Richard O. Cannon, III, MD
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH
Bethesda, Maryland

Organizing Committee

Session Chair
Nitrite and Vasodilation

Dr Cannon received his MD degree at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 1976. He completed residency training in internal medicine at Barnes Hospital (Washington University School of Medicine) and cardiology fellowship training at the Clinical Center in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. He was awarded tenure in 1985, and appointed Head of the Clinical Cardiology Section, Cardiology Branch of NHLBI in 2001 and Clinical Director, Division of Intramural Research, NHLBI in 2002. He is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a member of the American Heart Association, serving on the Council on Circulation and the Council on Clinical Cardiology. He served on the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions Program Committee 2000-2002 and chaired the Section for Hypertension, Vascular Disease and Prevention. Dr. Cannon represented NHLBI on Data, Safety and Monitoring Boards of two multi-center clinical trials; Women’s Ischemia Syndrome Evaluation (WISE) and the Occluded Artery Trial (OAT).  He has served as NHLBI’s representative on three FDA advisory committees, most recently related to COX-2 inhibitors.  He represented NHLBI on the CDC/AHA Workshop on Inflammatory Markers in Cardiovascular Disease in 2002.  He served on the NASA Expert Panel on Cardiovascular Fitness Standards for Astronauts in July, 2005. He is recipient of the US Public Health Service’s Commendation Medal (1990), Outstanding Service Medal (1992) and Meritorious Service Medal (1994); the NIH Clinical Fellow’s Teaching Award (2001), and the NIH Director’s Award (2002).

His research program includes investigating the vascular relevance of bone marrow-derived progenitor cells in apparently healthy but sedentary individuals (NHLBI “Keep the Beat” Study) and in patients with coronary artery disease participating in Suburban Hospital’s Cardiac Rehabilitation Program, and collaborates with investigators in the National Human Genome Research Institute determining the genetic basis for atherosclerosis (Clin Seq).  A clinical trial has been initiated testing the effect of reducing levels of C-reactive protein, via IL-1 inhibition, on survival and differentiation potential of endothelial and progenitor cells in patients with coronary artery disease, through a clinical trials agreement with Regeneron Pharmaceuticals. He has authored or co-authored 161 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals and 97 review articles or book chapters. He has been an invited speaker at over 80 international symposia and has made grand rounds presentations at over 50 medical centers in the United States, Canada, and abroad.