Douglas L. Mann, M.D., has been named the Tobias and Hortense Lewin Professor and director of the Cardiovascular Division in the Department of Medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. The appointment will be effective in March 2009. He will also become cardiologist-in-chief at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and director of the new Heart and Vascular Institute at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University.
Mann is currently the Don W. Chapman, M.D., Chair of Cardiology and chief of the Section of Cardiology at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Heart Institute at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital.
“I am delighted that Doug Mann will become our next chief of cardiology,” says Kenneth S. Polonsky, M.D., the Adolphus Busch Professor and head of the Department of Medicine. “He is a leading academic cardiologist with an outstanding reputation. We are impressed with Doug’s broad vision for the division and his commitment to interdisciplinary programs in heart and vascular disease. We are fortunate to have been able to recruit someone of his stature.”
Mann earned his medical degree from Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia in 1979 and completed his residency in internal medicine at Temple University Hospital in 1982. He completed fellowship training in cardiology at the University of California, San Diego and a research fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
After an initial faculty appointment at the Medical University of South Carolina, Mann moved to Baylor College of Medicine in 1991 as chief of cardiology at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center. He became chief of the cardiology section at Baylor College in 2005. He is also professor of medicine and of molecular physiology and biophysics and the director of the Winters Center for Heart Failure Research.
“I am honored to be chosen as chief of cardiology at Washington University and cardiologist-in-chief at Barnes-Jewish Hospital,” Mann says. “The quality of the faculty and the trainees at the School of Medicine is simply outstanding, and the health care at Barnes-Jewish Hospital is superb. I am looking forward to working with the university and hospital to continue the rich tradition of excellence in research, education and patient care that has established them as leaders in medicine.”
Mann specializes in the field of congestive heart failure and has made numerous contributions to the understanding of cardiac remodeling and cardiac dysfunction. His research focuses on the molecular and cellular basis of heart failure, especially on the role of inflammatory mediators in the progression of heart failure.
Mann has authored or co-authored more than 180 original publications in addition to a number of editorials, reviews and book chapters. He is currently coeditor of Braunwald’s Heart Disease, the leading textbook in cardiovascular medicine.
Mann is a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians and a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology. He is president of the Heart Failure Society of America; a member of the Association of University Cardiologists, an organization limited to an active membership of 125 academic cardiologists from the United States, elected by their peers; and a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, one of the oldest medical societies.
In the position of division director, Mann succeeds Daniel P. Kelly, M.D., who became scientific director of the Burnham Institute for Medical Research-Lake Nona in Orlando, Fla., on July 1, 2008.
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, Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital in suburban St. Louis and outreach clinics in several Missouri towns. 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.
The newly formed Heart and Vascular Institute at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University is committed to providing breakthrough technological and research advances to improve patient care by integrating multiple services. Mann will lead the strategic initiatives along with his colleagues in heart surgery and vascular surgery to expand services locally, regionally and nationally. U.S. News and World Report consistently ranks Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University School of Medicine among the top 10 heart programs in the country.
“Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Washington University have a strong national reputation in cardiovascular disease,” says Andy Ziskind, M.D., president of Barnes-Jewish Hospital and Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital. “Heart and vascular research and treatment have evolved together over the past decade. Dr. Mann’s leadership provides us a greater opportunity to collaborate among all the disciplines.”
Washington University School of Medicine’s 2,100 employed 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 third 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.