Christopher P Cannon

Professor

Harvard Medical School, Boston, US

Research areas

Biography

Personal History

Dr. Cannon grew up in the small village of Ridgewood in New Jersey, US. His father, Dr. Paul Cannon, was a cardiologist and headed the Department of Cardiology at Columbia University in New York for 13 years. He is an avid skier, having been the captain of the Yale University alpine ski team during his undergraduate years.¹

Academic History

Dr. Cannon studied at Yale University in Connecticut, where he graduated in 1982 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He then went to study medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York; a school where his father was once the head of the Department of Cardiology. He graduated in 1986 with a Doctor of Medicine degree, then moving on to a three-year internal medicine residency at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center.²

During his residency at Columbia, Dr. Cannon discovered that he was more interested in research and began building his reputation; firstly by winning an award for a paper he published in the prestigious scientific journal ‘Nature,’ as a third-year medical student. He found himself gravitating towards clinical research which subsequently led him to focus on cardiology research.³

Dr. Cannon’s successful start as a researcher helped open the door to pursue a fellowship in cardiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School, where he was in a program headed by legendary heart specialist, Dr. Eugene Braunwald. While undertaking his fellowship at Brigham, Dr. Cannon was asked to join Dr. Braunwald's team of cardiologists, called the Thrombolysis In Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) Study Group, who were researching ways to restore blood flow to blocked arteries in the heart.⁴

Career Overview

Dr. Cannon has continued to work as an investigator in the TIMI Study Group for decades. Over the years, the TIMI group has provided evidence for the value, or lack of value, for nearly every non-surgical treatment of coronary artery disease (CAD). He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Science and Quality section of the ACC’s Cardiosource, as well as the journal, ‘Critical Pathways in Cardiology.’ Furthermore, he is the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of ‘Clinical Cardiology’ and has written or edited over 15 books.

Dr. Cannon has served as Executive Director, Cardiometabolic Trials at the Baim Institute for Clinical Research in Massachusetts since 2013. He also serves as Education Director in the Cardiovascular Innovation group; an organisation that has assembled internationally renowned cardiologists as well as experts in technology, engineering and data science to develop methods to capture and analyse health data.

He was a leader in the RE-DUAL PCI trial, which studied novel anticoagulant strategies in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing stenting. He also collaborates on multiple other trials and registry projects in the fields of acute coronary syndromes, atrial fibrillation, diabetes, lipids and prevention.⁵

Dr. Cannon is currently a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Senior Physician in the Cardiovascular Division at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He has published more than 1,000 original articles, reviews, or electronic publications in the field of acute coronary syndromes and prevention and has authored or edited 18 books. He has also received many awards, including leadership awards from the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

Career Timeline

1982: Graduated from Yale University with a Bachelor of Arts degree
1986: Graduated with a Doctor of Medicine degree from Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
1986: Began a three-year residency at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center
1989: Pursued a fellowship in cardiology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard Medical School
2013: Began serving as Executive Director, Cardiometabolic Trials at the Baim Institute for Clinical Research
Current: Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Senior Physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Recognition

1983: NIH Student Research Fellowship Award, National Institutes of Health
1985: Alfred Steiner Research Award, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
1985: NIH Student Research Fellowship Award, National Institutes of Health
1986: Robert F. Loeb Award for Excellence in Clinical Medicine, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
1986: Upjohn Achievement in Research Award, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons
2004: Partners in Excellence Award, Partners Healthcare
2005-2007: Best Doctors in America
2006-2007: Partners In Excellence Award, Partners Healthcare
2007: Best Doctors in Boston, Boston Magazine
2008: Get With The Guidelines Special Recognition, American Heart Association
2010: Leadership Award, American College of Cardiology
2012: Raymond Bahr Award of Excellence, Society of Cardiovascular Patient Care
2014 - 2016: Highly Cited Researchers; World’s Most Influential Scientific Minds⁶