MEET LARS WALLENTIM
Lars Wallentin is senior professor of Cardiology at Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden.
In 2001, Lars Wallentin founded the Uppsala Clinical Research Center (UCR), which now has more than 100 staff, operates more than 20 national quality registries, and is a centre for major international clinical trials and their biobanks for biochemical and genetic analysis.
Lars Wallentin’s research has been devoted since the mid-1980s to acute coronary syndrome, with his research group having developed a number of new methods to better understand the causes of the disease and to select the most appropriate treatment. The research group has been at the forefront of developing the highly effective treatments for acute myocardial infarction that we possess today, in the form of low doses of acetylsalicylic acid, or drugs like ticagrelor and various heparins, as well as immediate percutaneous coronary intervention. In this respect, Prof. Wallentin has played a major role in a list of trials that trip off the tongue of every practising cardiologist. In addition to RISK, FRISC-1, and FRISC-2, already mentioned, there are the ASSENT, PLATO, RELY, and ARISTOTLE trials. He also made a fundamental contribution to the launch of the Swedish Web-system for Enhancement and Development of Evidence-based care in Heart disease Evaluated According to Recommended Therapies (SWEDEHEART), the first ever online cardiac registry to report the outcome of every patient hospitalized for acute coronary syndrome or undergoing a coronary or valvular intervention.
More recently Lars Wallentin and his coworkers elected biomarkers as a new target for research, not only in the setting of cardiovascular disease but also in cancer. New models and new tools for risk stratification has been developed.
Prof Wallentin has published more than 600 papers in peer-reviewed international journals.
In 1998 he was the first recipient of the Nordic Medical Prize, the second largest medical award in the Nordic countries.
Prof. Wallentin chaired the Swedish Society of Cardiology from 1998 to 1999, and also founded and was head of the Swedish Heart Association from 2000 to 2002. He was elected as a member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in 2007. Among his other distinctions, he has been awarded the European Society of Cardiology’s Gold Medal for outstanding contributions to cardiac research.
He is one of the world's leading experts on unstable coronary artery disease and one the most highly cited cardiologists overall and definitely one of those bound to feature in the history of Cardiology.
Education:
1970 M.D. (Uppsala University, Sweden)
1976 Ph.D. (Linköping University, Sweden)
1979 Specialist in cardiology, Linköping University Hospital, Sweden
1979 Specialist in internal medicine, Linköping Universtiy Hospital, Sweden
Professional history:
1979 – 2009 Consultant and Senior Consultant Cardiology
1979 - 1990 Associate professor of Internal Medicine (Linköping)
1988 - 1990 Head of Division of Cardiology (Linköping)
1991 – 2009 Professor Cardiology, Uppsala
1991 – 1999 Head Department Cardiology, Uppsala
1994 – 1995 Head of Cardiothoracic centre, Uppsala
1995 – 1999 Associate Head of Cardiothoracic center, Uppsala
2001 - 2008 Head of Uppsala Clinical Research Centre (UCR)
2002 - 2007 Head of National Centre for Quality Registers in Cardiovascular Care
2009 – 2012 Chief Researcher Cardiovascular Sciences at UCR
2012 - Senior Professor of Cardiology at Uppsala University
2012 - 2013 Head of Uppsala Clinical Research Centre (UCR)
2012 - 2013 Head of National Centre for Quality Registers in Cardiovascular Care
2014 - Senior Cardiovascular Scientist Uppsala Clinical Research Center
Distinctions and Awards:
1998 Salus Nordic Award for outstanding research in clinical sciences
2004 Lars Werkö Swedish Heart Lung foundation award for outstanding research in
cardiology
2004 Senior Individual Research Grant from Swedish Strategic Research Foundation
2007 Member Swedish Royal Academy of Science
2008 Sven Tureus Research award, Royal Society of Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
2009 Swedish Heart Foundation Large Individual Research Grant
2010 Uppsala University Olof Rudbeck Gold Medal for Outstanding Scientific Research
2010 European Society Cardiology Gold Medal for Outstanding Research in Cardiology
2012 Uppsala County Council Medal for Outstanding Contributions to the Society
2014 American Heart Association Paul Dudley White International Lecture and Medal
2015 Uppsala University Innovation Award “The Brain Apple”.
Graduate students supervised
Tutor for 26 fellows to PhD dissertation
Ongoing tutorials for 3 fellows to dissertation
Post-docs supervised
Supervisor for around 30 post-docs over the last 25 years.
