Hershey, Pa.-based Penn State Heart and Vascular Institute has selected Behzad Soleimani, MD, to serve as interim director, effective May 1.
Dr. Soleimani joined Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in 2010. He was named director of the hospital's heart transplant program in 2015, and under his leadership, it became one of the nation's top programs, with one-year, post-transplant survival rates above 95 percent, according to a news release.
Dr. Soleimani is the recipient of several awards, including a 2015 award for implanting the second-highest number of total artificial hearts in the U.S., and the fourth-highest globally.
He succeeds Lawrence Sinoway, MD, who announced he was stepping down in February.
Penn State is conducting a national search for a permanent replacement.