Christina T. Mora Mangano, MD ’79: Blazing Trails, Fostering a Passion for Research —Continued from Page 53 Research: More Than a Mandate A s with her career, Dr. Mora did not foresee her love of research while in medical school. Although she has been extensively involved in a variety of research since then, she is most proud of work she conducted while at Emory University School of Medicine, which revealed that temperature management during cardiac surgery can affect outcomes. Specifically, she and her co-investigators discovered that maintaining patients at higher-thannormal temperatures increased the risk of stroke afterward. Her research continues to focus on cardiac surgery and extracorporeal circulation, exploring the long-term impact on patients, as well as interventions to reduce the severity of adverse outcomes, including prevention of postoperative strokes and renal failure. Currently, she and her group are conducting a stem cell trial whereby patients who experience important renal dysfunction within 24 hours of surgery are entered into a doubleblind study involving the use of stem cells to help improve renal function and prevent further injury. As residency and fellowship director for Stanford’s adult cardiothoracic anesthesiology program, Dr. Mora enjoys the opportunity to see budding specialists develop their skills and consider research, and firmly believes in the need to train fellows in this expertise. “The knowledge base has grown exponentially. As therapies are advancing and we are looking more at techniques such as total artificial hearts as destination therapy, we are caring for patients who are extremely compromised; tertiary care centers are seeking physicians who can provide the perioperative management for these patients and have this very specialized expertise,” she says. Dr. Mora has championed this subspecialization throughout her nearly three decades of involvement with the SCA. At her first meeting, she accepted an invitation to join the society’s Education Committee, and she became progressively involved: chair of the Education, Allied Health, CME (Continuing Medical Education), and Program committees; founder of the CPB Update meeting; and secretary/ treasurer, president-elect, and ultimately president of the society. Finding the Balance “ I didn’t have children until I was 48, so I enjoyed the luxury of time to pursue my professional interests. That luxury is gone, and I don’t have any time now,” she says, laughing. Her spare time today is taken up with sixthgrade social studies projects, piano lessons, volleyball tournaments, baseball, basketball—in short, the busy schedules of her children. “My days off are the days I’m at work,” she jokes. Still, she would not have it any other way. Dr. Mora says she had the opportunity before to travel extensively, lecturing and visiting other countries, and now just spending time with her family is more than gratifying. While considering herself a feminist, she advocates for a societal change that reflects and supports women in the dual roles of career and motherhood. “I hope we are able as a society to better understand how we can ensure the success of our culture, so we don’t limit success to half of the population,” says Dr. Mora. “It’s not about having it all; it’s about having what you want. Perhaps more importantly, fundamental advances to improve the quality of life for all people will be more rapidly achieved if all, rather than only half, of the world’s population have the opportunity to contribute substantively to science and culture.” Citing Sheryl Sandberg’s Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, Dr. Mora agrees with the need to find the right partner who will support you in the household. She found that partner in her husband of more than 20 years, Dennis T. Mangano, PhD, MD, a highly accomplished physician-scientist and founder of the Ischemia Research and Education Foundation, San Francisco. He is known for his research investigating pharmacological and other types of therapeutics to mitigate end-organ ischemia in at-risk populations. He has been featured on 60 Minutes and other programs for exposing the risks of using Trasylol to control bleeding during bypass surgery. They have two sets of twins: a boy and girl who are 12 and two 6-yearold boys. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be a parent and invest in family life. Although some describe parenthood as all joy and no fun, I have experienced joy squared, times two,” Dr. Mora says. M Robert Wood Johnson I MEDICINE 59