PHILADELPHIA — David Frankel, MD, an assistant professor of Cardiovascular Medicine in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, received the Pennsylvania Medical Society’s (PAMED) Physician 40 Under 40 award, a new award given to honor early career physicians who are leaders in their field.
Frankel joined Penn Medicine’s Cardiovascular Medicine division in 2011, and “quickly developed a reputation as a ‘physician’s physician’ and a leader in education,” according to his nominator, Francis E. Marchlinski, MD, FHRS, director of Electrophysiology for the University of Pennsylvania Health System.
In July of 2014, Frankel was appointed Fellowship Director for the Cardiovascular Electrophysiology Section of the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, the state’s largest electrophysiology training program.
The author of 58 original scientific publications, Frankel’s work has already impacted the way patients with cardiac arrhythmia disorders are treated around the world. Among other achievements, he helped develop a new catheter ablation technique to cure ventricular arrhythmias and he was the first to describe the role of non-invasive programmed stimulation following ventricular tachycardia ablation to predict risk of recurrence.
“In only a few short years here at Penn Medicine, Dave has had a tremendous impact on the department, and in the field of cardiovascular medicine,” said Thomas Cappola, MD, ScM, chief of the division of Cardiovascular Medicine. “There is no question that he is a leader in the field, and that he will continue to pioneer new techniques that will undoubtedly benefit the field of electrophysiology.”
After earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Frankel earned his Doctor of Medicine from the Perelman School of Medicine. He then completed his internship and residency training in the department of Medicine at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital and returned to Penn Medicine for cardiology and cardiovascular electrophysiology fellowship training.
The Pennsylvania Medical Society represents 16,000 physicians and medical students across the Keystone State and advocates advancing quality patient care, the ethical practice of medicine, and advocating for the patients they serve. The Physician 40 Under 40, the first year for this PAMED award,
will be presented in the fall and Frankel will be honored at the group’s annual House of Delegates meeting in October.
Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.