Careers scientists supported
Mentor for 6 MD, PhD career scientist who have been promoted to full professor.
Commissions of trust:
1980 - 1983 Member of the Board of the Medical Faculty at Linköping University
1981 - 1983 Member of the Research Committee of the Medical Faculty, Linköping
1988 - 1996 Member of the Advisory Board for Cardiovascular Diseases of the
National Board of Health and Welfare in Sweden
1989 - 1990 Vice president of Swedish Society of Cardiology
1993 - 2002 Member of the Advisory Committee of the Swedish Medical Product Agency
1996 - 2012 Scientific expert for the National Board of Health and Welfare in Sweden
1996 - 2004 Member of the National Board of Health and Welfare in Sweden Committee for
Guidelines on Treatment of Cororonary Artery Disease (1996-2001) and Guidelines
on Treatment of Heart Disease (2002 - 2004)
1996 - 2000 Member of the Core of the European Society Cardioloy Working Group on
Thrombosis and Platelets
1996 – 2005 Chairman of the Swedish Network on Research in Acute Coronary Syndromes
(SNACS) co-ordinating large scale clinical trials including substudies involving
local core laboratories
1998 - 1999 President Swedish Society of Cardiology
1999 - 2002 Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the Swedish Cardiovascular Congress
1999 - 2001 CEO of CASAB – the Swedish Society of Cardiology company producing the
Society Journal, Home Page, text books and other information material.
1999 - 2002 Founding president of the Swedish Heart Association representing the Swedish
Societies of Cardiology, Clinical Physiology, Thoracic surgery, Thoracic radiology
an Thoracic anaesthesiology.
1999 - 2001 Member of priority committee of the Foundation for Research in Patient Care and Allergic diseases.
2001 - 2004 Member of priority committee of the Swedish Research Council concerning
Clinical Science.
2001 - 2002 Vice chairman of the European Society Cardiology Working Group on Acute
Coronary Syndrome
2002 - 2007 Chairman of the Association of Swedish Cardiovascular Quality Registers
2004 - 2009 Chairman of the Sweden Committee for Guidelines on Treatment of Heart Disease
within the National Board of Health and Welfare in
2004 - 2006 Member European Society of Cardiology Committee for European Heart Surveys
2004 - 2006 Member of Scientific Committee of the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation
2005 - 2011 Member of the Board of the Centre of Pharmacoepidemiology and the Karolinska
Institute in Stockholm
2008 - 2010 Member of Scientific Committee of the Swedish Heart-Lung Foundation
2008 - 2009 Expert for the Swedish Government Delegation for Clinical Research
2010 - 2012 Chairman of Swedish Research Council Advisory Board for Biobanking
2011 - 2012 Member of the National Biobank Committee within the Swedish Federation of
Counties and Regions.
2005 - 2013 Member of the Executive Committee of the Global VIGOUR International
Research Network on Cardiac Disease
2007 - Member of the Swedish Royal Academy of Science
2010 - 2016 Member of the ESC Committee for European Affairs
2010 - 2013 Member of Swedish Research Council Committee for Research Infrastructure
2010 - Chairman, co-chairmen or member of several data and safety monitoring boards
Commissions of leadership in clinical treatment trials:
Chairman, co-chairman, international principal investigator and co-ordinator of several national and international research projects and global megatrials
RISK-trial – pivotal trial for the first time showing efficacy of low dose aspirin in non-STelevation
ACS and leading to worldwide acceptance of low dose aspirin as a first line
recommendation in patients with ACS in international guidelines
FRISC-1 trial – pivotal trial for the first time showing the efficacy of lmw heparin in non-STelevation
ACS and leading to worldwide acceptance of lmw heparin as a first line
recommendation in addition to aspirin in patients with ACS in international guidelines
FRISC-2-trial- pivotal trial for the first time showing the efficacy of early revascularization in
non-ST-elevation ACS and leading to worldwide acceptance of early invasive treatment as
routine care in patients with non-ST-elevation ACS in international guidelines
TRIM-trial – pivotal trial testing intravenous direct thrombin inhibition in ACS
ESTEEM-trial – pivotal trial for the first time showing the efficacy of long-term treatment with a novel oral anticoagulant (the oral thrombin inhibitor ximelagatran) in addition to aspirin in non- ST-elevation ACS although development later stopped because of hepatotoxicity.
