Daniel Kelly, M.D., has been named director of the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases in the Department of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Kelly is the Alumni Endowed Professor of Cardiovascular Diseases and professor of medicine, of pediatrics and of molecular biology and pharmacology and a cardiologist at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
“It is a great privilege and honor to assume this leadership position,” Kelly says. “I look forward to working with the outstanding faculty members of the division to continue our tradition of excellent clinical care delivery, education and research in cardiovascular disease. I am particularly excited about the potential for developing an expanded and synergistic partnership between our clinical and research programs.”
An internationally renowned physician-scientist noted for his innovative investigations into the molecular basis of cardiac disease, Kelly has focused his research particularly on the regulation of cellular fatty acid and mitochondrial metabolism, or how the heart obtains energy to function. He also studies the cardiovascular effects of metabolic disorders such as diabetes and has established an interdisciplinary group to develop better ways to prevent and treat heart disease in diabetic patients.
Kelly currently heads the Center for Cardiovascular Research at Washington University and has been co-director of the cardiovascular division since 2002. He has made impressive contributions to scientific literature with over 100 publications and has extensive research support through the National Institutes of Health.
Kelly is a member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians and has been the recipient of an Established Investigator Award of the American Heart Association. In the position of division director, he succeeds Michael Cain, M.D., who will become dean of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the State University of New York at Buffalo.
“Kelly brings a broad scientific perspective to this position and will emphasize the translation of advances in basic cardiovascular research into advances in care of patients with heart and vascular disease,” says Kenneth Polonsky, M.D., the Adolphus Busch Professor and head of the Department of Medicine. “We are very fortunate that a scientist with his distinction will be assuming leadership of our cardiology division.”
The cardiovascular division is the largest division in the Department of Medicine with more than 80 clinical and research faculty members. It has clinical programs at Barnes-Jewish Hospital; in suburban St. Louis; in Rolla, Missouri and at various locations in Illinois. Its research programs cover a broad range of interests from basic laboratory investigations into the cellular and molecular basis of heart and vascular disease to very strong programs in cardiac imaging and nanotechnology as well as substantial involvement in patient-oriented research.
Educational programs in the division provide training in cardiovascular disease to medical students and medical residents, subspecialty training in general cardiology and advanced fellowship training in electrophysiology, heart failure and interventional cardiology. The division’s annual revenue from research grants exceeds $18 million.
Washington University School of Medicine’s full-time and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked fourth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children’s hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.