2025 Distinguished Scientist Daniel Kelly, MD, FAHA

Daniel Kelly, MD, FAHA

University of Pennsylvania
Perelman School of Medicine
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Daniel Kelly is the Willard and Rhoda Ware Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and Rachel Ash Presidential Chair at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). He trained in Medicine and Cardiology at Barnes Hospital, then joined the faculty of Washington University School of Medicine, where he served as Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics, Chief of the Cardiovascular Division and founding Director of the Center for Cardiovascular Research.

In 2008, Dr. Kelly assumed the role of founding Scientific Director for the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute in Florida, followed by his recruitment to serve as Director of the Penn Cardiovascular Institute. In spring 2023, he became the founding Director of the CHOP Cardiovascular Institute.

Dr. Kelly's research interests stem from an early fascination with inborn errors in energy metabolism that cause childhood sudden death and heart failure. He defined the genetic basis for a common inborn error in mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation, leading to the development of a practical newborn screening test. Thereafter, he found that similar derangements in cardiac fuel metabolism contribute to common forms of heart failure in adults, leading to the discovery of nodal points in the gene regulatory control of cardiac mitochondrial function and identification of candidate targets for the treatment of heart failure, including ketone therapies. More recently, the Kelly Laboratory has engaged in probing the basis for cardio-protection afforded by SGLT2 inhibitors.

Dr. Kelly is a member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the American Association of Physicians (President, 2022-23), and recipient of the AHA Distinguished Achievement Award, AHA Basic Research Prize and the Peter Harris Distinguished Scientist Award from the International Society for Heart Research. Dr. Kelly served as an Associate Editor for The Journal of Clinical Investigation and many Editorial Boards.