Dr. Joseph Wu, director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, is the 87th president of the American Heart Association
A pioneering scientist
Dr. Joseph Wu, director of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, is the 87th president of the American Heart Association. His yearlong tenure, which will include the AHA’s 100th anniversary celebration, begins July 1 2023. (American Heart Association)
Over nearly 20 years at Stanford University, Dr. Joseph C. Wu has pioneered the kind of scientific advances that make his patients say: "Whoa! You can really do that?"
For instance: Wu's lab can take a vial of a person's blood, combine it with chemicals and turn it into replicas of the heart cells the person had at birth.
Wu can then study those cells to figure out when and how a heart problem developed. Then, he can use the replica cells to find the best medication to treat the problem, a process he calls "a clinical trial in a dish." With gene editing, Wu can then potentially treat the patient's genetic condition.
This seemingly futuristic approach to heart disease is quite a story.
