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Dr. Jeffrey S. Borer Named Chair of Medicine at SUNY Downstate:

Jul 21, 2009

He Succeeds Dr. J. Edmund Bourke

Brooklyn, NY - Jeffrey S. Borer, MD, chief of cardiovascular medicine and professor of medicine at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, has in addition assumed the position of chair of medicine. Dr. Borer is also director of the Howard Gilman Institute for Heart Valve Disease and the Institute for Cardiovascular Translational Research at SUNY Downstate.

As the new chair of medicine, Dr. Borer succeeds J. Edmund Bourke, MD, who served as chair of medicine since 2003. Dr. Bourke continues as professor of medicine.

Dr. Borer joined Downstate in October 2008 after 30 years at Weill Cornell Medical College and New York-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center. At Cornell, he had been the Gladys and Roland Harriman Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Pathophysiology.

Dr. Borer received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Harvard University and his Doctor of Medicine degree from Cornell Medical College. He then trained at Massachusetts General Hospital and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He served as a Senior Fulbright Hays Scholar at Guy’s Hospital, University of London, where he completed the first work with nitroglycerin in acute myocardial infarction in human beings, published in 1975. At NIH in 1976, he established the Nuclear Cardiology service and developed stress radionuclide cineangiography, for the first time allowing non-invasive assessment of cardiac function during exercise.

Returning to Cornell in 1979, Dr. Borer led the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory, established the Nuclear Cardiology Laboratory, and was named Gladys and Roland Harriman Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine. Dr. Borer has authored almost 400 journal articles and book chapters and four books, primarily in coronary disease, valvular disease, nuclear cardiology, and heart failure. Most recently, in addition to defining criteria for valve surgery in afflicted patients, he has focused on elucidating the basis of heart muscle scarring in valve diseases and on methods to prevent this damage.

He has been advisor to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for 32 years, chaired the FDA Cardio-Renal Advisory Committee for 3 terms, currently chairs the Circulatory System Devices Advisory Panel, serves on the U.S. Heart Valve Experts Committee for the International Organization for Standardization of Medical Equipment (ISO), and was life sciences Advisor to NASA (1984-2005).

Dr. Borer is a member of numerous professional organizations, including the New York Cardiological Society (president), American College of Cardiology (national Board of Governors and president, New York State Chapter), Society for Cardiac Angiography and Intervention (national Board of Governors), the Certification Board of Nuclear Cardiology (Board of Trustees), American College of Chest Physicians (chair, Cardiology Section), and Heart Valve Society of America (current president).

Dr. Borer is Editor-in-Chief of Cardiology and serves on multiple other editorial boards. Awards include the Hans-Peter Krayenbeuhl Memorial Award of the International Society of Cardiology (2002) and the Public Service Medal of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in (1999). In May of this year, he received Celebrate Downstate’s Transforming Lives Through Research Award.

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About SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

Downstate Health Sciences University in Brooklyn is one of four academic health centers (AMCs) in The State University of New York (SUNY) 64-campus system and the only SUNY AMC in New York City dedicated to health education, research, and patient care for the borough’s 2.7 million residents. Its flagship hospital, University Hospital at Downstate (UHD), is a teaching hospital and benefits from the expertise of Downstate’s exceptional medical school and world-class academic center research facilities. With a staff of over 800 physicians representing 53 specialties and subspecialties, Downstate offers comprehensive healthcare services to the community.

UHD provides high-risk neonatal and infant services, pediatric nephrology, and dialysis for kidney diseases and is the only kidney transplantation program in Brooklyn. Beyond its clinical expertise, Downstate houses a range of esteemed educational institutions, including its College of Medicine, College of Nursing, School of Health Professions, School of Graduate Studies, and School of Public Health. Downstate fosters innovation through its multifaceted biotechnology initiative, the Biotechnology Incubator and BioBAT, which support early-stage and more mature biotech companies.