ASSENT-PLUS trial, ASSENT-3 and ASSENT-3-PLUS-trial – pivotal trials showing the efficacy
of lmw heparin in addition to thrombolysis in ST-elevation myocardial infarction clntrkbuting to worldwide acceptance of lmw heparin as a first line recommendation as an adjunctive treatment at thrombolysis in patients with ST-elevation MI in international guidelines
GUSTO-4 trial – first trial showing lack of efficacy of abciximab infusion in patients with non-
ST-elevation ACS managed without early invasive procedures
APPRAISE 1-2-trials – first phase II and phase III trials testing the efficacy and safety of oral Xa
inhibition with apixaban after ST-elevation or non-ST-elevation ACS where further development was terminated because of high rates of bleeding
REDEEM trial – first phase II trial testing the efficacy and safety or oral thrombin inhibition with dabigatran after ST-elevation or non-ST-elevation ACS where further development also was terminated because of high rates of bleeding
PLATO-trial – pivotal trial for the first time showing the efficacy and safety of ticagrelor in
18000 patients with ST-elevation and non-ST-elevation leading to worldwide regulatory approval and first line recommendation for use ACS in international guidelines
RELY-trial - pivotal trial showing the efficacy and safety of dabigatran in 18000 patients with
atrial fibrillation and a raised risk of stroke leading to worldwide regulatory approval and first
line recommendation for use in international guidelines
ARISTOTLE trial - pivotal trial showing the efficacy and safety of apixaban in 18000 patients
with atrial fibrillation and a raised risk of stroke leading to worldwide regulatory approval and first line recommendation for use in international guidelines STABILITY trial – first phase III trial testing the concept of anti-inflammatory treatment with
darapladib in 15000 patients with chronic coronary artery disease aiming for regulatory approval.
ABC-Scores - program (co-chairman) on Biomarker Based Decision support in Cardiovascular disease – a Swedish Foundation for Strategic research funded project ongoing 2014 - 2018.
Miscellaneous:
Editor of Textbook of Acute Coronary Syndrome in Swedish 3rd edition 2005 & 4th edition 2010.
Section editor for Journal of Thrombosis Haemostasis 2005-2006
Member of the Editorial Board of J American Medical Association, Circulation, Nature Clinical
Practice of Medicine, Coronary Artery Disease, J. American College Cardiology, European Heart
Journal.
Reviewer for numerous International Journals e.g. New Engl J Med, Lancet, Circulation, J Amer.
Med. Assoc., J Am. Coll. Cardiol, Amer Heart J, Eur Heart J etc. etc.
Member of numerous International Advisory Boards, Expert Groups, Task forces and Scientific
Committees and Data Monitöring and Safety Committees.
Organiser of numerous national and international Conferences and Courses.
Invited Guest Lecturer and Visiting professor at numerous International and National Institutions and Meetings
Entrepreneurial achievements
1995 founder of the Swedish Cardiovascular Registries
1999 inventor on one patent on dalteparin in unstable coronary artery disease
2001 founder of Uppsala Clinical Research Centre
2002 founder of the first National Competence Centre for Quality Registration in Sweden
2002 founder of the Swedish Association of Cardiovascular Diseases
2009 inventor of two patents on GDF-15 for risk stratification in acute coronary syndrome