Miller School Alum Developed Lifesaving Heart Disease Screening Technique
Dr. Jonathan Reich, who earned his medical degree at the Miller School in 1992, also joined an FDA vaccine division during the pandemic as its only pediatrician.
Jonathan Reich, M.D. ’92, is a renowned cardiologist who has garnered national acclaim for developing a life-saving screening technique to detect congenital heart disease in newborns. Additionally, Dr. Reich joined the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Vaccine Division during the pandemic as its only pediatric cardiologist. Recently, he was recognized for his role in solving the complication of myocarditis detected in children and young adults after vaccinations.
We caught up with this University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and School of Engineering alumnus to ask him how his University of Miami education impacted his career.
What are you doing now?
I am working as a pediatrician and pediatric cardiologist. I am on the Johns Hopkins Medical School faculty and do clinics at various locations Maryland. I am also doing a clinic for Bay Pediatric Cardiology in Tampa. I am consulting in legal, public health and insurance review capacities. I also taught engineering through the 2010s.
How did the Miller School of Medicine prepare you for your career?
My experience at the Miller School is one of the high points of my career. I left an interesting career as an engineer to become a physician, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The Miller School prepared me academically, taught me professionalism and gave me the confidence to handle challenges. These traits were necessary for a field as demanding as cardiology. Without having learned these lessons, I could not have succeeded.
How about the College of Engineering?
The master’s degree became instrumental in my career later. I analyzed pacemakers and taught engineering at USF. Later it helped me get a position on consulting panels with the Food and Drug Administration.
My experience at the Miller School is one of the high points of my career. I left an interesting career as an engineer to become a physician, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.
Dr. Jonathan Reich
Did your background in aerospace engineering impact your career as a pediatric cardiologist?
Aerospace engineering didn’t lend itself directly to my practice of medicine, but it has opened doors for me and given me opportunities I wouldn’t have otherwise received. I have published medical journal articles, which included the use of methods and technology I would not have otherwise used, applied for grants using my engineering background as a credential and could only have written my book with an engineering education.
You were honored by the American College of Cardiology in 2019 for helping to establish a screening protocol for newborns. Was that your proudest professional achievement?
I was recognized as a pioneer in the development of pulse oximetry as a screening test for newborns at a meeting, and I’ve published dozens of papers and sat on committees that have made professional recommendations.
But my proudest professional achievement is the appreciation I have received from families over the years. Often, when people thank me, I remember them, because I went out of my way to arrange their care. But occasionally, I don’t remember them. These episodes remind me that what many physicians consider routine care is sometimes anything but routine for the families.
You’ve authored a book about Charles Lindbergh’s legacy in the WWII era. Did your background in medicine and aerospace engineering inspire you to write the book?
I was inspired by a commitment to the truth. My background in aerospace engineering and medicine allowed me to appreciate a man’s legacy was more nuanced and complicated than had been appreciated.
I read every biography written about Lindbergh, as well as other books that evaluated his life. I was inspired by the realization that often historians simply repeat others’ allegations and then use those same books as references. Because I am an aerospace engineer, I felt I was qualified to write about his legacy, understand his contributions to engineering and explain how it contributed to U.S. preparedness to fight World War II and the Korean War.
Because I am a cardiologist, I felt I was qualified to write about his development of the first cardiac perfusion pump and his contributions to high-altitude aviation, which also helped win World War II. Some of these contributions saved the lives of pilots, including, I believe, my great-uncle.
Tags: alumni, medical alumni, pediatric cardiology