Natalie Marrero

My name is Natalie Marrero. I am a first-generation college graduate and the first in my family to pursue a medical degree. I graduated from the University of Miami in 2019 with a double major in Biochemistry and Psychology. I was awarded a full tuition scholarship (Conway Scholarship) to attend medical school. I graduated from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 2023. At Hopkins, I began to work with the Preventive Cardiologists and Lipidologists there studying the association between lipoprotein(a) and LDL-C with calcific aortic valve disease. Thus far, I have been first author on one publication in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging revealing the association between elevated lipoprotein(a) levels and aortic valve calcification, irrespective of inflammation. I also presented that paper as an accepted abstract at the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography 2022 conference. Based on that project, I led a second project looking at the association between lipoprotein(a), low density lipoprotein cholesterol, aortic valve calcium score and long-term risk of incident severe aortic stenosis. My abstract showing that aortic valve calcium score, irrespective of lipoprotein(a) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level, was the best prognostic marker of long-term incident severe AS was accepted and presented at the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography Conference 2023. The manuscript, for which I am the first author, is currently in the peer review process for publication in JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging. As a current PGY1 Internal Medicine resident, I will continue to expand the literature on the association between lipids and aortic valve disease with an emphasis on the identification of high-risk patients and prevention of aortic valve disease and/or disease progression. I hope to apply to Cardiology fellowship and further specialize in cardiac CT and lipidology.