Robert Bonow, MD, the Max and Lilly Goldberg Distinguished Professor of Cardiology and a leading authority on valvular heart disease, has been named a 2024 Distinguished Scientist by the American Heart Association.
The Distinguished Scientist award is the highest honor given by the American Heart Association (AHA). This prestigious title is bestowed on an elite group of scientists whose work has importantly advanced the understanding of cardiovascular disease, stroke and brain health.
“It’s always an honor to be recognized by your peers,” Bonow said. “My research has always been very collaborative, and this award is recognition of the efforts of the many colleagues I have worked closely with over the years.”
Spanning nearly 50 years, Bonow’s career as a cardiologist and clinical investigator has focused on deploying leading-edge technology to identify and treat heart valve disease and cardiomyopathies. Bonow was instrumental in pioneering the use emerging imaging methods to not only diagnose heart disease, but as tools to predict patient outcomes, guide treatment decisions and the timing of interventions.
Bonow has authored or co-authored over 650 papers in medical literature and 120 book chapters. He is also the founding editor of the journal JAMA Cardiology and an editor of Braunwald’s Heart Diease: a Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine.
Bonow is past president of the American Heart Association, a master of the American College of Cardiology and a master of the American College of Physicians. Before coming to Northwestern in 1992, he was a senior investigator and deputy chief of the Cardiology Branch of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Bonow has received numerous awards for his work, including the NIH Director’s Award, the U.S. Public Health Service Commendation Medal and Outstanding Service Medal, and elected membership in the American Society for Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. He has also been recognized with the Distinguished Leadership Award, Distinguished Achievement Award, Gold Heart Award, and James B. Herrick Award given by the American Heart Association.
“The program we have at Northwestern, which we’ve developed over the last couple decades, is a really internationally stellar program in cardiovascular research,” Bonow said. “It’s been great to be a part of that team and to have contributed to it. It’s very rewarding to see the growth in our research portfolio and to be surrounded by such talented people.”