Robert Roberts (born 9 July 1940 in Grole,

Newfoundland, Canada Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland and the continent ...

), is a

cardiologist Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

, and

medical researcher Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as health research, refers to the process of using scientific methods with the aim to produce knowledge about human diseases, the prevention and treatment of illness, and the promotion of ...

Education

Roberts completed his undergraduate at

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...

. He attended medical school at

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

and training in cardiology at

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. With a scholarship from the Canadian Heart Foundation he relocated to the U.S. to complete a research fellowship at the University of California-San Diego under the mentorship of Eugene Braunwald and Burton Sobel where he contributed to the clinical trial development of TPA, a first-line treatment for heart attacks. He then became Director of the Coronary Care Unit Barnes Hospital at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) is a private research university in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1853 by a group of civic leaders and named for George Washington, the university spans 355 acres across its Danforth ...

(1972–1982) and was recruited by Michael DeBakey and Anthony Gotto to serve as Chief of Cardiology at

Baylor College of Medicine The Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) is a private medical school in Houston, Texas, United States. Originally as the Baylor University College of Medicine from 1903 to 1969, the college became independent with the current name and has been se ...

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

(1982–2004), which he held for over two decades being one of the longest serving chiefs of cardiology in the US. In 2004, he returned to Canada to become C.E.O., President and Chief Scientific Officer of the

University of Ottawa Heart Institute The University of Ottawa Heart Institute (UOHI) ''(French: Institut de cardiologie de l'Université d'Ottawa (ICUO))'' is Canada's largest cardiovascular health centre. It is located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It began as a department in The Otta ...

. (2004–2014).

Career

Roberts is currently the chief executive officer of RDS Inc., executive director of the Heart and Vascular Institute and Director of Cardiovascular Genetics and Genomics at Dignity Health at St Joseph's Hospital & Medical Center, Chair of the International Society of Cardiovascular Translational Research at the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and a Professor of Medicine at the

University of Arizona College of Medicine A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

. He served as co-editor of ''Hurst's The Heart'' for 25 years, which is the leading practitioner textbook for cardiologists while also being a member of numerous editorial boards for several journals including the current Editor-in-Chief of ''Current Opinion in Cardiology''. For his research contributions, he has received many awards including the Distinguished Scientist of

American College of Cardiology The American College of Cardiology (ACC), based in Washington, D.C., is a nonprofit medical association established in 1949. It bestows credentials upon cardiovascular specialists who meet its qualifications. Education is a core component of the ...

and election to the Academy of Scientists of the

Royal Society of Canada The Royal Society of Canada (RSC; , SRC), also known as the Academies of Arts, Humanities, and Sciences of Canada (French: ''Académies des arts, des lettres et des sciences du Canada''), is the senior national, bilingual council of distinguishe ...

. As of January 1, 2021, he has over 46,000

citation A citation is a reference to a source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose o ...

s and a

h-index The ''h''-index is an author-level metric that measures both the productivity and citation impact of the publications, initially used for an individual scientist or scholar. The ''h''-index correlates with success indicators such as winning t ...

of 105 on

Google Scholar Google Scholar is a freely accessible web search engine that indexes the full text or metadata of Academic publishing, scholarly literature across an array of publishing formats and disciplines. Released in Beta release, beta in November 2004, th ...

Clinical practice

He was Director of the Coronary Care Unit at Barnes Hospital at

from 1972 to 1982. He served as Chief of Cardiology at

from 1982 to 2004, followed by President of the

, Ottawa, Canada, from 2004 to 2014.

Research

Roberts conducted early research in the field of molecular

cardiology Cardiology () is the study of the heart. Cardiology is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery di ...

on the genetic causes of heart disease. His research is noted for developing the first quantitative assay for MBCK, which was the standard for diagnosing

heart attacks A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is retr ...

in patients for more than three decades and continues to be used in many countries. Most of his research career was devoted to

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

and

molecular biology Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

cardiovascular disorders Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina, heart attack), heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, rheumatic h ...

which led him to several important discoveries, including the mapping of the first gene for

atrial fibrillation Atrial fibrillation (AF, AFib or A-fib) is an Heart arrhythmia, abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) characterized by fibrillation, rapid and irregular beating of the Atrium (heart), atrial chambers of the heart. It often begins as short periods ...

(1997), the first gene for Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome (2001) and many others. His 1998 study on

arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is an inherited heart disease. ACM is caused by genetic defects of parts of the cardiac muscle known as desmosomes, areas on the surface of muscle cells which link them together. The desmosomes are composed ...

(ARVD) among the population of

Grand Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador Grand Falls-Windsor is a town located in the central region of the island of Newfoundland in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, with a population of 13,853 at the 2021 census. The town is the largest in the central region, the s ...

, Canada, led to the infamous Texas Vampires incident and resulted in a five-year suspension from clinical research by Baylor's Institutional Review Board. His research is noted for developing the first quantitative assay for MBCK, which was the standard for diagnosing

in patients for more than three decades. Most of his research career was devoted to

and

which led him to several important discoveries, including the first gene for

in 1997, the first gene for

Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome (WPWS) is a disorder due to a specific type of problem with the electrical system of the heart involving an accessory pathway able to conduct electrical current between the atria and the ventricles, thus byp ...

and many others. In 2007, he discovered the first gene for heart attacks (9p21) and since as part of an International Consortium has identified over 100 genetic factors that cause an elevated risk for heart disease in addition to the already commonly associated environmental factors such as cholesterol and smoking.

Texas Vampires Controversy

In 1998, Robert Roberts led a group of researchers from Baylor College of Medicine to conduct a study on arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD) among

, Canada populations. The group arrived at Grand Falls to collect blood samples from community members to test for biomarkers indicating genetic predispositions of this condition. Republished in ''

Medscape Medscape is a website providing access to medical information for clinicians and medical scientists; the organization also provides continuing education for physicians and other health professionals. It references medical journal articles, Con ...

'' by WebMD Health. The study was extremely problematic due to procedures used by Roberts to procure the samples causing significant concerns about the informed consent process of the study. Evidence from an investigation initiated by Baylor's Institutional Review Board found that the consent process was largely skipped or done through medical intimidation by Roberts and his team. Participants also were not given results of the study despite many feeling that they might have died had they not taken part. Following an internal investigation of this incident by Baylor's Institutional Review Board, Roberts was among three Baylor physicians suspended from clinical research for five years. The study also initiated a special subcommittee investigation of procedural and ethical aspects of the study led by Baylor's IRB and Ottawa Heart Institute which found protocol concerns "of a serious nature".

Awards and honours

Roberts has authored over 900 publications in leading scientific journals and received several awards in recognition of his scientific contributions including the Distinguished Scientist Award from the

(1998), McLaughlin Medal from the Royal Society of Canada (2008), Award of Meritorious Achievement from AHA (2001), Best of What's New by Popular Science (1994), and was elected to Fellow of the Academy of Science of the

(2013).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Robert Canadian cardiologists Dalhousie University alumni Living people 1940 births Memorial University of Newfoundland alumni Washington University School of Medicine faculty Baylor College of Medicine physicians and researchers University of Arizona faculty