William C. Roberts
Encyclopedia
William Clifford Roberts, M.D., M.A.C.C. (September 11, 1932 – ) is an American
physician
specializing in cardiac pathology.
He is a Master of the American College of Cardiology
, a leading cardiovascular pathologist, and the current editor of both the American Journal of Cardiology
and the Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings.
Medical Center, attending patients alongside his mother who served as his nurse. The children were raised in the city until 1935 when the family moved to a rural farm 12 miles outside Atlanta where they would remain for the next six years. Roberts attended public schools in Avendale, Georgia, and then Atlanta, Georgia from the 5th grade onward. Roberts describes himself as a below-average student until 9th grade when an algebra teacher motivated him to pursue greater academic achievement.
In 1937, Stewart Roberts suffered a heart attack which disabled him until his death in 1941. Though this event would later come to cast great influence on Roberts' career, his initial undergraduate studies at Southern Methodist University were in English with aims toward a career in business. During this time, Roberts also joined the fraternity Phi Delta Theta
. By junior year, Roberts' ambitions had shifted to medicine in earnest. In 1954, Roberts graduated early from Southern Methodist University
with a bachelor's degree in the arts, having been accepted to Emory University's
School of Medicine. To earn money, Roberts worked for the National Forest Service
for the three months between college and medical school. Early in his medical school training, Roberts proved to be a gifted anatomist and earned a prestigious thoracic surgery externship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
before graduating Emory in 1958 with his medical doctorate.
in Bethesda, Maryland
. It was here, working with attending physicians such as Glenn Morrow and Eugene Braunwald
that his career began to focus on cardiovascular pathology, and he focused his training exclusively on autopsies and surgical pathology. He also began reading the works of Jesse Edwards, which he credits with helping to develop both his style of writing and strong interests in medical authorship and publications. He next served as a resident on the Osler
Medical Service at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore before spending an additional year as a fellow in cardiovascular disease at the National Institutes of Health
. This extensive training conferred upon Roberts unique credentials both as an anatomic pathologist and a clinically trained cardiologist.
, a division of the National Institutes of Health
. Here, he continued to work with notable cardiac physicians including Eugene Braunwald
, Willis Hurst, and Glenn Morrow. Federal money for cardiovascular research, a national priority since the conclusion of World War II allowed for rapid expansion of the program. Roberts soon had 3 pathology fellows per year working with him, and he worked long hours alongside them - usually six nights per week.
The pathology section of the NHLBI was substantial but in Roberts' first year only 25 cardiac specimens were available for study. Determined to catalog the largest possible collection of anatomic cardiac pathology, Roberts personally canvassed more than a dozen institutions each month to collect heart specimens which he would examine and return with completed autopsy results to their parent institutions. Among those hospitals contributing to his collections were Georgetown, George Washington University
, Children's National Medical Center
and Johns Hopkins Hospital
as well as the Washington, D.C. Veteran's Affairs hospital and National Naval Medical Center
. Collectively, Roberts was soon studying more than 50 hearts per month, a twenty-fivefold increase over those available from the NIH alone.
Despite major achievements by the institution in the understanding of cardiovascular diseases, Roberts was frustrated by growing difficulties attracting pathologists interested in cardiovascular disease. These difficulties were compounded by the closure of the NIH cardiac surgery program in 1987, greatly limiting the quantity and diversity of pathology available for study.
, the flagship of a large hospital network located in the Dallas/Fort Worth
metroplex. Working in a laboratory built for him by the hospital, he continues to study cardiac pathology and has published more than 300 articles since. He is also an active participant in the ongoing training of cardiovascular disease and pathology fellows.
A second edition of Facts and Ideas from Anywhere was released entitled Facts and Ideas from Anywhere (2000–2006).
Roberts was also editor of a series of books entitled Cardiology which were published in annual editions continuously from 1982-1999. Each of these books summarized the major achievements and discoveries in cardiology for their respective years.
from 1971-1982 in the capacities listed below.
including serving as a reviewer for their annual scientific sessions. He has also been a fellow of the Council of Clinical Cardiology since 1971 and, since July 1994 has been a member of the Dallas AHA affiliate's board of trustees.
. Attendees are drawn from across the country and attend three days of sessions on varying current topics in cardiology, each led by a noted expert in the relevant field.
-indexed periodical of primarily regional interest in Northwest Texas. Roberts himself contributes a column to each issue entitled "Facts and Ideas from Anywhere", an homage to one of the guiding principles he ascribes to his colleague Eugene Braunwald
.
