image: Samantha Espinosa, MD, MPH, is the recipient of the 2025–26 SCAI Women in Innovations (WIN) Complex and High-Risk Coronary Intervention (CHIP) Fellowship.
Credit: The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions
WASHINGTON— The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) has selected Samantha Espinosa, MD, MPH, as the recipient of the 2025–26 SCAI Women in Innovations (WIN) Complex and High-Risk Coronary Intervention (CHIP) Fellowship. This competitive award supports the advancement of women in the highest-stakes areas of interventional cardiology, a specialty in which only 8% of practicing physicians are women.
“This fellowship means more to me than I can express. It allows me to deepen my training in complex procedures so I can better serve patients and continue working to improve the techniques and systems around the procedures to provide high-quality care. The fellowship also connects me to a powerful community of women who are reshaping what’s possible in this field. I hope to pay that forward by mentoring others and creating more space at the table,” said Dr. Espinosa, who will complete her fellowship at the Mass General Brigham (MGB) Complex PCI and CTO Fellowship Program. “There have been moments in my training where I questioned whether I belonged in this field—not because I lacked drive or ability, but because I rarely saw people who looked like me in these spaces. Mentors took chances on me, challenged me, supported me, and helped me see a future I hadn’t imagined. I want to be that kind of mentor now and build a culture where women and people from underrepresented backgrounds don’t have to wonder whether they belong.”
The WIN-CHIP Fellowship provides $115,000 in funding for an additional year of advanced training in chronic total occlusions (CTO), complex coronary anatomy, percutaneous mechanical circulatory support (MCS), and intravascular imaging. The goal is to provide comprehensive technical training while addressing systemic barriers that limit women's representation and advancement in interventional cardiology.
The daughter of two U.S. Marines and a first-generation college graduate, Dr. Espinosa’s path to cardiology has been marked by service, resilience, and a relentless drive to grow. After earning a degree in mathematics from the U.S. Naval Academy, she began a medical career that bridges the analytical and the hands-on, the technical and the deeply human.
Dr. Espinosa completed her medical degree at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine and pursued residency and cardiology fellowship training at the Mayo Clinic in Florida, where she earned multiple teaching and quality improvement awards and published research focused on procedural innovation and healthcare equity. Dr. Espinosa’s long-term goals include a career in academic medicine where she can contribute as a high-risk interventionalist, educator, and clinical researcher.
Letters of recommendation from mentors at Mayo and Brigham described Dr. Espinosa as a standout operator with exceptional poise and precision, a humble but tireless learner, and a deeply collaborative team member who lifts others up even in high-pressure situations. Her work ethic, empathy, and academic focus align with the core mission of the WIN-CHIP Fellowship: to develop not only excellent technical operators but also leaders who will advance the field through education, mentorship, and innovation.
“Dr. Samantha Espinosa exemplifies the spirit and purpose of the WIN-CHIP Fellowship,” said Nadia R. Sutton, MD, MPH, FSCAI, Chair of the SCAI Women in Innovations Committee. “Her mentors describe her as meticulous, technically gifted, and relentlessly curious—but also as someone who elevates the teams she’s a part of. That is exactly the kind of leadership we aim to cultivate. The WIN-CHIP Fellowship exists to create opportunities for women like Dr. Espinosa, who are prepared not only to perform the most complex procedures, but to shape the future of our specialty through mentorship and clinical excellence.”
The WIN-CHIP Fellowship is made possible through generous support from Abiomed (founding supporter), Boston Scientific, Medtronic, and Shockwave Medical, Inc. SCAI and the WIN Committee continue to expand opportunities and infrastructure to ensure women not only enter the field of interventional cardiology—but thrive, lead, and redefine what’s possible.
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About SCAI Scientific Sessions 2025
The SCAI Scientific Sessions annual meeting convenes 2,000 of the world’s premier clinicians, scientists, researchers, and innovators in the field of interventional cardiology and endovascular medicine. With 500+ faculty and hundreds of abstracts, experts in the field work together to share the latest clinical data, procedural guidance, and advanced expertise. Highlights will include live cases, featured clinical research, new SCAI clinical documents, case-based learning, and keynote speakers. For more information, visit https://scai.org/scai-2025-scientific-sessions.
About Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions (SCAI)
The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography & Interventions, established in 1978, stands as the primary nonprofit medical society dedicated to representing invasive and interventional cardiology. SCAI's mission is to guide the global interventional cardiovascular community by fostering education, advocacy, research, and upholding standards for quality patient care. For more than 40 years, SCAI has exemplified professional excellence and innovation worldwide, cultivating a reputable community of over 5,000 members committed to advancing medical science and providing life-saving care for individuals, both adults and children, affected by cardiovascular disease. For more information, visit https://scai.org/.