Michael D. McGoon, MD: Guiding Light for PHA Scientific Leadership Council and Proponent of New Research

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As the paradigm of treatment in pulmonary hypertension (PH) is poised to shift, the Scientific Leadership Council of the Pulmonary Hypertension Association (PHA) will drive advances in therapy. The Council plays an integral role in research efforts and has assumed the daunting task of spearheading new multicenter clinical trials as strategies to alter the course of disease move from the bench to the bedside. One of the catalysts behind that effort is Michael D. McGoon, MD, current chair of the Council, whose guidance and exemplary leadership has earned him wide recognition in the pulmonary hypertension community.

McGoon's energy and enthusiasm for advancing treatment of the disease quickly become apparent as he speaks about the job that lies ahead. “There's a paradigm shift in treatment, we're moving beyond vasodilators to a different focus where we will be exploring having an impact on disordered angiogenesis and cell proliferation. We need to find ways of getting independently funded studies, through PHA, and optimize our sources of funding through government support. I anticipate we will focus more on genetic factors, the remodeling of blood vessels, the overgrowth of blood vessels, and the type of information being transmitted from one cell to another,” he said, providing a glimpse of some of the areas to be discussed during the Scientific Session of PHA in Miami, June 24–25.

For McGoon, the challenge underlying these discussions is part and parcel of his long-standing commitment to promoting research to find a cure for the disease. It began during his early years when he was a fellow in cardiovascular research at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota. He traces that interest in PH to the early 1980s, when he worked with Ron Vlietstra, MD, one of the consultants in cardiovascular disease whose work with hydralazine and ketanserin in patients with PH led McGoon to further explore the use of vasodilators in the disease. “While I was still a fellow, Dr Vlietstra introduced me to some of the great vascular biology researchers. This included spending a year in the laboratory of Dr. Paul Vanhoutte when he was at Mayo.” Following the development of prostacyclin, McGoon sought participation in the early trials of that drug.

A graduate of Harvard College, McGoon earned his medical degree at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine where he is Professor of Medicine. He is also Consultant in the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases and Internal Medicine at the Mayo Clinic.

What pulled him into the clinical arena of PH? “It was a whole organism interest, the complexity of the disease, its impact on the patient's overall health and ability to cope with life. Given the fact that there was no effective treatment at the time, it gave me the opportunity to participate in exploring what avenues might lead to better outcomes.” Through his work with prostacyclin, McGoon found like-minded clinicians similarly focused on finding an effective treatment for PH. “Clearly, the early investigational work on what became Flolan created a community both at Mayo and elsewhere of clinicians and investigators that now constitutes the core of much PH investigation. We all grew in our approach to the disease and I felt from the beginning that my involvement with the group and PHA provided a venue for my interest to solidify.

“Getting involved with PHA's Scientific Advisory Board (now the Scientific Leadership Council) gave me and others the chance to make more of a tangible contribution on a day to day basis to patients within an organizational structure,” he added. As McGoon took on more of a leadership role within the Council, he was named chairperson and turned his attention to the upcoming PHA meeting where a scientific session will be held for the first time. This session will be held immediately prior to the patient-oriented sessions. “This will usher in greater participation by physicians and investigators.” It will be a departure from the previous meetings where physicians responded to questions from patients but did not have a venue per se for scientific presentations and discussions. Looking beyond the meeting to new multicenter clinical trials organized through the PHA Scientific Leadership Council, McGoon envisions a bright future where basic research concepts will be increasingly applied in the clinical arena. The Scientific Sessions will provide impetus to that effort. “The goal of the sessions is to hear from the experts about the main avenues of fruitful inquiry into mechanisms of the disease.” But, he emphasizes, the mission cannot be accomplished without funding—that “it has to be done in a collective fashion with a voice through PHA and the Council that will give validity to the need for research-based funding.”