Â鶹´«Ã½

News — LOS ANGELES (April 11, 2025) -- Three cardiovascular experts in the  received distinguished American College of Cardiology (ACC) and Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC) awards during the ACC’s Annual Scientific Session on March 31 in Chicago.

, director of Post Graduate Medical Education in Heart Failure and Transplantation, received the American College of Cardiology 2025 Distinguished Teacher Award. , an advanced heart failure and transplant cardiologist and board chair of Pacific Heart Institute, an affiliate of Cedars-Sinai, received the Master of the ACC Award. And postdoctoral researcher Andrew Lin, MBBS, PhD, under the mentorship of , professor of Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai, is the co-recipient of the Jagat Narula Award for Outstanding Scholarship from JACC: Cardiovascular Imaging.

“Congratulations to Dr. Kittleson, Dr. Wright and Dr. Lin on this notable recognition from the ACC and JACC,” said , chair of the Department of Cardiology and the Lee and Harold Kapelovitz Distinguished Chair in Cardiology. “We are proud of their substantial contributions to all aspects of cardiovascular medicine that encompass education, research and clinical care. It’s gratifying to see them receive recognition from their peers for their pioneering leadership in the field.”

The Distinguished Teacher Award recognizes a fellow of the ACC who has demonstrated innovative, outstanding teaching characteristics and compassionate qualities and has made major contributions to the field of cardiovascular medicine.

Kittleson, a professor of Cardiology, also is associate editor of the JACC. She is widely known as a participant in national educational efforts, including helping develop evidence-based cardiomyopathy and heart failure guidelines. She also is known for fostering an active and engaged social media community, sharing cardiology-related discussion points, questions and pearls of wisdom with followers.

“I’m humbled and grateful to be among the cardiovascular physicians and researchers nominated for and receiving this recognition from the American College of Cardiology,” Kittleson said. “Teaching is of great interest to me, and I consider it a privilege to teach new physicians as well as the public. As an academic medical center, we want our teaching to go far beyond the walls of Cedars-Sinai.”

The Master of the ACC Award honors fellows of the ACC who are consistent contributors to the goals and programs of the college and who have provided leadership in important college activities, serving with distinction for at least 15 years and providing leadership on various programs and committees.

Wright has served as president of the California Chapter of the ACC. He is a highly regarded lecturer and was co-author of the U.S. guidelines on management of patients with heart failure. He also is a previous recipient of the Specialist of the Year Award from the California Chapter of the ACC.

“The ACC is known for its pronounced focus on setting new standards in cardiovascular medicine,” Wright said. “I’ve enjoyed and learned much from my peers as part of the ACC over many years.”

Lin’s research focuses on coronary plaque phenotyping using coronary computed tomography and artificial intelligence techniques.

The Jagat Narula Award for Outstanding Scholarship was awarded to Lin and Márton Kolossváry, MD, PhD, based on their manuscript, “Coronary Plaque Radiomic Phenotypes Predict Fatal or Nonfatal Myocardial Infarction: Analysis of the SCOT-HEART Trial,” published in 2024 in .

“I pursued cardiovascular research to be at the forefront of innovation and help advance evidence that improves care for patients with coronary heart disease,” Lin said. “I’m especially grateful to JACC for recognizing our research into ways to better predict heart attack risk.”

As the mentor for Lin and Kolossváry, Dey also expressed gratitude to JACC for recognition of their research and added, “We are committed to continuing important investigations into new ways of predicting and preventing heart attacks.”

ACC President Cathleen Biga, MSN, extended congratulations, saying, “These heart experts have each demonstrated exceptional work that will further the ACC’s mission to transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health for all.”

In addition to the awards presented at the ACC’s Annual Scientific Session, the California Chapter of the ACC named , director of the Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Center, the 2024 Elliot Rapaport Cardiologist of the Year. Bairey Merz received the award at a Chapter meeting in January.

Cedars-Sinai Health Sciences University is advancing groundbreaking research and educating future leaders in medicine, biomedical sciences and allied health sciences.  about the university.