Renowned cardiologist wins international medicine prize

London, ON – Internationally renowned cardiologist and epidemiologist, Dr. Salim Yusuf, is being awarded with the J Allyn Taylor International Prize in Medicine.

Dr Yusuf is a professor in Western University’s Department of Medicine, and the founder and director of the Population Health Research Institute at McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences.  Over the past 35 years, he has led numerous high-profile clinical trials which have substantially influenced prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease (CVD).  He currently leads the largest ever study revealing the role of societal changes in CVD among 155,000 people from 22 countries.

Having published over 800 articles in refereed journals, Dr. Yusuf rose to become the second most cited researcher in the world for 2011.  He is president-elect of the World Heart Federation, where he is initiating an ambitious program in 100 countries with the aim of halving the CVD burden globally within a generation.

“It is a pleasure to see this international prize go to one of Canada’s premier researchers.  Dr. Yusuf’s work and that of the dedicated group of cardiovascular scientists at Robarts have not only broadened our knowledge on how best to treat cardiovascular disease, but also how to prevent it in the first place,” says Dr. Michael Strong, dean, Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry and Robarts’ interim scientific director. 

The J. Allyn Taylor International Prize in Medicine is named after the founding chair of the board at Robarts Research Institute, and includes a cash prize of $25,000.