Dr. Joseph Hill, Chief of the Division of Cardiology and Director of the Harry S. Moss Heart Center, has received the Louis and Artur Lucian Award for Research in Circulatory Diseases from McGill University in Montreal.

I am thrilled and honored to receive this prestigious award. I accept it as recognition of the efforts of our team of investigators to address the global scourge of cardiovascular disease, Dr. Hill said of the honor, which includes an award of $70,000 (Canadian dollars) and a visit to the institution to give a series of talks. The award is designed to honor outstanding research in the field of circulatory diseases by an investigator whose contribution to knowledge in the field is deemed worthy of special recognition.

Dr. Hill received the award this year for his seminal work on the molecular mechanisms responsible for pathological changes in the heart that occur during the development of cardiovascular disease and heart failure, notes Dr. Terry Hébert, Assistant Dean, Biomedical Science Education at McGill and also a member of the award selection committee. His lab has generated a number of innovative lines of investigation for therapeutic intervention in these diseases targeting the electrical, structural and genetic remodeling of the heart. The breadth of his work is impressive and represents a state-of-the-art combination of basic and clinical research focused on translating mechanistic insights into new treatment for the leading cause of death in North America.

Dr. Hill is a cardiologist-scientist whose research focuses on molecular mechanisms of remodeling in the disease-stressed myocardium. His research group strives to decipher mechanisms of structural, functional, metabolic, and electrical remodeling in heart disease with an eye toward therapeutic intervention.

After graduating with M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Duke University, Dr. Hill pursued postdoctoral scientific training at the Institut Pasteur in Paris. He then completed clinical training in internal medicine and cardiology at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School. Dr. Hill served on the faculty of the University of Iowa for five years, then joined UT Southwestern in 2002 in his current roles.

Dr. Hill serves on numerous committees, boards, and study sections and lectures widely. In addition, he serves on several editorial boards, including Circulation Research, American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, and American Journal of Cardiology.

He serves as Editor-in-Chief of the textbook Muscle: Fundamental Biology and Mechanisms of Disease. He also is Editor-in-Chief of Circulation.

He has received numerous recognitions and awards, including election to the Association of American Physicians and receipt of the 2018 Research Achievement Award from the International Society for Heart Research. Dr. Hill has also served as President of the Association of University Cardiologists and Chair of the Academic Council of the American College of Cardiology.

Dr. Hill, also Professor of Internal Medicine and Molecular Biology, maintains an active clinical practice focusing on general cardiology, heart failure, and hypertension.

Dr. Hill holds the James T. Willerson, M.D. Distinguished Chair in Cardiovascular Diseases, and the Frank M. Ryburn, Jr. Chair in Heart Research.