Mount Sinai Health System has appointed Filip Swirski, PhD, an internationally recognized leader in cardiovascular immunology research, to its faculty. Dr. Swirski will be the inaugural Director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine of Mount Sinai, which launched this summer.
"I am very excited to join the Mount Sinai community and take on this new and important role," says Dr. Swirski, who will also be the Arthur and Janet C. Ross Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) and Professor of Diagnostic, Molecular, and Interventional Radiology. "The Cardiovascular Research Institute will experience rapid growth over the next several years as it expands thematically and builds links with other Institutes and Departments. Together with Cardiology, we will build an international powerhouse for cardiovascular research. We will focus on lifestyle and prevention, systems physiology and bioengineering, and genomic medicine."
Dr. Swirski has made groundbreaking discoveries on the role of immunity and inflammation in atherosclerosis—the buildup of plaque along artery walls—and its complications. As Director of the Cardiovascular Research Institute, Dr. Swirski will build and lead a vibrant and collaborative multidisciplinary team that will make the institute a global hub for fundamental and translational cardiovascular science within the context of the hematologic, immune, metabolic, and nervous systems.
Additionally, Dr. Swirski will hold positions in Mount Sinai's Precision Immunology Institute and BioMedical Engineering and Imaging Institute.
Before joining Mount Sinai, Dr. Swirski was a Professor at Harvard Medical School and a Principal Investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital. His latest work there was recently published in Nature: he led a team to discover a signaling pathway in humans and mice that helps modify inflammation to protect against Alzheimer's disease. The findings may lead to promising new therapeutic interventions for the progressive brain disorder.
