Alex Westerband, M.D., MBA, C.W.S.P., R.P.V.I., R.P.h.S., F.A.C.S.

Alex Westerband, M.D., MBA, C.W.S.P., R.P.V.I., R.P.h.S., F.A.C.S.

Research Division
Programs

Biography

Prior to moving to Phoenix, Dr. Westerband worked and trained at major academic institutions: Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center; Case Western Reserve University (CWRU); and University of Arizona Health Sciences Center.

A former Clinical Instructor of Surgery at CWRU, he left the Cleveland Institution to begin a vascular fellowship at University of Arizona, where he subsequently joined the U of A faculty as an Assistant Professor. While pursuing his research endeavors, he became an Associate Clinical Professor while serving as Chief of Vascular Surgery at the Southern Arizona VA Healthcare System.

Dr. Westerband has subsequently occupied key leadership positions in community hospitals, as Chief of Vascular Surgery at Northwest Medical Center, Member of the Medical Executive Committee, Chairman of the Bioethics Committee and Member of the Governing Board of Northwest Allied Physicians. He is the past Medical Director of the Arizona Heart Institute Vein Center.

Research Interests & Focus

Following completion of a Vascular Fellowship at University of Arizona in Tucson, Dr. Westerband was awarded two small research grants, which allowed him to pursue his research interests on myointimal hyperplasia and study the effects of vein arterialization in an animal model.
Dr. Westerband has authored and co-authored more than 40 publications in peer-reviewed journals and major vascular textbooks, and presented more than 30 abstracts related to surgical and vascular diseases.
His research interests include:
– The paradigm of valve failure in chronic venous insufficiency
– Myointimal hyperplasia
– A novel method of noninvasive hemodynamic testing to evaluate foot perfusion and obviate the limitations of ankle-brachial indices in patients with calcific tibial disease
– The application of fluid-structure interaction (FSI) simulations in an attempt to predict critical failure modes leading to development of major endoleaks following endovascular repair of aortic aneurysms