Sunday, November 17, 12:15-1
American Heart Association Scientific Sessions
Health Innovation Pavilion
Philadelphia Convention Center

Wearable devices have been tracking physical activity for a while.  While tracking is the first step, what are strategies from using this knowledge to improve cardiovascular health?

This panel will be moderated by Dr. Mike McConnell from Google. Dr. McConnell will be joined by Dr. Ulrik Wisloff from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and PAI Health, Heather Provino from the Scanlan Group, Amy Bantham from Harvard University, and Dr. Bill Kraus from Duke University.

Mike McConnell

Michael V. McConnell, MD, MSEE is  a Senior Research Scientist at Google Health and Clinical Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine at Stanford School of Medicine.  Dr. McConnell has clinical and research expertise in cardiovascular imaging, prevention, and mobile health. While at Stanford, he led the Cardiovascular MRI program, the Preventive Cardiology Clinic, and the MyHeart Counts cardiovascular mHealth ResearchKit study.

Dr. McConnell completed his BS and MS in EE/BioE at MIT, his MD at Stanford, and his Cardiovascular Medicine and Imaging Fellowships at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School. He has been the PI of multiple grants from the NIH and AHA, and is a Fellow of the AHA and ACC. He serves on the AHA’s Health Tech Advisory Board since its founding and is currently co-chair of AHA’s 2030 Goals Task Force. He also serves on the Physical Activity Standards working group for the Consumer Technology Association.”

Ulrik Wisloff

Professor Ulrik Wisløff, PhD, is the head of Cardiac Exercise Research Group at the Nobel Prize winning Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences at The Norwegian University of Science and Technology. He is the inventor of the Fitness Age and Personal Activity Intelligence (PAI) concepts. Dr. Wisløff is an internationally recognized researcher, professor and entrepreneur in the field of exercise physiology. He has published more than 300 research articles about exercise training and health and is the world’s most cited Exercise Physiologist. His exercise programs, Fitness Age Test and the PAI concept have been successfully used by millions of people worldwide.

Heather Provino

Heather Provino is an exercise physiologist, founder and managing partner of The Scanlon Group who channels her entrepreneurial background and strategic vision to assist health organizations on accelerating business growth and achieving financial goals while setting up long-term organizational viability.   Heather’s unique mix of clinical skills, business acumen and deal experience help her in her frequent role as “operator in residence’ for business and investor deal teams.

Prior to her current venture, Heather translated her joint passion for business and health into creating a proven industry leader in global population health management growing her company from 2 employees in Rhode Island to over 13,000 nationwide. Her leadership shaped the company’s commitment to industry best practices in the form of accreditation with the National Committee for Quality Assurance, adherence to Six Sigma process management standards, and the development of products and services designed to reduce risk and employer healthcare spend. Under Heather’s leadership, Provant served leading employers and payors including many of the Fortune 100 as well as leading payers.

Heather holds a Bachelor of Science from Binghamton University and a Master of Science from Ithaca College. She maintains an active role in the American Heart Association as a member of the Southern New England AHA Board where she is also past Chairman of the Board, member of the Go Red for Women Circle of Red, member of the Health Tech Advisory Group, Cor Vitae member and past member of the Founders Board. Heather also serves as a Director on the Delta Dental of RI, Zillion Board and Binghamton University Alumni Boards. She was named a Woman to Watch in Health Care Services by PBN and has also been a contributing member of the HERO think tank and served as a health expert on 3 TEDMED Great Challenges panels.

Amy Bantham

With 15 years of experience working in health & healthcare, Amy is passionate about helping people live longer, healthier and more active lives.   Her current research focuses on physicians prescribing exercise to change patient exercise behavior. Her other recent projects are at the intersection of health & healthcare, researching health system interventions to prevent chronic disease and improve the health and well-being of the patients and the communities they serve.

She currently serves as a consultant to the IHRSA Foundation’s ACCESS Health Initiative, which helps health clubs provide programming and services to people living with chronic disease and disability. In her previous role as the Vice President of Health Promotion and Health Policy for the fitness industry association, she helped grow and promote an industry helping 180 million people get physically active.

Amy will receive her Doctor of Public Health from the Harvard School of Public Health in May 2020. She also holds a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University, a Master in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a Master of Science from Northeastern University.

William E. Kraus, M.D. Dr. Kraus is a practicing preventive cardiologist with specific interests and expertise in cardiac rehabilitation and athletic performance. His research interests span from basic science; to the human physiology underlying exercise training benefits on cardiovascular health; to the human genetics of cardiometabolic diseases. He has been principal investigator for STRRIDE — a series of three NIH-sponsored human studies focusing on the dose-response effects of exercise training on cardiometabolic health producing over 50 independent publications. He served on the 2008 and 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committees in preparation for the 2008 and 2018 US Physical Activity Guidelines. He is serving as President of the American College of Sports Medicine in the Year 2019-2020.