Carolyn P. and Frank M. Ryburn, Jr. Distinguished Chair in Basic Research in Heart Disease
Academic Title:
Professor
Primary Appointment:
Internal Medicine
Secondary Appointment:
Physiology
School:
Southwestern Medical School
PERSONAL OVERVIEW
Kern Wildenthal, MD, PhD, served as President of The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas from 1986-2008, and was appointed as president of Southwestern Medical Foundation effective September 2008. He was the dean of the medical school at UT Southwestern for six years before assuming the presidency of UT Southwestern, and prior to that he had served as graduate school dean for four years. He also is Professor of Internal Medicine and Physiology at UT Southwestern. Dr. Wildenthal received his medical education at UT Southwestern and New York University Medical Center and his research training at UT Southwestern, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the University of Cambridge in England, where he earned a PhD in cell physiology in 1970. Dr. Wildenthal is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, and numerous other societies. He has chaired the American Section of the International Society for Heart Research; the Science Policy Committee of the Association of Academic Heart Centers; the Basic Science Council and the Science Advisory Committee of the American Heart Association; and the Program Project Research Review Committee of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Dr. Wildenthal has been a visiting professor and conference organizer in more than 22 countries, and has authored over 120 scientific papers in basic research and clinical cardiology as well as numerous articles on health and education policy issues. He is an Honorary Fellow of Hughes Hall at the University of Cambridge. Nationally, Dr. Wildenthal serves on a number of advisory boards for research and health policy, and locally he has been a member of numerous civic, arts, and philanthropic boards, including the Dallas Center for the Performing Arts, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Symphony Association, Dallas Opera, Greater Dallas Chamber of Commerce, Dallas Citizens Council, Dallas Assembly, Science Place, Southwestern Medical Foundation, and the Hoblitzelle Foundation. He has received the Virginia Chandler Dykes Award for Public Service from Texas Woman’s University and the TACA Silver Cup Award for Volunteer Leadership in the Arts. in 2006, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by Southern Methodist University, and in 2008 he was elected to the Texas Business Hall of Fame.
