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Yoram Rudy
 Dr. Yoram Rudy was born in Tel-Aviv, Israel, on February 12, 1946. Growing up in a young country with ancient history, Yoram had strong interest in history and archaeology which, over the course of time, shifted towards the physical sciences. In 1966, he entered the Department of Physics at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, where he earned a B.Sc. degree in 1970. He continued his studies at the Technion, conducting research in quantum mechanics (tunneling phenomena in superconductors) for which he received the M.Sc. degree in 1973. During his graduate studies, Yoram developed interest in the life sciences and in particular in the physics of living systems. He decided to pursue this interest and in the fall of 1973 joined the Ph.D. program in Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University, where he conducted research in bioelectric phenomena under the guidance of Dr. Robert Plonsey, a pioneer in this field of science. Yoram received his Ph.D. degree from Case Western Reserve University in 1978, where he also attended the first two years of medical school.
In 1980, Yoram joined the faculty of Case Western Reserve University as an assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering. He later became The M. Frank and Margaret C. Rudy Professor of Cardiac Bioelectricity, with academic appointments in the departments of Biomedical Engineering, Physiology & Biophysics, and Medicine. In 1994, he established the interdisciplinary Cardiac Bioelectricity Research and Training Center and became its director. The center included thirty-two faculty members from various departments in engineering, science, and the school of medicine. During his tenure at Case Western Reserve, he also served as a visiting professor in several universities, including the Technion, University of Parma (Italy), University of Berne (Switzerland), University of Utah, Tel-Aviv University, Columbia University, and Cornell University.
Yoram has published over 200 technical papers; graduated 18 doctoral and 20 master students, who continue to pursue careers in academic research, academic medicine, and in the biomedical industry. For his contributions in the fields of cardiac electrophysiology and electrocardiology, Yoram received numerous awards; he is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), and of the American Physiological Society. He is the recipient of a Merit Award from the NIH, the Biomedical Engineering Society Distinguished Lectureship Award, the Gordon K. Moe Professorship Award, The Rijlant Distinguished Lecturer (International Congress on Electrocardiology), and the Ueda Memorial Award (Japanese Society of Electrocardiology and College of Cardiology).
The Heart of all creatures is the foundation of their life, from whence all strength and vigour flows.
-- William Harvey: An anatomical disputation concerning the movement of the heart and the blood in living creatures, 1653
Despite major advances in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease, many cardiac disorders remain unconquered and heart disease remains the leading cause of death and disability. In particular, erratic heart rhythms and irregular heart beats (cardiac arrhythmias) claim more than 400,000 lives each year in the U.S. alone. Yoram’s research is aimed at understanding the mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias and how they lead to sudden death. He has used theoretical (computational biology) approaches to study these phenomena at various levels of the cardiac system, from ion flow through protein channels in membranes of cardiac cells, to the generation of electrical excitation by these cells, to the spread of the wave of electrical excitation in the multicellular tissues of the heart. Yoram’s laboratory has developed detailed computer models of the workings of cardiac cells and used these “virtual cells” to predict and explore the effects of disease, drugs and genetic abnormalities on the heart’s function and the development of irregular heart rhythms [published in Nature, 1999]. A more applied aspect of Yoram’s work is the development of a novel, noninvasive imaging modality for cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias. This new method, called Electrocardiographic Imaging (ECGI), uses simultaneous 250 body-surface electrocardiograms together with novel computer algorithms to project electrophysiological information directly on the surface of the heart [Nature Medicine, 2004]. ECGI adds a much needed clinical tool for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias; it also provides a noninvasive method for mechanistic studies of cardiac arrhythmias in humans.
Yoram joined the Washington University faculty this fall as Professor of Biomedical Engineering with joint appointments in the departments of Cell Biology & Physiology, Medicine, Radiology, and Pediatrics. He has established an interdisciplinary center, the Cardiac Bioelectricity and Arrhythmia Center (CBAC), that fosters intellectual interactions and collaborations between researchers and clinicians on both sides of Forest Park in an effort to understand the heart's irregular rhythms and to prevent their fatal consequences. He will continue to study the rhythms of the heart. Yoram and his wife, Hadas, live on the Central West End of St. Louis; they share a strong passion for music and the arts and hope to become actively involved in the musical life of the city.
Research Interests:
Exerpt taken from The Fred Saigh Professorship award announcement for Dr. Yoram Rudy…
Despite major advances in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease, many cardiac disorders remain unconquered and heart disease remains the leading cause of death and disability. In particular, erratic heart rhythms and irregular heart beats (cardiac arrhythmias) claim more than 400,000 lives each year in the U.S. alone. Dr. Rudy’s research is aimed at understanding the mechanisms of cardiac arrhythmias and how they lead to sudden death. He has used theoretical (computational biology) approaches to study these phenomena at various levels of the cardiac system, from ion flow through protein channels in membranes of cardiac cells, to the generation of electrical excitation by these cells, to the spread of the wave of electrical excitation in the multicellular tissues of the heart. Dr. Rudy’s laboratory has developed detailed computer models of the workings of cardiac cells and used these “virtual cells” to predict and explore the effects of disease, drugs and genetic abnormalities on the heart’s function and the development of irregular heart rhythms [published in Nature, 1999]. A more applied aspect of Dr. Rudy’s work is the development of a novel, noninvasive imaging modality for cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias. This new method, called Electrocardiographic Imaging (ECGI), uses simultaneous 250 body-surface electrocardiograms together with novel computer algorithms to project electrophysiological information directly on the surface of the heart [Nature Medicine, 2004]. ECGI adds a much needed clinical tool for the diagnosis and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias; it also provides a noninvasive method for mechanistic studies of cardiac arrhythmias in humans.
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