In addition, H.J.C. Swan, M.D., chairman emeritus of cardiology at Cedars-Sinai, who steered the program in earlier years of growth and organization, will receive the ACC’s “Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award.”
Dr. Swan and colleague William Ganz, M.D., introduced the Swan-Ganz heart catheter into clinical practice in 1970, triggering a critical-care revolution in the management of critically ill patients. Dr. Swan served as Chairman of Cardiology from 1965 to 1987.
Dr. Shah, director of the Division of Cardiology, director of the Atherosclerosis Research Center, holder of the Shapell and Webb Family Endowed Chair in Cardiology at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, and professor of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles, will receive the ACC’s “Gifted Teacher Award.” It will be presented during the ACC’s Convocation Ceremony on Tuesday, April 1, at the Chicago Hilton.
On Saturday, March 29, Dr. Shah will receive the “Vulnerable Plaque Lifetime Achievement Award” from the Association for Eradication of Heart Attack (AEHA), a non-profit organization that promotes education and research related to mechanism, prevention, detection, and treatment of coronary heart disease. AEHA, based at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, will present the award to recognize Dr. Shah’s pioneering research, contributions and discoveries.
Especially since the Atherosclerosis Research Center was founded in 1993, Dr. Shah has focused a great deal of research attention on the basic mechanisms that contribute to plaque and clot build-up inside arteries, exploring innovative ways to prevent and reverse the process. These novel approaches include the exploration of gene therapy and the development of an immunization strategy.
In 1982, five years after joining the medical center as a staff cardiologist, Dr. Shah, collaborating with Dr. Ganz, provided the first clot-dissolving therapy to treat heart attacks in human subjects, a treatment that soon became the standard worldwide. He was named director of the medical center’s Cardiovascular Fellowship Training Program in 1988 and two years later was awarded the cardiology chair.
Dr. Shah is highly regarded by his peers as an excellent scientific investigator, a compassionate clinician and a skilled educator. He has been a Fulbright Visiting Professor internationally and has served as a visiting professor at such prestigious national institutions as Harvard Medical School, Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Texas Heart Institute, the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, and the University of Utah Medical Center, Salt Lake City.
“It’s a great honor to receive these awards from the Association for Eradication of Heart Attack and the American College of Cardiology ,” said Dr. Shah. “Since the inception of the cardiology program, Cedars-Sinai has encouraged the sharing of information, the education of new generations, and the pursuit of scientific and technological innovations in diagnosis, care and prevention. Dr. Swan deserves a great deal of credit for taking these commitments to an even higher level. His are not easy footsteps to follow, and I’m very pleased that the ACC is recognizing his scientific achievements.”