ASE, ASEF Name 2026 Pamela S. Douglas, MD, FASE, Research Scholar Recipient

July 23, 2026 —The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) and the ASE Foundation (ASEF) have named Nicholas Spetko, MD, MSc, of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), as the recipient of the 2026 Pamela S. Douglas, MD, FASE, Research Scholar Award. The $75,000 scholarship will support research examining the national cardiac sonographer workforce shortage and its impact on patient access to echocardiography.

Dr. Spetko’s research, “Understanding the Cardiac Sonographer Shortage and its Contribution to Rates of Clinical Echocardiography in the United States,” will use sonographer registry databases and large data analysis tools to better understand the national cardiac sonographer workforce shortage, which is currently an understudied and growing challenge for many cardiovascular imaging programs.

“Dr. Spetko was selected from a highly competitive group of applicants and exemplifies the intent of the Douglas award—to support promising early-career investigators pursuing impactful cardiovascular ultrasound research,” said Brian Davidson, MD, FASE, chair of the ASE Research Committee and a member of the ASEF Board of Directors. “Through generous donations, ASEF is able to provide this funding at the critical early-career stage to help foster the development of future research leaders. We congratulate Dr. Spetko and look forward to hearing about his research and career development.”

After earning his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine, Dr. Spetko completed his internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at BIDMC, where he now practices as a general cardiologist and echocardiographer. He also completed a T32 postdoctoral research fellowship at the Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Center for Outcomes Research under the mentorship of Jordan B. Strom, MD, MSc, FASE, and earned a Master of Science in Epidemiology from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. His research focuses on cardiovascular health outcomes and how cardiovascular imaging can improve healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.

ASE Foundation

Established by ASEF and named in honor of the Society’s thirteenth President, the Pamela S. Douglas, MD, FASE, Research Scholar Award supports early-career investigators whose work has the potential to advance the science and clinical application of cardiovascular ultrasound. The total $375,000 fund provides five one-year scholarships of $75,000 each, awarded every other year. Past recipients include Hema Krishna, MD, University of Illinois Health (2023), and Yasufumi Nagata, MD, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital (2021).

Learn more about ASEF’s research funding opportunities at ASE Foundation.org/Research.