Noteworthy: George is the captain of Team PHenomenal Hope, a women's cycling team that will participate in the cross-country Ride Across America race in June 2014. The seven-member group is trying to raise $200,000 for the nonprofit Pulmonary Hypertension Association, which supports research into the rare ailment.
Age: 39
Residence: Swissvale
Family: Parents Tom and Beverly George of Chicago
Occupation: Assistant professor of medicine and a pulmonologist at UPMC, where she focuses on pulmonary hypertension and lung transplants. A blood-pressure condition, pulmonary hypertension affects fewer than 200,000 people in the U.S. and is often misdiagnosed.
Background: George arrived in Pittsburgh in 2004, when she joined UPMC as a fellow. She stayed on as a faculty member.
Education: George earned bachelor's degrees in biology and political science from Duke University in 1995 and a doctorate in medicine from Johns Hopkins University in 2001.
Quote: “It's important for medical professionals to know about pulmonary hypertension because we, as doctors, need at least to think about it when we diagnose a patient who presents with shortness of breath. If we don't think about it, we won't make the diagnosis.”
