Curriculum Vitae

Biography

Dr. Gervasio Lamas is the Chairman of Medicine and Chief of the Columbia University Division of Cardiology at Mount Sinai Medical Center. He comes from a medical and scientific family – his father and uncle were physicians and his mother a biochemist.

Dr. Lamas grew up in South Florida, graduating from Ransom School for Boys, and promptly headed north to Boston, where he discovered he did not really like snow.

He received his B.A. in Biochemical Sciences cum laude from Harvard College and his M.D. with honors (AOA) from New York University. He completed his internship and residency and cardiology training at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital of Harvard Medical School, where he later served as Assistant Professor of Medicine.

Dr. Lamas returned to South Florida in 1993, when Mount Sinai recruited him as Chief of Cardiology. He later served as the hospital’s Director of Cardiovascular Research and Academic Affairs. From June of 2008 until January of 2009, he was Director of the Cardiology Fellowship Program at Jackson Memorial Hospital/ VAMC/University of Miami. Dr. Lamas returned to Mount Sinai in January 2009 when the hospital launched its Ivy League affiliation with Columbia University to assume the role of Chief of the Columbia University Division of Cardiology and Professor of Medicine, Columbia University Medical Center. In 2011, Dr. Lamas was named the Chairman of Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Under Dr. Lamas’ leadership the Columbia University Division of Cardiology at Mount Sinai has recruited highly qualified cardiologists who are at the forefront of their field and specialize in a wide range of cardiovascular conditions, elevating the level of cardiac care. Mount Sinai proudly boasts the best 30-day heart attack survival rate in South Florida.

Dr. Lamas is a fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association and the European Society of Cardiology. He has served as the Chair or member for multiple data and safety monitoring boards, acted as a manuscript reviewer for prestigious journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine and participated on multiple national committees, including serving as Chairman of the Clinical Trials Review Committee of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. He has also served as the President of the South Florida American Heart Association from 2000-2001. He served on the 2008 Guideline Committee of the American Heart Association and American College of Cardiology to recommend care guidelines for ST Elevation Myocardial Infarction (a dangerous type of heart attack).

Dr. Lamas has always dedicated himself to research to improve patient care by originating or participating in clinical trials.

During his career, he has enrolled thousands of patients in many U.S. and international trials in order advance the science of cardiovascular care and prevent death and disability from heart disease.

He originated and served as chairman of the Mode Selection Trial in Sinus Node Dysfunction (MOST), an international NHLBI-funded trial that revolutionized cardiac pacemaker functionality. He served as Co-Chair of the Occluded Artery Trial (OAT), another multinational NHLBI-funded trial. He also originated and served as study chair for the Trial to Assess Chelation Therapy (TACT), a $30 million trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health – a study with results that yielded national headlines and the finding that environmental pollutants are a modifiable risk factor for coronary heart disease, particularly in patients with diabetes. Somehow, he has found the time to design a follow-up study.

As a result of his academic activity, Dr. Lamas has published over 200 peer reviewed articles and over 150 abstracts in high impact journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, Annals of Internal Medicine, Circulation, and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. He has also lectured extensively at national and international meetings.

In addition to his research and administrative responsibilities, he maintains clinical practices in Miami Beach, Coral Gables, Hialeah, Key Biscayne and Sunny Isles Beach. His patients inspire his academic work.

*This physician is employed by Mount Sinai Medical Center

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