PHILADELPHIA—
Francis Marchlinski, MD, FHRS, director of Electrophysiology for the
University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), has been selected to receive the Distinguished Teacher Award from the Heart Rhythm Society, the leading international professional organization for cardiac arrhythmia professionals.
In a career spanning three decades at Penn, Marchlinski has overseen the training of more than 120 electrophysiology fellows. Marchlinski, who is also the Richard T. and Angela Clark President’s Distinguished Professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and director of the Electrophysiology Laboratory at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, is being recognized for his role in educating colleagues and students for over 30 years in the classroom and through numerous professional presentations worldwide—including providing vital information about his own clinical innovations. These innovations include optimizing device therapy for treating heart failure and preventing sudden cardiac death, and improving catheter ablation techniques for treating atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia – all of which have been widely adopted by those in the field.
“Frank may be fundamentally one of the greatest mentors in electrophysiology, said David J. Callans, MD, associate director of Electrophysiology for UPHS, who nominated Marchlinski for this award. “This is demonstrated by the legacy of academicians who have trained under him and continue to have an impact in this field. His efforts to mentor future leaders in electrophysiology will have an impact for generations.”
Marchlinski has published over 350 original scientific articles and over 150 book chapters, reviews, and editorials on a variety of topics in cardiac electrophysiology. Marchlinski is on the editorial boards of Circulation, Arrhythmias and Electrophysiology, American Journal of Cardiology, HeartRhythm, Journal of Cardiovascular Electrophysiology, Journal of Interventional Cardiac Electrophysiology, and JACC- Electrophysiology, and he is the arrhythmia section editor for the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
He has served on the International Heart Rhythm Society committee to establish guidelines for treating atrial fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia using catheter ablation techniques, which selectively destroy areas of the heart causing heart rhythm problems, and has long directed a number of annual professional national and international symposiums for cardiac arrhythmia professionals.
Marchlinski’s professional recognition also includes the Luigi Mastroianni Clinical Innovator Award, Venice Arrhythmia Distinguished Scientist Award, Association for Clinical and Translational Science Distinguished Investigator Award, and numerous teaching awards at Penn. And, he is consistently recognized by America's Top Doctors, Best Doctors in America, and Philadelphia magazine's Top Docs.
A graduate of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, he completed his Internal Medicine residency and Cardiology and Electrophysiology fellowship training at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
The award will be presented on May 12, 2017, at the Society’s 38th Annual Scientific Sessions in Chicago.
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.
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