January 15 2018, Karolinum
Dr. Salim Yusuf is a professor of medicine and the Executive Director of the Population Health Research Institute, McMaster University and the Chief Scientist, at Hamilton Health Sciences, both in Ontario, CA.
Dr. Yusuf is an internationally renowned cardiologist and epidemiologist, whose work over the past 35 years, has substantially influenced prevention and treatment of cardiovascular diseases and thus has influenced millions of lives around the world. From 2015 to 2016, he was President of World Heart Federation.
Dr. Yusuf is a native of Bangalore, India, where he got his medical degree. After qualifying in medicine, he received a scholarship and obtained a DPhil (PhD) from Oxford.
Along with Richard Peto, Rory Collins, and Peter Sleight he was critical in developing the concept of large, randomized studies in cardiology. He coordinated the ISIS trials, which tested the efficacy of beta blockers, aspirin, thrombolytic therapy, and other therapies for myocardial infarction.
In 1984, after he had gained a British clinical qualification in internal medicine and cardiology, he accepted an important position at National Institute of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA, where he coordinated the SOLVD (ACE inhibitors in cardiac failures) and DIG (role of digitalis) trials. These were the first large-scale studies that, in the end, resulted in a significant reduction in the mortality in cardiac patients.
In 1992 he became Director of the Cardiology Division and Vice President of research at McMaster University. There he established the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) and became its executive director. SCImago Journal Rank recently cited PHRI as the most influential Canadian research institute in medicine and the seventh most influential in the world.
Dr. Yusuf is currently involved in a global study, in more than 80 countries, investigating risks of myocardial infarction (INTERHEART) and stroke (INTERSTROKE) and simplified preventions for those with cardiovascular diseases. At present he leads the Prospective Urban Rural Epidemiology (PURE) study (200,000 participants, from 800 communities, in 25 countries), which is the largest study of its kind, with the goal of instigating social changes that can impact cardiovascular disease.
Over the years, Dr. Yusuf has had the pleasure of mentoring scores of specialists, many of whom are internationally renowned medical researchers. As part of his devotion to education, he has participated in the foundation of several research institutes and programs in Canada, India, Brazil, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and China.
During his career he has received many national and international honors: Canadian Cardiovascular Society, Paul Wood Medal of the British Cardiovascular Society, Gold Medal of the European Society of Cardiology, American Heart Association Clinical Research Award, as well as 50 other awards and prizes. Additionally, he is a member of the Royal Society of Canada and was inducted into Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. Dr. Yusuf has honorary doctorates from Wroclaw Univ., Wroclaw, PL, and the Univ. of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, SE.
With almost 1,000 journals articles to his credit, Dr. Yusuf was the second most cited researcher in the world in 2011 and has, on several occasions, been ranked among the 20 most cited scientists in the world. His h-index, according to SCI, is 129 850.
During the last twenty-five years (since he started working as the Head of Cardiovascular Department at McMaster University and then as the Chair of PHRI), Dr. Yusuf has cooperated very closely with many Czech scientists, mainly from the Second and Third Faculties of Medicine, Charles Univ., Prague, CZ; with all Medical Faculties, to varying degrees, having participated in one or more of his international studies. Collaboration with academics from the Third Faculty of Medicine, has resulted in thirteen publications in a variety of very prestigious journals (e.g., The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, JAMA, Circulation, etc.).
His contribution to Czech cardiology was acknowledged when he received the Czech Society of Cardiology Gold Medal (Libensky’s Medal) and on his last visit to Prague, in December 2016, his insightful lecture on new views on epidemiology of cardiovascular diseases received an enthusiastic reception among attendees.
In recognition of his significant accomplishments, many of which are mentioned above, the Third Faculty of Medicine awards Prof. Yusuf the title of Doctor Honoris Causa of Charles University.
: : Invitation for download
