Research Education Component
Key Personnel
Gary Gerstenblith, MD, Core Leader: Dr. Gerstenblith is Professor of Medicine, Director of Clinical Research for the Cardiology Division, Director of the Training Core for the Donald W. Reynolds Cardiovascular Clinical Research Center at the Johns Hopkins University. Since 2005, he has been director of the Hopkins Older Americans Independence Center’s (OAIC) Research Career Development Core, now known as the Research Education Component (REC).
He has had an interdisciplinary career, providing a perspective well suited for the Hopkins OAIC REC. During training at the University of Pennsylvania, he performed basic cardiac electrophysiology. He then served as a clinical associate at the Gerontology Research Center, National Institute on Aging, for two years. There, he was introduced to aging research, and worked and studied under the leadership of Dr. Nathan Shock and others at the Center.
He performed basic muscle physiology experiments in animal aging models and the first studies describing age-associated changes in left ventricular structure and systolic and diastolic function, as assessed by echocardiography. These findings set standards for normal age-associated changes in these parameters.
Dr. Gerstenblith joined the Hopkins faculty after receiving clinical cardiology training at the University of Miami School of Medicine. He has always regarded as his highest priority the training of young basic and clinical investigators. He has a successful track record of selecting and working with outstanding fellows and junior faculty, and mentoring them to become independent investigators. He has mentored over 25 fellows and junior faculty who have gone on to leadership positions (professor of medicine and/or director of cardiology divisions) in academic cardiology programs at major medical institutions in the United States.