Pediatric Cardiologist Marlene Rabinovitch Honored for Life’s Work on PH and Heart Disease Research

Marlene Rabinovitch, MD, a pediatric cardiology physician at Stanford Children’s Health and Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford, will be honored for her life’s work and present the 2016 J. Burns Amberson Lecture at the American Thoracic Society (ATS)’s Annual Meeting, which will take place in San Francisco on May 15.

The lecture honors the late Dr. Amberson, who was an international figure of authority on chest disease and tuberculosis, and recognizes major contributions for the pulmonary research field and clinical practice.

Vera Dunlevie Professor at Stanford, Dr. Rabinovitch has had an enormous impact on the medical community’s understanding of the pathogenesis and management of life-threatening forms of congenital heart disease and pulmonary hypertension. Her research results are translated into new clinical treatment developments on a regular basis, adding to her significance in the field.

“We’re ecstatic that Dr. Rabinovitch is receiving this much-deserved award,” said in a press release Stanford Cardiovascular Institute’s Director, Joseph Wu, MD, PhD, who was one of the ten national and international judges nominating Dr. Rabinovitch. “It’s a fitting salute to her extraordinary career of achievement and overall contributions to the field of pulmonary medicine.”

Dr. Rabinovitch graduated from medical school in Montreal, at McGill University. She took her post-doctoral training in pediatrics at the University of Colorado Medical Center, in Denver, and a fellowship at the Children’s Hospital Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, in Boston, where she was an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics before she joined Stanford, in 2002. In between, she became the Robert M. Freedom Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine and Pathobiology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Toronto. She also served as the Director of Cardiovascular Research at the Research Institute of the Hospital for Sick Children, also in Toronto.

“This is truly an overwhelming honor,” commented Dr. Rabinovitch. “I share this with all the young scientists who have worked so hard in our laboratory and with colleagues whose work has both challenged and inspired us. In addition, I am thankful for the collaborating basic scientists who have facilitated our ability to apply cutting-edge methodology and have been generous in helping us interpret our results, and with clinical scientists who are bringing our discoveries to clinical trial.”

Dr. Rabinovitch has received, prior to her Amberson Lecture Award, the 2015 Mentor Award of Excellence from the Department of Pediatrics at the School of Medicine, among many other awards and recognitions for her contribution to cardiovascular and pulmonary hypertension science and patient community.

“In her extraordinary, 30-year career, Dr. Rabinovitch has made incredible contributions to our understanding of congenital and acquired pulmonary hypertension,” concluded Professor of Pediatrics and Adalyn Jay Physician-in-Chief at Packard Children’s, Dr. Hugh O’Brodovich, MD. “She is recognized throughout the world of pediatric and adult cardiology as an amazing scientist, teacher and clinician. Through the Amberson Lecture, she will no doubt bring great inspiration to current and future leaders in this field, and we are extremely proud to call her one or our own.”

Photo credits: Business Wire.