New faculty spotlight: J. William Schleifer, M.D.

J. William Schleifer, M.D., is a new faculty member at UNMC.

• Name: J. William Schleifer, M.D.
• Hometown: Gainesville, Ga.
• Title and department at UNMC: Assistant professor, UNMC Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine

Research/professional interests:

• Clinical cardiac electrophysiology
• Ventricular and atrial arrhythmia ablation
• Cardiac resynchronization
• Lead extraction

How I fell in love with electrophysiology:
From the day I was introduced to ECGs, I was intrigued by the electrical activation of the heart. Then seeing the immediate impact I can have on patients by applying my understanding of arrhythmias confirmed that electrophysiology was the field for me.

Degrees:

• M.D., Medical College of Georgia, Augusta
• Internal medicine residency, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Ala.
• Cardiovascular diseases fellowship, Mayo Clinic Arizona, Scottsdale
• Clinical cardiac electrophysiology fellowship, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn.

Memberships:

• American College of Cardiology
• American Heart Association
• Heart Rhythm Society

Three things people may not know about me:

• I play classical piano and recently performed a full solo recital.
• I enjoy hiking with my family, particularly in the winter in Arizona.
• I grew up on a poultry and cattle farm in Georgia. Once, I entertained the cows with my accordion.