Quinn Capers, M.D.

Quinn Capers IV, M.D., is a Professor and the inaugural Vice Chair for Diversity and Inclusion in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center, and a member of its Division of Cardiology. He holds the Rody P. Cox, M.D. Professorship in Internal Medicine, and serves as the university's Associate Dean for Faculty Diversity.

Originally from Ohio, Dr. Capers earned a bachelor's degree with honors from Howard University in Washington, D.C., and obtained his medical degree at The Ohio State University College of Medicine in Columbus. He then received his residency in internal medicine at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, where he also completed fellowships in cardiovascular disease, interventional cardiology, and vascular biology research.

As an interventional cardiologist, he introduced the trans-radial artery technique of coronary stenting to The Ohio State University (OSU) cardiac catheterization laboratory and led its transformation to a “radial first” lab. Physician peers named him one of America’s “Best Doctors” annually from 2009 to 2020, and his patient satisfaction scores placed in the 90th percentile nationally for six years. In 2019 he was elected into the OSU Society of Master Clinicians.

From 2009-2019, he served as the associate dean for admissions at OSU and led the admissions team to achieve several high marks in diversity: 1) for the first time in the College’s 104 year history, women outnumbered men in seven consecutive entering classes; 2) U.S. News & World Report rated OSU No. 2 of 152 majority race medical schools for the total number of enrolled African Americans; 3) overall, 26 percent of the student body came from groups traditionally underrepresented in medicine (compared to a national average of 13 percent); and 4) during his tenure, the average MCAT score of the entering classes remained at or above the 90th percentile. In 2012, he had all admissions committee members take the Implicit Association Test to uncover hidden racial, sexuality, and gender biases, leading to the first study to document the presence and extent of unconscious racial bias in medical school admissions. 

A highly sought speaker and workshop moderator on implicit bias mitigation, he has moderated hundreds of implicit bias mitigation workshops, training thousands of physicians in strategies to reduce implicit bias in patient care and in the selection of medical students, residents and fellows.

Dr. Capers joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2020.

He serves as an ad hoc reviewer for Academic Medicine, British Medical Journal (BMJ Open), Catheterization and Cardiovascular Intervention, Health Equity, Journal of Healthcare for the Poor and Underserved, Journal of Racial and Ethnic Healthcare Disparities, PLOS One, and Teaching and Learning in Medicine.

Dr. Capers is an active member of the Association of Black Cardiologists, Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, and the American College of Cardiology (ACC), which recruited him to be an inaugural member of its Diversity Task Force. In 2020, he was appointed Chair of the ACC’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.

Medical School

The Ohio State University College of Medicine (1991)

Residency

Emory University School of Medicine (1994), Internal Medicine

Fellowship

Emory University School of Medicine (1998), Cardiovascular Disease

Fellowship

Emory University School of Medicine (1999), Interventional Cardiology

• Acute Coronary Syndromes
• Diversity Enhancement in Medicine
• Implicit Bias in Medicine
• Racial Disparities in Cardiovascular Care
• Transradial Coronary Interventions

Featured Publications

Perceptions on Diversity in Cardiology: A Survey of Cardiology Fellowship Training Program Directors.

Crowley AL, Damp J, Sulistio MS, Berlacher K, Polk DM, Hong RA, Weissman G, Jackson D, Sivaram CA, Arrighi JA, Kates AM, Duvernoy CS, Lewis SJ, Capers Q, J Am Heart Assoc 2020 Sep 9 17 e017196

Bias and Racism Teaching Rounds at an Academic Medical Center.

Capers Q, Bond DA, Nori US, Chest 2020 Aug

A Test of Diversity - What USMLE Pass/Fail Scoring Means for Medicine.

Youmans QR, Essien UR, Capers Q, N Engl J Med 2020 Jun 382 25 2393-2395

Unplanned hospital readmissions after acute myocardial infarction: a nationwide analysis of rates, trends, predictors and causes in the United States between 2010 and 2014.

