Biography

Dr. Bairey Merz’s research interests include women and cardiovascular disease, mental stress and heart disease, the role of exercise and stress management in reversing disease, the role of cholesterol and nutrition management in heart disease, adverse pregnancy outcomes and cardiovascular disease, and precision medicine monitoring to predict unexpected cardiovascular events. She is chair of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)-sponsored WISE (Women’s Ischemic Syndrome Evaluation) initiative, which is investigating potential methods for more effective diagnosis and evaluation of ischemic heart disease in women. Dr. Bairey Merz has received investigational grants from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), NIH-National Center for Alternative and Complementary Medicine (NCCAM), the National Institutes of Aging (NIA), the Flight Attendants Medical Research Institute, the Pfeiffer Foundation, the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation, the Barbra Streisand Foundation, the Erika J. Glazer Women’s Heart Research Initiative, the Society for Women’s Health Research, the Linda Joy Pollin Women’s Heart Health Program, and the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program of the Department of Defense.

A prolific lecturer, Dr. Bairey Merz, is a member of many professional organizations, including the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology (ACC), the European Society of Cardiology, the American Association of Physicians, the Association of University Cardiologists, the Advisory Board of the NIH Office of Research in Women’s Health, and chairs of the ACC CVD in Women Committee. She is past member of the NHLBI Advisory Council, the Board of Trustees of the ACC, and is a past-chair of the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease committee, and the Women in Cardiology Committee of the AHA. Other professional associations have included membership on the National Space Biomedical Research Institute Board of Scientific Counselors, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Board of Examiners, and she chaired the NIH-sponsored Bypass Angioplasty Revascularization Investigations 2 Diabetes (BARI-2D) Data Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB). She serves on the advisory boards of lay organizations, including WomenHeart, and the Women’s Heart Alliance. She has an extensive scientific publication record of over 450 scientific publications and book chapters, and more than 300 abstracts. Her work has been published in numerous peer-reviewed journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association, Circulation, the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, and the Journal of Women’s Health.