The American Heart Association and American Stroke Association are pleased to recognize Joseph Loscalzo, MD, PhD, as the chairman of the 2018 Boston Heart & Stroke Ball.
Loscalzo is chairman of the Department of Medicine, and physician-in-chief at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. A cardiovascular medicine specialist, he is also Soma Weiss, MD, Distinguished Chair in Medicine, and Hersey Professor of the Theory and Practice of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.
The Heart & Stroke Ball is the American Heart Association’s premier social event to celebrate the achievements of local physicians, philanthropists, and volunteers. The annual gala will be held on May 5 at the Westin Boston Waterfront, and is expected to bring together nearly 500 of Boston’s most prominent business, health care and community leaders committed to building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.
Loscalzo is a longtime champion of the American Heart Association’s mission to fighting heart disease and stroke, the No. 1 cause of death and the leading cause of adult disability in the United States, respectively. He was affected by heart disease early in life when his grandmother suffered a series of heart attacks. Her experience inspired him to dedicate his life to serving patients and solving complex cardiovascular puzzles.
Loscalzo is recognized as an outstanding cardiovascular scientist, clinician, and teacher. He has received research support from the National Institutes of Health, authored over 900 peer-reviewed articles, authored or edited 49 books, and holds 32 patents for his work in the field of nitric oxide and redox biology. He has also received many honors and awards from the American Heart Association, including the Distinguished Scientist Award, the Research Achievement Award, the Gold Heart Award, and the Paul Dudley White Award, the American Heart Association’s highest honors.
Loscalzo is one of the leading minds behind the American Heart Association’s Institute for Precision Cardiovascular Medicine, which funds research to better understand the roots of a patient’s unique diagnosis. He also served as the editor of Circulation, the Association’s principal scientific journal, for 12 years.
This year’s Boston Heart & Stroke Ball campaign aims to raise $1.3 million. Nationally, the campaign raised just over $71 million last year, which helped fund life-saving scientific research and prevention programs in Greater Boston and across the country.
“I am delighted to chair this year’s Boston Heart and Stroke Ball, and to have the privilege of working with highly committed staff and volunteers,” said Loscalzo. “Through our work, we all aspire to help the American Heart Association achieve its admirable long-term goal of eradicating cardiovascular disease.”
Loscalzo and his wife and active American Heart Association volunteer Anita have two children, Julia and Alex, and three grandchildren, Charlotte, Nicholas, and Ellie. All three grandchildren are being encouraged to follow in their grandfather’s footsteps as American Heart Association volunteers.