Yoram Rudy

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Biomedical Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, 1978
M.Sc., Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, 1973
B.Sc., Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, 1971

See below for Dr. Rudy’s:

• Full Curriculum Vitae (CV)
• Short Biosketch 1
• Short Biosketch 2

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Cardiac bioelectricity; cardiac electrophysiology and arrhythmias; computational biology and mathematical modeling; cardiac imaging and mapping

CURRENT RESEARCH

Rhythm disorders of the heart lead to over 400,000 cases of sudden death annually in the U.S. alone. Professor Rudy’s research aims at understanding the mechanisms that underlie normal and abnormal rhythms of the heart at various levels, from the molecular and cellular to the whole heart. Through development of detailed mathematical models of ion channels biophysics and electrophysiology, and of cardiac cells and tissue, the Rudy Lab is investigating arrhythmia mechanisms. The cell models have been used worldwide for research, teaching and training. They have also developed a novel noninvasive imaging modality (Electrocardiographic Imaging, ECGI) for diagnosis and guided therapy of cardiac arrhythmias. They use ECGI to study mechanisms of clinical arrhythmias (e.g. atrial fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, heart failure) in patients. Their premise is that an integrated approach to the study of mechanisms at all levels of the cardiac system, and the development of novel diagnostic and therapeutic tools will lead to successful strategies for prevention and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias and sudden death.

BIOGRAPHY

Professor Yoram Rudy was born in Tel-Aviv, Israel. In 1966, he entered the Department of Physics at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, where he earned a B.Sc. degree in 1970 and M.Sc. in 1973. During his graduate studies, Yoram developed interest in the life sciences and decided to pursue this interest. In 1973 he joined the Ph.D. program in Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU), 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 CWRU in 1978, where he also attended the first two years of medical school.

In 1980, Prof. Rudy 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.

Professor Rudy joined Washington University in 2004 as the Fred Saigh Distinguished Professor of Engineering, with appointments in the departments of Biomedical Engineering, Medicine, Cell Biology & Physiology, Radiology, and Pediatrics. He established the interdisciplinary Cardiac Bioelectricity and Arrhythmia Center (CBAC) at Washington University, which includes 39 faculty members. He has also served as a visiting professor in various universities worldwide.

Professor Rudy published over 200 scientific articles. He graduated 30 doctoral students, who continue to pursue careers in academic research and medicine, and in the biomedical industry. He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the recipient of numerous awards, among which are: the NIH Merit Award, the Biomedical Engineering Society Distinguished Lectureship Award, the Heart Rhythm Society Distinguished Scientist Award, Case Western Reserve University Distinguished Alumni Award and the Hein Wellens Distinguished Professor in Cardiology at Maastricht University. He also served as President of the Cardiac Electrophysiology Society from 2006-2008.