Prof. Peter Schwartz

PROFESSION:

Physician, Researcher

ACTIVITY:

Cardiologist, specialist in arrhythmology

Center for Cardiac Arrhythmias of Genetic Origin

EDUCATION:

1973 - Specialist cum laude, Cardiology, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
1968/69 - Postdoctoral Fellow, Cardiology, Cardiovascular Research Institute - University of Milan - Milan, Italy.
1967 - M.D., Medicine, University of Milan - Milan, Italy.
1961 - B.S., Arts, Liceo Classico - Como, Italy.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES:

•   2013/present Head, Center for Cardiac Arrhythmias of Genetic Origin and Director, Cardiovascular Genetics Laboratory, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano, Milan, Italy.
•   2007/present Scientific Board Member, Cape Heart Institute - University of Cape Town, South Africa.
•   2002/present - Extraordinary Professor in Internal Medicine – University of Stellenbosch - South Africa.
•   2001/2007 – Chairman, Blood, Lung and Heart Department, University of Pavia – Pavia, Italy.
•   1998/2013 - Director, School for the Board in Cardiology, University of Pavia – Pavia, Italy
•   1996/2013 - Chief, Coronary Care Unit - Policlinico San Matteo IRCCS - Pavia, Italy
•   1994/2013 – Professor and Chairman, Cattedra di Cardiologia - University of Pavia - Pavia, Italy
•   1990/1994 - Professor of Medicine, Department of Medicine - University of Pavia - Pavia, Italy
•   1990/1994 Head, Cardiac Arrhythmias Unit - Centro di Fisiologia Clinica e Ipertensione - Istituto di Clinica Medica Generale e Terapia Medica - University of Milan - Milan, Italy

SCIENTIFIC AND CLINIC ACTIVITY:

Dr. Schwartz is recognized worldwide as a leading expert in genetic disorders leading to sudden cardiac death in infants and in the young, in particular on the long QT syndrome (LQTS), which he has relentlessly investigated for more than 50 years, defining the multiple clinical characteristics of the disease, developing the two leading pathogenetic hypotheses known as "sympathetic imbalance" and as "intracardiac abnormality", provided essential information on the long term successful effects of antiadrenergic therapy, and contributing to the understanding of the relation between genotype and phenotype. In 1995 he provided the first demonstration of differential responses to a variety of interventions according to the specific LQTS genes. He and his research group continue to investigate the relationship between genotype and phenotype, which represents a “bridge” between molecular biology and clinical cardiology.
Since 1971 more than 1000 LQTS patients have been followed by Dr. Schwartz and his group, and over the years he has become a worldwide referral physician for patients affected by complex cases of LQTS.
The Center for Cardiac Arrhythmias of Genetic Origin is now a national and international referral center for patients affected by the long QT syndrome, the Brugada Syndrome, the catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia, the idiopathic ventricular fibrillation, and the short QT syndrome.

RESEARCH ACTIVITY AND PUBLICATIONS:

Member of the following scientific society: American Heart Association and Council on Clinical Cardiology; American College of Cardiology; Heart Rhythm Society; European Society of Cardiology, European Heart Rhythm Association, and International Honorary Member del Japanese College of Cardiology.
Since 1974 Dr. Schwartz has been receiving uninterrupted funding for his research activity from the National Institutes of Health (NIH); the last grant funded goes through 2017.
Referee for: The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Circulation, Circulation Research, American Journal of Physiology, American Journal of Cardiology, American Heart Journal, The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, PACE, Cardiovascular Research, European Heart Journal, Heart, Pflügers Archives, Cardiovascular Drugs and Therapy, Italian Heart Journal, Basic Research in Cardiology, Sleep, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatric Research, The Journal of Clinical Investigation, Trends in Cardiovascular Medicine, Journal of Ambulatory Monitoring, Cardiology in the Elderly, Coronary Artery Disease.
Author of 1585 publications: 12 books, 171 chapters, 625 original articles, and 777 abstracts. His current h-index is 132 (source: Scopus – Apr 5 2022) - 155 (source: Google Scholar – Apr 5 2022).

NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIONS:

Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germania (Next generation sequencing)
Università di Cape Town, Sud Africa
Università di Stellenbosch, Sud Africa
Stanford University, CA, USA (progetto Leducq)

AWARDS:

Fondation Lefoulon-Delalande-Institut de France Prix scientifique dans le domaine cardio-vasculaire” – Paris, June 5, 1019.
Stanford CVI’s Frontiers in Cardiovascular Science/2nd Annual Gootter Foundation Lecture - Stanford, CA, USA, May 7, 2019.
“The Michael Davies Memorial Lecture” during the “The A-Z of Sudden Cardiac Death in the Young” meeting – London, UK, December 6, 2018.
Invited keynote lectures on “Impact of Genetics on the Clinical Management of the Long QT Syndrome” and on “Left cardiac sympathetic denervation in the prevention of sudden death in LQTS and CPVT. Rationale and clinical experience” - Joint Meeting of the 30th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Heart Rhythm Society and the 32nd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japanese Society of Electrocardiology – Kyoto, Japan, July 28-31, 2015.
“Leonardo da Vinci” Prize – Italian Society of Cardiology, Rome, Italy, December 15, 2012.
Sakamoto Lecture – Kanazawa, Japan, 2012
Eiichi Kimura Memorial Lecture – Fukuoka, Japan, 2011.
Inaugural Robert L. Krakoff international lecturer in cardiovascular medicine - Brigham and Women’s Hospital Cardiovascular Grand Rounds – Boston, MC, USA, 2009.
“Rene Laennec” Lecture on Clinical Cardiology - ESC Congress, Munich, Germany, 2008.
15th Annual Leonard Horowitz Memorial Lectureship - Philadelphia, PA, USA., 2007.
Outstanding Achievement Award of the European Cardiac Arrhythmia Society – Marseille, France, June 3 2007.
Arrigo Recordati Prize 2005 – Stockholm, Sweden, 2005.
P. Rijlant Lecture – 31st International Congress on Electrocardiology – Kyoto, Japan, 2004.
NASPE Distinguished Scientific Award 2001, NASPE Annual Scientific Session, Boston, MA, USA, 2001.
Michel Mirowski Award, Baltimore, MD, USA, 2001.
First “Richard Crampton Lectureship”, Università della Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA, 2000.
Fourth Gordon K. Moe Visiting Professor, Masonic Medical Research Laboratory, Utica, NY, USA, 1995.
"Paul Dudley White International Lecture" - 67th Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association, Dallas, 1994.
"The Grüntzig Lecture" - XV Congress of the European Society of Cardiology, Nice, 1993.
Third Sterling Professor at the Columbia University, New York, NY, USA, 1992.