In Memoriam: Ido Weinberg, MD

I’ve had the privilege of training many leaders in vascular medicine and intervention throughout my career, and Ido sticks out to me. He came over from Israel and knocked on my core lab door asking to become the first Israeli fellowship-trained vascular medicine specialist. Ido and I really hit it off … his sense of humor, his curiosity, his amazing work ethic just made me want to be around him. It was such a joy to watch his meteoric rise at MGH and nationally.

On a personal level, I got to know his family. I celebrated many a holiday with him. I traveled with him. My kids got to know his kids.

He filled up a big part of my soul and my mind, and the hole seems cavernous right now. The specialty lost a gem, and I lost a dear friend.

Ido strived for excellence. He was ambitious, but with respect for his colleagues, peers, and others in the trenches who allowed him to grow and achieve great things in an academic setting. Reaching associate professor at Harvard School of Medicine as a relatively young physician is foremost attributed to Ido's integrity and his goal to advance the science in academia and in the vascular medicine field, which needed more exposure. Ido provided that resource and was able to bring people together to converse and work toward common goals, especially in terms of publication and education.

As a clinician, Ido was meticulous, detailed, comprehensive, and creative in his thought processes. Especially with patients who were facing more challenging clinical issues, he knew every detail about them as people, getting to know their families and sometimes becoming friends. He wore his heart on his sleeve, as a doctor and a person.

Ido just had something—that unique "Ido" swagger, and he could walk into a room, flash a smile, and a laugh—it reminded me of Clint Eastwood. Other times he would remind me of Jack Nicholson, with this personality that just really dug in deep, but also had an artistic, interesting, comedic way. Maybe sometimes even a little Jim Carrey, in how he could switch gears from serious to funny.

Ido was loyal, supportive, and loving. He was passionate—everything he did, he did with fervor and commitment, with exploration. His kids were his life. He always engaged them. Whether he was cooking, cleaning, watching TV, playing a video game, or changing a tire, he wanted it to be an experience for the kids. He was extraordinary at making simple things special.

Ido's family really did something right in raising this exceptional human being. He touched so many people, improving the lives of countless patients, colleagues, and friends. Passionate, caring, colorful—all of these attributes helped fuel Ido's approach to patient care and his life outside of medicine. His dedication was seen in so many ways, including keeping himself in shape through running, swimming, and other athletic pursuits, but also in always feeding his intellect.

After Dr. Michael Jaff, Ido was the first Vascular Medicine hire that we made, and within about a month, we knew we had to do everything we could to keep him. With his combination of energy, professionalism, talent, we could tell right away he was one in a million. 

And he always will be. We all love him dearly, and we'll never forget him. Ido's memory will be a blessing for us. We will always be grateful for the short time we had him.

Ido was known for his academic brilliance, but what I remember most was his passion, wit, and mischievous humor. In 2018, during the annual meeting in Chicago, my wife called me while I was with Ido and Mitch, needing help unloading the car and our three boys. The two of them showed up in dark suits, and Ido whispered to Mitch, “Follow my lead.” As they helped unload, Ido announced to the boys, “We’re Weinberg and Weinberg Security—your dad’s security detail.” The boys stood there in stunned silence until my wife laughed, smacked Ido’s arm, and said, “Stop it, Ido.” To this day, my sons—now young men—still remember him as “Weinberg and Weinberg Security.”

I met Ido Weinberg in fellowship. Same last name, no relation—though it never felt that way. He was brilliant, but what set him apart was his discipline. There were no shortcuts in his medicine. He scrutinized himself constantly, ensuring he delivered his absolute best—even in his worst moments. His preparation was meticulous—nearly religious. He would often end an evening phone call with, “I have to prepare for my patients in the office tomorrow.” He sought colleagues’ opinions not out of uncertainty, but to ensure he missed nothing. There was no ego in his medicine.

He elevated everyone around him. Early in fellowship, I showed him a presentation and asked his opinion. He said it was good—but I could tell something was off. When I pushed, he said, “You must redo this in its entirety. I am sorry.” Then he helped make it and me so much better. He did that for everyone. If you spoke from the podium, he would snap a photo and send it to your spouse—making sure the people who mattered most shared in your success. His emails arrived at midnight on Saturday—not to outwork you, but because the work wasn’t done until it was done.

Ido was a visionary. He consumed knowledge relentlessly—classics, journals, digital media—then put it to work. A great article today became a new approach tomorrow. He founded The Angiologist years before social media took hold, created video content before TikTok was a thing. He saw where the field was going before the rest of us caught up.

He was a lover of simple pleasures: a great salad, a perfect pastry, a good coffee. He cooked and took pride in it—loved teaching you a recipe, loved watching you try it. I remember planning a Society of Vascular Medicine conference together, watching him work through the menu, imagining what each attendee would enjoy. He brought that same thoughtfulness to his children, planning road trips so they could see the world, bringing them along to conferences whenever possible.

Yet not a day passed without him thinking of those children. He spoke of them as the only thing that truly mattered. He was among the most dedicated fathers I have known.

He was my truest friend. I was lucky to know him. We all were.

There are mentors who teach you medicine. And then there are friends who teach you how to live it.

