Harriette Van Spall

Dr Harriette Van Spall is an internationally known cardiologist, research methodologist, and senior scientist. She serves as an Associate Professor of Medicine at McMaster University, a Senior Scientist at the Population Health Research Institute, and Director of Implementation Science at the Baim Institute for Clinical Research in Boston.​

Academic history

Dr Van Spall completed her BSc and MD at the University of Toronto, followed by residency and fellowship training in internal medicine and cardiology at the same institution. She subsequently obtained a Master of Public Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, with a focus on clinical research and epidemiology, and undertook further clinical research training at McMaster University.​

Career overview

Dr Van Spall leads digital health and virtual care initiatives within the Division of Cardiology at McMaster University. Her investigator-initiated and industry-sponsored research programme has received support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada. 

She serves as an international principal investigator or steering committee member for several multicentre heart failure and cardiovascular clinical trials, including pragmatic and digitally enabled studies designed to streamline recruitment, follow-up, and outcome assessment. 

Her work incorporates novel trial methodologic and analytic approaches, including the use of AI and digital health to enable efficient trial recruitment and outcomes adjudication.​

Research, publications and impact

Dr Van Spall has authored more than 285 peer-reviewed manuscripts in clinical and cardiovascular journals, including JAMA, Nature Medicine, The Lancet, Annals of Internal Medicine, Circulation, European Heart Journal, and JACC titles. Her research includes heart failure epidemiology, trial inclusivity, implementation strategies, and digital health interventions, and is cited in international guidelines and policy documents.​

She has delivered over 210 invited lectures at international conferences and academic institutions, including Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Duke, Brown, and the United States National Institutes of Health.​

Dr Van Spall is an invited member or scientific chair of more than 30 international research networks or clinical guideline and policy committees, including serving as chair-elect of the American Heart Association's Heart Failure and Transplant Council. These networks include scientific committees of major international societies such as the European Society of Cardiology (ESC), American Heart Association (AHA), American College of Cardiology (ACC), Canadian Cardiovascular Society, and the CardioVascular Clinical Trialists Forum.​

Awards

 Editorial roles

Dr Van Spall is Section Editor at Circulation and serves on the editorial boards of Circulation, Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes, European Heart Journal – Quality of Care & Clinical Outcomes, European Heart Journal – Digital Health, JACC: Heart Failure, Journal of the American Heart Association, and Cardiac Failure Review.​

Mentorship

Dr Van Spall has supervised more than 60 students and early-career investigators whose work has resulted in competitive grant funding and publications, and she is widely recognised as a dedicated research mentor.​

Science communication

Dr Van Spall has participated in more than 250 invited media engagements related to cardiovascular research and policy with international professional media outlets. 

She hosts two ongoing video series: Late-breaker Trial Discussions with Dr Harriette Van Spall, which features interviews with principal investigators of late-breaking cardiovascular trials presented at major international congresses, and the Masterclass series, which showcases conversations with senior cardiologists on legacy, mentorship, innovation and scientific practice.

Selected episodes:

• Masterclass: Building a Legacy – Dr Milton Packer https://www.radcliffecardiology.com/video-index/masterclass-building-legacy-dr-milton-packer
• ESC 2021: EMPEROR-Preserved Trial Discussion https://www.radcliffecardiology.com/video-index/esc-2021-discussion-emperor-preserved-trial
• ESC Hot Line: VICTOR / Vericiguat in Heart Failure https://www.radcliffecardiology.com/video-index/esc-25-hot-line-discussion-victor-vericiguat-heart-failure
• ESC Congress 2025: Late-breaking Science Collection https://www.radcliffecardiology.com/video-index/esc-congress-2025-hot-line-late-breaking-science-collection?ch=50485&ep=51234
• Masterclass: Medical Publishing and Misinformation – Dr Joseph Hill https://www.radcliffecardiology.com/video-index/medical-publishing-era-disinformation-dr-joseph-hill
• Masterclass: Smashing the Glass Ceiling – Dr Cindy L. Grines https://www.radcliffecardiology.com/video-index/masterclass-smashing-glass-ceiling-dr-cindy-l-grines
• Achievement in the Face of Adversity – Interview with Dr Eugene Braunwald https://www.radcliffecardiology.com/Achievement-in-the-Face-of-Adversity-Van-Spall-Braunwald

Areas of speciality

• Heart failure and cardiometabolic disease
• Clinical trial design and methodology, including pragmatic and stepped-wedge designs and implementation science
• Digital health, AI-enabled cardiovascular trials, and virtual care
• Health services research, quality of care, and equity in cardiovascular delivery

References

Baim Institute for Clinical Research (2023) Harriette Van Spall, MD. Available at: https://www.baiminstitute.org/index.php/harriette-van-spall-md/ 

McMaster University (2024) Harriette Van Spall Associate Professor, Medicine. Available at: https://experts.mcmaster.ca/display/vanspah 

3CT Workshop (2024) Harriette Van Spall. Available at: https://www.3ctmeeting.com/peter-pickkers-copy-copy-copy-copy-copy-copy-copy 

Google Scholar (2025) Harriette G.C. Van Spall MD MPH FRCPC. Available at: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=o43p_DYAAAAJ&hl=en 

American College of Cardiology (2025) Harriette G. Van Spall, MD, MPH. Available at: https://www.acc.org/Membership/Person?id=A8A6723B-E0BA-44A5-B548-3A7A253BD63D 

Cardiac Failure Review (2025) Editorial Board. Available at: https://www.cfrjournal.com/ 

Radcliffe Cardiology (2025) Video Index. Available at: https://www.radcliffecardiology.com/video-index 

Dr Van Spall is an Editorial Board member of Cardiac Failure Review.