidisciplinary, team-based way.
In addition to hosting VIVA, an annual multidisciplinary vascular education conference for physicians and healthcare professionals, VIVA Physicians also presents the VEINS (Venous Endovascular INterventional Strategies) conference and hosts Vascular Leaders Forums (VLF) on key issues in vascular disease.
Beckman, who joined VUMC in 2015, is a translational researcher whose work focuses on how diabetes causes vascular disease, and the mechanisms by which vascular disease limits walking and promotes amputation.
His research program includes ongoing investigations that seek to understand how peripheral artery disease and various forms of insulin resistance impact endothelial cell signaling and vasomotor function, how these interact to limit patient’s functional capacity, and how platelet activation lowers the effectiveness of revascularization.
As director of the Section of Vascular Medicine, Beckman oversees non-surgical care for patients with a range of conditions including peripheral artery disease, venous thromboembolism, vasculitis, hypertension and aortic disease.
Beckman earned his medical degree at New York University and his MS degree in Epidemiology from the Harvard School of Public Health.
Following an internship and residency at Presbyterian Hospital in New York, he completed fellowships in cardiovascular and vascular medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, where he served as director of the cardiovascular fellowship program from 2006-2013.
Beckman, who was an associate professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School prior to coming to Vanderbilt, has received numerous teaching accolades including the W. Proctor Harvey M.D., Young Teacher Award and the Eugene Braunwald Teaching Award.
