Dr. Matthew J. Budoff is a globally recognized expert in preventive cardiology, cardiac imaging, and atherosclerosis, with over 30 years of experience in academic medicine and clinical research. He is Professor of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and holds the Endowed Chair of Preventive Cardiology at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, where he also directs the Cardiac CT program. Dr. Budoff has led numerous NIH-funded studies, including long-standing leadership in the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA), and has authored more than 1,000 peer-reviewed publications. He has served as President of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography and has been a key contributor to national and international guidelines on cardiovascular imaging and prevention. Dr. Budoff has been repeatedly named a Highly Cited Researcher, is recognized among the world’s top 2% of scientists, and has received major awards including the SCCT Gold Medal and Arthur S. Agatston Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Award. He was recently named Cardiologist of the Year by the California Chapter of the American College of Cardiology.