Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Names Robert E. Gerszten, MD, as Chief of Cardiology

Accomplished clinician and researcher to lead department

BOSTON – Robert E. Gerszten, MD, an accomplished clinician and researcher focused on the relationship between cardiac and metabolic diseases, has been named Chief of Cardiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). Since 2007, Dr. Gerszten has served as Director of Clinical and Translational Research at the Massachusetts General Hospital Corrigan Minehan Heart Center.

“We welcome Dr. Gerszten to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and know he will bring with him an extraordinary set of skills and leadership that will only enhance patient care, research and medical education,” said Kevin Tabb, MD, President and CEO of BIDMC. “Our patients and our community will benefit immeasurably from his proven commitment to innovation and discovery.”

“Dr. Gerszten is an outstanding scientist, a superb clinician and a gifted mentor and teacher,” added Mark Zeidel, MD, Chair of the Department of Medicine at BIDMC. “He will add additional depth and a creative spirit to an already strong cardiology department known for extraordinary clinical care and leading-edge research. His leadership will also immeasurably strengthen how the department conducts translational cardiovascular research across disciplines.”

“I couldn’t think of a more ideal place to build collaborative bridges between the clinical and research missions of a cardiology division,” said Gerszten, who is also Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a Senior Associate Member of the Broad Institute. “I am particularly excited that the hospital leadership shares my enthusiasm to make BIDMC a national leader in cross-disciplinary investigation and in the integration of innovative patient care models.”

Over the past decade, Gerszten has become a national leader in translational research focused on integrating emerging metabolomic and proteomic approaches towards the identification of new biomarkers and disease pathways. He and his research team have identified novel biomarkers that identify those destined to develop diabetes over a decade before disease onset. An area of particular interest is the application of these tools to identify those most likely to benefit from clinical interventions in cardiometabolic diseases.

Gerszten’s research is funded by the National Institutes of Health, as well as the American Heart Association, from which he received an Established Investigator Award. In addition to his investigative focus, Dr. Gerszten has been an active clinician in the Coronary Care Unit and the Consultation Services at MGH, where he also served on the Executive Committee of the MGH Cardiac Unit Associates. He is also a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians and the Association of University Cardiologists.

Gerszten received his medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. After completing his residency in internal medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, he performed a cardiovascular research fellowship at the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the University of California, San Francisco, followed by additional research and clinical training at Massachusetts General Hospital.