PHILADELPHIA Mariell Jessup, MD, professor of Medicine, associate chief, Clinical Affairs, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, and medical director of the Penn Medicine Heart and Vascular Center, has become the president of the American Heart Association (AHA). Her term begins July 1, 2013.

I am thrilled and honored to serve as the president of the AHA. It is an outstanding organization dedicated to building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular disease and stroke, said Jessup, who is also a member of the Penn Medicine Cardiovascular Institute. These goals are the same as those I have dedicated my professional life to, so this new role is a perfect fit.

Dr. Jessups focus throughout her career has been on the optimal management of patients with heart failure, including the appropriate selection of patients for heart transplant or ventricular assist devices (VADs). As medical director of the Penn Medicine Heart and Vascular Center, she works with a multi-disciplinary team of cardiologists, cardiac and vascular surgeons, nurse practitioners, and nurses to deliver collaborative, cutting-edge care to heart patients.

Dr. Jessup ascends to this position of national leadership at a critical moment in the field of cardiovascular disease. In doing so, she follows on the rich tradition of Penn Medicine in the nation's service, said Richard P. Shannon, MD, Frank Wister Thomas Professor of Medicine and chair, Department of Medicine at Penn. Her detailed understanding of the importance of discovery toward the betterment of the human condition will inform her tenure. Her experience as a clinician will insure that the voice of the patient burdened with heart disease will be heard above all else.

As a world renowned expert, Jessup has been an integral member of numerous guidelines committees aimed at directing optimal decisions and criteria regarding diagnosis, management, and treatment of patients with heart failure. A volunteer for more than 15 years, she was chairperson of the AHAs Committee on Scientific Sessions Program in 2009 and 2010, and chaired the committee that created the 2009 revision of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association Guidelines for the Management of Congestive Heart Failure.

She received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her medical degree from Hahnemann Medical College. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Hahnemann University Hospital and a cardiovascular fellowship at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

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Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 16 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $398 million awarded in the 2012 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Penn Medicine also includes additional patient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region.

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Mariell Jessup, MD, Penn Medicine Cardiologist, Becomes President of the American Heart Association