Stephen Archer, Head of the Department of Medicine at Queen’s, recently received a prestigious award from one of the world’s leading organizations for cardiovascular health and research.

Dr. Archer is the 2016 recipient of the Distinguished Scientist Award from the American Heart Association. The award, created in 2003, honours American Heart Association members who have made extraordinary contributions to cardiovascular and stroke research.

The award recognizes Dr. Archer’s lifetime of ground-breaking research and a long list of discoveries that have advanced care for patients with pulmonary hypertension and cancer.

A world-renowned cardiologist and scientist, Dr. Archer first arrived at Queen’s to study medicine and graduated in 1981. He then completed his Internal Medicine Residency and Cardiology Fellowship at the University of Minnesota before becoming a Faculty Cardiologist at the University of Minnesota for 10 years.

Moving back to Canada in 1998, Dr. Archer served as Chief of Cardiology at the University of Alberta for nine years before moving on to the University of Chicago. After four years as Chief of Cardiology there, he returned to Queen’s as Head of the Department of Medicine.

“Dr. Archer is not only an outstanding scientist and cardiologist, but he is also an outstanding leader,” says Richard Reznick, Dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences. “Here at Queen’s, he has had a transformational impact on the Department of Medicine and its research portfolio. In just a few months, the Queen’s CardioPulmonary Unit, a state-of-the-art international research unit spearheaded by Dr. Archer, will open its doors on campus.”

Dr. Archer holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Mitochondrial Dynamics and Translational Medicine and recently received a $4 million CIHR Foundation Award to support a project examining the mechanism of mitochondrial fission with a focus on understanding the interaction between an enzyme called dynamic relate protein 1 (Drp1) and its four binding partners.

His clinical interests include pulmonary hypertension, persistent ductus arteriosus, strategies for improving cardiovascular care, and training the next generation of physician-scientists. He has published 200 papers and his translational cardiovascular research has been recognized with numerous awards.

Dr. Archer is also the president of the Canadian Association of Professors of Medicine (CAPM), which promotes academic medicine and its sub-specialties through the effective management of academic Departments of Medicine along with the advancement of research, education and patient care.