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 nation’s leading integrated academic health systems and one of the largest in the New York metropolitan area. Its comprehensive system includes seven hospitals, more than 400 outpatient practices, over 600 research and clinical laboratories, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, and the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing. Together, the Health System comprises approximately 48,000 employees, more than 9,000 physicians, and 8,600 nurses.
As a leading learning health system, Mount Sinai combines clinical expertise with scientific discovery to improve patient care while training the next generation of health care and biomedical leaders. The Health System provides care across every stage of life, from prenatal care through geriatrics, while advancing personalized medicine through artificial intelligence, data science, and biomedical research.
Mount Sinai is consistently recognized among the nation’s leading academic health systems for patient care, research, and education. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 1 in New York by Newsweek and No. 5 on the magazine’s World’s Best Hospitals list. The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai ranks No. 11 among U.S. medical schools and No. 1 among freestanding medical schools for National Institutes of Health funding, reflecting the strength of its scientific enterprise and leadership in biomedical research.
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