Ido and I spoke about everything—medicine, science, politics, religion, philosophy, worldviews. Our conversations rarely stayed confined to vascular disease for long. He was an avid, voracious reader. More than once, I would mention a book in passing—Cutting for Stone, Jonathan Livingston Seagull—and within days, he would have devoured it. I still remember boarding a flight together for a conference and seeing him already halfway through a book I had only recently suggested. Within a week or two, it was finished, analyzed, and internalized. That was Ido. He did not merely entertain ideas. He acted on them.

He once taught me something simple and unforgettable: Thinking is not the same as doing. Many of us think well. Far fewer execute. For Ido, doing was the differentiator. If something mattered, he moved. If an idea inspired him, he built it. If a problem needed solving, he stepped forward.

That spirit extended beyond medicine. We recorded vascular medicine teaching videos together for his YouTube channel—serious topics delivered with creativity and genuine joy. He loved creating, learning, and refining. He pursued excellence with the curiosity of a student and the standards of a master.

Even his coffee reflected this trait. He bought machine after machine—searching, testing, optimizing—only to discard them when they failed to meet his expectations. Precision mattered. Quality mattered. The ritual mattered.

And yet, in the midst of intellectual intensity and professional accomplishment, he was profoundly simple. He would joke that he owned only a few sets of clothes and a single suit, recycled predictably at conferences and clinics. You could almost tell what day of the week it was by what he was wearing. He was uninterested in pretense. Substance over spectacle.

When Ido entered a room, you noticed. Not because he demanded attention, but because his presence carried warmth and confidence. His broad smile arrived first. His charisma was effortless. He became the center not by force, but by gravity.

I lost a mentor. I lost a collaborator. I lost a true friend.

There is a void that follows someone like Ido. I do not know if it can be filled—and perhaps it should not be. Some absences are sacred. They remind us that what was shared was rare.

What remains is his example: read deeply. Think rigorously. Do decisively. Teach generously. Smile broadly. And above all, live fully."

Dr. Ido Weinberg served as President of the Society for Vascular Medicine from 2023 to 2024. During his tenure, he heightened the visibility of vascular medicine as a specialty and consistently advocated that we “have a seat at the table” whenever vascular disease was discussed. He introduced the Society to the power of digital media, often communicating through engaging videos in lieu of traditional PDF newsletters.

As an Associate Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a member of the Division of Cardiology and the Fireman Vascular Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, he was a prolific researcher with nearly 150 indexed publications on topics ranging from chronic limb-threatening ischemia and venous thromboembolic disease to fibromuscular dysplasia and vascular ultrasound. He was particularly well known for his work in the management of pulmonary embolism. Among his many contributions to our understanding of PE treatment, he served as the national principal investigator of the STRIKE-PE trial. One of his final public appearances was at the virtual SVM Journal Club, where he was the expert panelist discussing the STORM-PE trial, for which he was also a steering committee member.

Ido embodied the very best of vascular medicine, with an enviable breadth of knowledge across all aspects of vascular disease, which he shared generously. His website, angiologist.com, stands as a lasting legacy of his commitment to vascular education. Our Society is deeply indebted to him for his energetic leadership, his devotion to our field, and his dedication to investing in future leaders.

As a friend, I will miss Ido’s big smile, his charisma, his humor, and his warm humanity. He loved his children with abandon—a truth that says more about who he was than even his many contributions to vascular medicine. Rest in peace, dear colleague and even dearer friend.

Ido was a brilliant colleague who was recognized as being straightforward, honest beyond reproach, insightful, and a skilled author who was always a major contributor on all projects. He was collaborative and open-minded. He was an international Co-PI for the Penumbra STRIKE PE trial and served on the steering committee for the groundbreaking STORM PE randomized trial. He also contributed to Penumbra's market access and health care utilization studies. His contributions led to numerous presentations and publications that helped improve patient care in the venous thromboembolism space.

On a personal level, Ido was a beloved friend who was loyal, caring, and compassionate. He was a trusted confidant who always had a moment to listen. He had the ability to make everyone around him feel important and valued. He brought fresh air and brightness to every interaction I had with him. I miss him. I’ll remember him with love, and I am thankful that he made me a better person. He will remain a warm, loving force in my heart for all of my days.

I was fortunate to work with Ido on many initiatives over the years, importantly through the Society for Vascular Medicine, the Vascular Medicine journal, and the North American Registry for FMD. Ido was honestly a “force of nature” with so much energy and also innovation and out of box thinking that he brought to our field. He was the first vascular doctor I knew of on Twitter/X, and his angiologist.com site had terrific information for doctors/providers and patients alike. He was always thinking creatively about how to make things better or more efficient or more interesting and engaging. He brought ping pong to our SVM Scientific Sessions, tabletop learning with industry vendors to our SVM Fellows’ course, and 1-minute video updates instead of Presidential newsletters that few read. His passion and innovation will be so greatly missed. We are heartbroken in our vascular medicine community.

Many know Ido for his unrivaled depth of knowledge, his amazing clinical acumen, and his sharp wit. But those that are truly lucky knew that he was a tender, gentle, and giving man. I am more than lucky for having known him. He provided me great comfort in times of need. My life is enriched because he was in it, and I will honor his memory by living life to the fullest, with true purpose.