Dr. Marina N. Vernalis is currently the Executive Medical Director of the Integrative Cardiac Health Project, a multimillion dollar federally sponsored grant on Cardiac Prevention, at Walter Reed Army Medical Center (“WRAMC”) in Washington, DC and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD. She is a retired Colonel, Medical Corps, US Army.

In 1996, Col. Vernalis became the 14th Chief of Cardiology at WRAMC as well as the Cardiovascular Consultant to the Army Surgeon General. She is the first woman appointed to these positions. She holds the record for the longest tenure as Chief of Cardiology at WRAMC. She is the first woman to represent the US Army on the American College of Cardiology Board of Governors and has served as a Cardiovascular Consultant to the White House Medical Unit and Office of the Attending Physician to Congress.

She is dual board certified in Internal Medicine and Cardiovascular Diseases. She is a Fellow in the American College of Cardiology and has published over 170 scientific manuscripts and abstracts.