At International Cardiology Meeting, UB Chair of Medicine is Honored for Her Distinguished Clinical Research

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Anne B. Curtis, MD, Charles and Mary Bauer Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine in the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, has been awarded the Walter Bleifeld Memorial Award for Distinguished Work in Clinical Research. Bleifeld, considered one of the pioneers of modern cardiology, was a professor of medicine and cardiology at the University of Hamburg.

Curtis was presented with the award in July at the 17th World Congress on Heart Disease of the International Academy of Cardiology in Toronto.

The award recognizes Curtis's outstanding contributions to clinical research. She is one of the world's leading clinical cardiac electrophysiologists and an expert in cardiac arrhythmias. Her clinical research has significantly advanced knowledge of human cardiac electrophysiology and heart-rhythm abnormalities.

Curtis's research interests include clinical trials in implantable device therapy for prevention of sudden cardiac death and management of heart failure, as well as clinical trials in atrial fibrillation. She has been principal investigator, co-investigator, sponsor or steering committee member on 85 research studies and clinical trials and has written more than 250 peer-reviewed manuscripts, book chapters, reviews and editorials. She also is author of a book on cardiac pacing.

Curtis received a 2010 Distinguished Fellowship Award from the International Academy of Cardiology.

In 2011, she was a key contributor to guidelines on atrial fibrillation that are issued periodically by the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Task Force on Practice Guidelines.

Earlier this year, she received the 2012 Distinguished Service Award from the Heart Rhythm Society.

She lives in Buffalo.