William B. Kannel, MD Memorial Lectureship Fund in Preventive Cardiology

The American Heart Association Council for Epidemiology and Prevention (EPI) and American Society for Preventive Cardiology (ASPC) joined together to establish the William B. Kannel, MD, Memorial Lectureship Fund in Preventive Cardiology in honor of his dedication to the field of cardiovascular epidemiology.

Biographical Information

Dr. William B. Kannel was a graduate of the Medical College of Georgia (1949). He was trained in internal medicine in the US Public Health Service at Staten Island, New York, and certified in 1958, becoming a fellow of the American College of Cardiology in 1969. He is also a fellow of the American College of Epidemiology and the American College of Preventive Medicine (honorary). He was active in the field of cardiovascular epidemiology for more than 55 years and associated with pioneering the Framingham Heart Study since its inception in 1949. In 1966, Doctor Kannel became Director, replacing Dr. Thomas R. Dawber, the original architect of the world famous study. He was also an attending physician at Boston University Medical Center and a member of the Evans Memorial Foundation.

Doctor Kannel was trained in public health as well as in internal medicine and clinical cardiology, receiving a Master's Degree cum laude from Harvard in 1959. He had been associated with the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute for over 35 years, and has had a long abiding interest in preventive cardiology for which he received the Dana Award in Preventive Medicine in 1972, the Dutch Einthoven Award in 1973, the Canadian Gairdner Award in 1976, the CIBA Award for Hypertension Research in 1981, the James D. Bruce Memorial Award of the American College of Physicians in 1982, and the Charles A. Dana Award for Pioneering Achievement in Health in 1986. He was named the University Lecturer of Boston University Medical Center in March, 1987. He received the 1988 Distinguished Service Award at the 37th Annual Convocation of the American College of Cardiology in March, 1988, the Award for Research in Hypertension from the National Conference on Cholesterol and Hypertension in 1991, the Bristol Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Cardiovascular Research in 1993, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Georgia Medical School in 1993, the Research Achievement Award from the American Heart Association in 1994, and the HealthTrac Foundation Fries Award in 1998. Dr. Kannel received honorary medical degrees from the University of Goteborg, Sweden, the University of Rio De Janeiro and an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree from the Medical College of Ohio. In 2003 he received the Paul Dudley White Award from the Northeast Affiliate of the American Heart Association and the William Harvey Award from the American Society of Hypertension. In 2004 he received the Society of Geriatric Cardiology Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2011 Dr. Kannel was the recipient of the Joseph Stokes III Lifetime Achievement Award in Preventive Cardiology from the American Society for Preventive Cardiology.

He was a past Chairman of the Council of Epidemiology of the American Heart Association and a past Chief of the Section of Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology in the Department of Medicine at Boston University Medical Center. He held faculty appointments at Harvard Medical College and was a Senior Research Associate in the Center for Technology and Policy at Boston University.

Lecture will be Presented

The lecture is presented during the annual EPI|Lifestyle Scientific Sessions with a preventive cardiology topic. The lecturer is presented with a plaque and honorarium at the Joint Council Dinner hosted by the Council of Epidemiology and Prevention and the Council of Lifestyle and Cardiometabolic Health.