Milton Packer

Milton Packer

Milton Packer MD is currently Distinguished Scholar in Cardiovascular Science at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas. Dr. Packer is an internationally recognized clinical investigator who has made many seminal contributions to the field of heart failure, both in understanding its mechanisms and defining its rational management. His work has spanned more than 40 years and has been strongly supported by numerous investigator-initiated grants from the National Institutes of Health and from industry. Dr. Packer’s research established the cornerstone of the current modern treatments for heart failure, including ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers and angiotensin neprilysin inhibitors.  He was also instrumental in raising concerns about the use of positive inotropic agents, calcium channel blockers and antiarrhythmic drugs in patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction.  In recognition of these achievements, he received the Lewis Katz Lifetime Achievement Award from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.  Dr. Packer graduated from Pennsylvania State University and received his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College in 1973, completed his residency in internal medicine at Bronx Municipal Hospital Center in 1976 and his fellowship in cardiology at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in 1978.  He was Professor of Medicine at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine until 1992, served as the Dickinson Richards Professor and chief of the Division of Circulatory Physiology at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons until 2004, and then as the Stoffel Distinguished Chair in Cardiology and Chair of the Department of Clinical Sciences at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center until 2015.  He has authored over 500 peer-reviewed publications and has been the overall Principal Investigator for 20 large-scale international trials in heart failure.  He was a Founding Member and President of the Heart Failure Society of America from 2000-2002, has served on numerous guidelines and standards committees for the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology.  Since 1986, he has been a primary consultant to the FDA on matters related to the design and interpretation of clinical trial evidence.