Rate My Professor Erick Avelar

Erick Avelar, MD, serves as an associate professor of medicine affiliated with the University of Georgia through the AU/UGA Medical Partnership in Athens, Georgia. He is a faculty member at the University of Georgia, with employment records confirming his roles including clinical associate professor from 2017 to 2018 and faculty positions spanning 2015 to 2020. As a board-certified cardiologist practicing at Oconee Heart and Vascular Center at St. Mary's Hospital in Athens, Avelar acts as Principal Investigator for clinical studies at the University of Georgia's Clinical and Translational Research Unit (CTRU). He has led local research efforts in significant cardiac imaging trials, including multi-site studies on coronary computed tomography angiography (CTA) technologies.

Avelar's research focuses on advanced cardiac imaging, cardio-oncology, and artificial intelligence applications in cardiology. Key publications include 'Role of Imaging in Cardio-Oncology' (2017), exploring imaging for cardiovascular complications in cancer patients; 'Diagnostic Performance of a Novel AI–Guided Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography Interpretation Tool' (2025, JSCAI); 'Coronary CTA With AI-QCT Interpretation' (AJR); 'The effect of scan and patient parameters on the diagnostic performance of coronary CT angiography with AI-QCT' (2022, Clinical Imaging); 'Development and Validation of a Quantitative Coronary CT Angiography Analysis Software Program' (2024, JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging); 'Left Ventricular Hypertrophy in Severe Obesity: Interactions Among Blood Pressure, Nocturnal Hypoxemia, and Body Mass' (2007, Hypertension); 'PKC translocation and ERK1/2 activation in compensated right ventricular hypertrophy secondary to chronic emphysema' (2003); and 'Aspirin Is Associated With Reduced Cardiovascular and All-Cause Mortality in Type 2 Diabetes' (2010, Diabetes Care). His work appears in prestigious journals, contributing to advancements in diagnostic accuracy and patient outcomes in cardiology. Clinically, he specializes in echocardiography, nuclear cardiology, cardiothoracic imaging, and cardio-oncology, with prior fellowship training in cardiovascular disease at University of Utah Medical Center (2006). Avelar has served as medical director of cardiac MRI and chief of cardiology at St. Mary's, and presented public lectures on innovative heart attack prevention technologies.