Mount Sinai Recruits Internationally Recognized Cardiovascular Immunology Researcher
Filip Swirski, PhD, named Director of Mount Sinai’s new Cardiovascular Research Institute
Mount Sinai Health System has appointed Filip Swirski, PhD, an internationally recognized leader in cardiovascular immunology research, to its faculty. Dr. Swirski will be the inaugural Director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine of Mount Sinai, which launched this summer.
“I am very excited to join the Mount Sinai community and take on this new and important role,” says Dr. Swirski, who will also be the Arthur and Janet C. Ross Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Professor of Diagnostic, Molecular, and Interventional Radiology. “The Cardiovascular Research Institute will experience rapid growth over the next several years as it expands thematically and builds links with other Institutes and Departments. Together with Cardiology, we will build an international powerhouse for cardiovascular research. We will focus on lifestyle and prevention, systems physiology and bioengineering, and genomic medicine.”
Dr. Swirski has made groundbreaking discoveries on the role of immunity and inflammation in atherosclerosis—the buildup of plaque along artery walls—and its complications. As Director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute, Dr. Swirski will build and lead a vibrant and collaborative multidisciplinary team that will make the institute a global hub for fundamental and translational cardiovascular science within the context of the hematologic, immune, metabolic, and nervous systems.
Additionally, Dr. Swirski will hold positions in Mount Sinai’s Precision Immunology Institute and BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute.
Before joining Mount Sinai, Dr. Swirski was a Professor at Harvard Medical School and a Principal Investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital. His latest work there was recently published in Nature: he led a team to discover a signaling pathway in humans and mice that helps modify inflammation to protect against Alzheimer’s disease. The findings may lead to promising new therapeutic interventions for the progressive brain disorder.
Dr. Swirski obtained his PhD at McMaster University in Hamilton, Canada, and completed postdoctoral studies at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He is a highly cited researcher and is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including the Jeffrey M. Hoeg Award and the Established Investigator Award from the American Heart Association, as well as the Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. He is the American Coordinator of a Leducq Foundation Transatlantic Network of Excellence, sits on numerous editorial and scientific advisory boards, and has consulted for several biotech companies.
“This is a spectacular recruitment for Mount Sinai Heart. We look forward to the exciting scientific leadership that he will bring to our Cardiovascular Research Institute,” says Valentin Fuster, MD, PhD, Director of Mount Sinai Heart and Physician-in-Chief of The Mount Sinai Hospital.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
Mount Sinai Health System is one of the largest academic medical systems in the New York metro area, with more than 43,000 employees working across eight hospitals, over 400 outpatient practices, nearly 300 labs, a school of nursing, and a leading school of medicine and graduate education. Mount Sinai advances health for all people, everywhere, by taking on the most complex health care challenges of our time — discovering and applying new scientific learning and knowledge; developing safer, more effective treatments; educating the next generation of medical leaders and innovators; and supporting local communities by delivering high-quality care to all who need it.
Through the integration of its hospitals, labs, and schools, Mount Sinai offers comprehensive health care solutions from birth through geriatrics, leveraging innovative approaches such as artificial intelligence and informatics while keeping patients’ medical and emotional needs at the center of all treatment. The Health System includes approximately 7,300 primary and specialty care physicians; 13 joint-venture outpatient surgery centers throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Florida; and more than 30 affiliated community health centers. We are consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals, receiving high "Honor Roll" status, and are highly ranked: No. 1 in Geriatrics and top 20 in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Diabetes/Endocrinology, Gastroenterology/GI Surgery, Neurology/Neurosurgery, Orthopedics, Pulmonology/Lung Surgery, Rehabilitation, and Urology. New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai is ranked No. 12 in Ophthalmology. U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Children’s Hospitals” ranks Mount Sinai Kravis Children's Hospital among the country’s best in several pediatric specialties.
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