Kwok CS, Capers Q, Savage M, Gulati M, Potts J, Mohamed MO, Nagaraja V, Patwala A, Heatlie G, Kontopantelis E, Fischman DL, Mamas MA, Coron Artery Dis 2020 Jun 31 4 354-364

Extracorporeal Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (ECPR) for Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest due to Pulseless Ventricular Tachycardia/Fibrillation.

Boudoulas KD, Whitson BA, Keseg DP, Lilly S, Baker C, Attar T, Capers Q, Gumina RJ, Mast DW, Satyapriya SV, Davenport D, Hazlett M, Mokadam N, Magorien R, Mazzaferri EL, J Interv Cardiol 2020 2020 6939315

Temporal trends and predictors of time to coronary angiography following non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndrome in the USA.

Rashid M, Fischman DL, Martinez SC, Capers Q, Savage M, Zaman A, Curzen N, Ensor J, Potts J, Mohamed MO, Kwok CS, Kinnaird T, Bagur R, Mamas M, Coron Artery Dis 2019 05 30 3 159-170

Recurrent Spontaneous Coronary Artery Dissection in 4 Vascular Territories.

Makki N, Dalal P, Capers Q, Mazzaferri E, Attar T, Tex Heart Inst J 2018 04 45 2 106-109

Strategies for Achieving Diversity through Medical School Admissions.

Capers Q, McDougle L, Clinchot DM, J Health Care Poor Underserved 2018 29 1 9-18

Implicit Racial Bias in Medical School Admissions.

Capers Q, Clinchot D, McDougle L, Greenwald AG, Acad Med 2017 03 92 3 365-369

Comparison of Impella and intra-aortic balloon pump in high-risk percutaneous coronary intervention: vascular complications and incidence of bleeding.

Boudoulas KD, Pederzolli A, Saini U, Gumina RJ, Mazzaferri EL, Davis M, Bush CA, Capers Q, Magorien R, Pompili VJ, Acute Card Care 2012 Dec 14 4 120-4

 Featured Books

Transradial Coronary Interventions. In Color Atlas & Synopsis of Interventional Cardiology

Capers IV Q, Mann J. (2018). McGraw Hill

Review of Heart Failure Management in African Americans. In Management of Heart Failure: Volume 1, Medical

Breathett K, Baliga R, Capers IV, Q. (2015). London, UK, Springer-Verlag

Renal Artery Stenosis. In Manual of Vascular Diseases

Capers IV, Q. and Joseph, J. (2010). Columbus, OH, McGraw Hill

Atherosclerotic Renal Artery Stenosis. In Cardiology Board Review

Capers IV, Q (2009). Columbus, OH, McGraw Hill

Upper Extremity Arterial Disease. In Endovascular Interventions: A Case-based Approach

Capers IV, Q, Cummings M, Breathett K (2014). New York, NY, Springer

• Diversity Hall of Fame Inductee
  The Ohio State University (2022)
• Pamela S. Douglas Distinguished Award for Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion
  American College of Cardiology (2021)
• Exemplary Leadership Award
  AAMC Group on Diversity and Inclusion (2020)
• Diversity Champion Award
  The Ohio State University Alumni Association (2019)
• Laennec Clinician Educator Award
  American Heart Association (2018)
• Diversity in Business Honoree
  Columbus Business First (2017)
• Gold Humanism Honor Society Linda Stone, M.D. Award in Mentoring
  The Ohio State University (2017)
• Health Care Justice Award
  Primary One Health (2016)
• Excellence in Diversity Faculty Award
  Alumni Society of The Ohio State University Graduate Program (2014)
• Diversity in Cardiology Award
  Association of Black Cardiologists (2012)
• Shining Star Award for Outstanding Faculty Mentorship
  The Ohio State University (2011)
• Courage to Teach Award
  The Ohio State University (2010)
• Distinguished Diversity Enhancement Award
  The Ohio State University (2010)

• American College of Cardiology
• Association of Black Cardiologists
• Association of University Cardiologists
• National Medical Association
• Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions