(Boston)—Emelia J. Benjamin, MD, ScM, FACC, FAHA, Professor of Medicine in the section of cardiovascular medicine at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Professor of Epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health, has been awarded the Eric N. Prystowsky, MD Advocate for Patients Award from StopAfib, the leading patient advocacy group for atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation (afib) is an irregular and often rapid heart rate that can increase your risk of strokes, heart failure and other heart-related complications. The Award recognizes a healthcare provider who has demonstrated outstanding service to and contributions for the benefit of afib patients and their families.
Patients nominate physicians who demonstrate outstanding service to and contributions for the benefit of afib patients and their families. Benjamin was recognized for the many different ways she partnered with StopAfib patients to help students and fellows better understand the patient perspective including advising some of them in developing and carrying out their epidemiology research.
Benjamin, who also is an investigator at the Framingham Heart Study and a cardiologist at Boston Medical Center, is one of the most highly cited researchers in clinical medicine with more than 750 publications and a continuous record of substantial National Institutes of Health grant support since 1998. Her expertise in the genetic and clinical epidemiology of atrial fibrillation has helped elucidate the risk factors and mechanisms that underlie the development of the abnormal heart rhythm.
In addition to her research, Benjamin is known for an exemplary devotion to teaching and mentoring. Cultivating the next generation, she has guided numerous young investigators and faculty members on research projects and has been a mentor for more than 50 individuals, most of whom have been highly successful in academic health sciences. She serves as Associate Provost of Faculty Development at Boston University Medical Campus and has designed and implemented five longitudinal faculty development programs.
She has won national and institutional awards for research, education, mentoring, and diversity. In 2020 she received the Alliance in Academic Internal Medicine Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Award, in 2021 she was inducted into the Association of American Physicians. At Boston University she received the Department of Medicine’s Excellence in Research Mentoring Award in 2011.
She has received multiple awards from the American Heart Association awards (AHA): the Laennec Clinician/Educator Lecture (2019), sponsored by the Council on Clinical Cardiology, which recognized her contributions and achievements in the field of clinical cardiology and the Distinguished Achievement award from the Council on Genomic and Precision Medicine (2019) for her substantial professional contributions to the field represented by the council. In addition the AHA has awarded her the 2016 Gold Heart Award (AHA’s highest award), 2015 Paul Dudley White Award, the 2013 Functional Genomics and Translational Biology Council Mentoring Award, and the 2012 Women in Cardiology Mentoring Award.
StopAfib.org was founded in 2007 to improve the quality of life for those living with atrial fibrillation (afib) and to save lives by raising awareness of afib and thus decreasing afib-related strokes. StopAfib.org is the most visited arrhythmia site and has received the HON Code Certification from the Health on the Net Foundation, signifying a credible, trustworthy medical web site.
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