Emelia J. Benjamin, MD, ScM, FACC, FAHA, professor of medicine in the section of cardiovascular medicine at Boston University School of Medicine, is the recipient of the American Heart Association's (AHA) 2016 Gold Heart Award.
The AHA, whose mission is "to build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke," funds cardiovascular research and health policy advocacy. Each year, the association awards the Gold Heart Award, its highest honor, to volunteers whose significant and continued contributions have significantly advanced the objectives of the AHA.
The AHA selected Benjamin for her leadership within the organization. Since joining the association more than 20 years ago, she has propelled the AHA's research mission as associate editor of the AHA journal Circulation and as chair of multiple committees and the Functional Genomics Translational Biology council. The association recognized her contributions by naming her the 2015 Paul Dudley White Award recipient.
Benjamin, who also is a professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health and an investigator at the Framingham Heart Study, is one of the most highly cited researchers in clinical medicine. Her expertise in the genetic epidemiology of atrial fibrillation has helped elucidate the risk factors and mechanisms that underlie the development of the abnormal heart rhythm. She is a cardiologist at Boston Medical Center.
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 dozens of faculty members from around the country on their careers.
She has been recognized with the 2013 AHA Functional Genomics and Translational Biology Council Mentoring Award, the 2012 AHA's Women in Cardiology Mentoring Award and the Boston University Department of Medicine's Excellence in Research Mentoring Award in 2011.
Benjamin received the award at the annual AHA's Gold Heart Banquet in Dallas, Texas on June 21, 2016.
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