(ACC) in 1976 by then-president Dean Mason, and continued to serve in this position for the next six years. In 1982, the publisher of the American Journal of Cardiology
and the ACC, the organization which had founded it, parted ways. The ACC went on to form the Journal of the American College of Cardiology ("JACC") and took with it editor Simon Dack, leaving the AJC without an editor. Roberts was tapped to fill this position and readily accepted. He has held the editor-in-chief position continuously ever since.
Roberts has stated that his goals as editor-in-chief are to increase the "fun" of authorship and help encourage authors to contribute meaningful information to the sphere of cardiology while minimizing the political complexities he considers frequently associated with the process of academic publication. In addition, Roberts has published an extensive collection of more than 125 oral histories of prominent figures in the history and present of medicine, with a special focus on those contributing to the understanding and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
specializing in cardiac pathology.
He is a Master of the American College of Cardiology
American College of Cardiology
The American College of Cardiology is a nonprofit medical association established in 1949 to advocate for quality cardiovascular care through education, research promotion, development and application of standards and guidelines, and to influence health care policy...
, a leading cardiovascular pathologist, and the current editor of both the American Journal of Cardiology
American Journal of Cardiology
The American Journal of Cardiology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal in the field of cardiology and general cardiovascular disease. It is independent from the American College of Cardiology....
and the Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings.
Background and Early Education
William C. Roberts was born in Atlanta, Georgia on September 11, 1932, the second of three sons to Stewart Ralph Roberts and Ruby Viola Holbrook. His father Stewart was a prominent faculty physician for Emory UniversityEmory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
Medical Center, attending patients alongside his mother who served as his nurse. The children were raised in the city until 1935 when the family moved to a rural farm 12 miles outside Atlanta where they would remain for the next six years. Roberts attended public schools in Avendale, Georgia, and then Atlanta, Georgia from the 5th grade onward. Roberts describes himself as a below-average student until 9th grade when an algebra teacher motivated him to pursue greater academic achievement.
In 1937, Stewart Roberts suffered a heart attack which disabled him until his death in 1941. Though this event would later come to cast great influence on Roberts' career, his initial undergraduate studies at Southern Methodist University were in English with aims toward a career in business. During this time, Roberts also joined the fraternity Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta , also known as Phi Delt, is an international fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, Beta Theta Pi, and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad. The fraternity has about 169 active chapters and colonies in over 43 U.S...
. By junior year, Roberts' ambitions had shifted to medicine in earnest. In 1954, Roberts graduated early from Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
with a bachelor's degree in the arts, having been accepted to Emory University's
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
School of Medicine. To earn money, Roberts worked for the National Forest Service
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 155 national forests and 20 national grasslands, which encompass...
for the three months between college and medical school. Early in his medical school training, Roberts proved to be a gifted anatomist and earned a prestigious thoracic surgery externship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center
Walter Reed Army Medical Center
The Walter Reed Army Medical Center was the United States Army's flagship medical center until 2011. Located on 113 acres in Washington, D.C., it served more than 150,000 active and retired personnel from all branches of the military...
before graduating Emory in 1958 with his medical doctorate.
Postgraduate Training
After graduating from Emory, and despite his previous experiences in anatomy and surgery, Roberts served as an intern in medicine at Boston City Hospital before pursuing a 3-year residency in anatomic pathology at the National Institutes of HealthNational Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
. It was here, working with attending physicians such as Glenn Morrow and Eugene Braunwald
Eugene Braunwald
- Biography :Eugene Braunwald, an eminent American cardiologist, was born August 15, 1929 to Jewish parents Wilhelm Braunwald and Clara Wallach in Vienna....
that his career began to focus on cardiovascular pathology, and he focused his training exclusively on autopsies and surgical pathology. He also began reading the works of Jesse Edwards, which he credits with helping to develop both his style of writing and strong interests in medical authorship and publications. He next served as a resident on the Osler
William Osler
Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet was a physician. He was one of the "Big Four" founding professors at Johns Hopkins Hospital as the first Professor of Medicine and founder of the Medical Service there. Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet (July 12, 1849 – December 29, 1919) was a physician. He was...
Medical Service at The Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore before spending an additional year as a fellow in cardiovascular disease at the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
. This extensive training conferred upon Roberts unique credentials both as an anatomic pathologist and a clinically trained cardiologist.
National Institutes of Health
From July, 1964 to March, 1993, Roberts served as the first head of the newly-created pathology section at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is a division of the National Institutes of Health, located in Bethesda, Maryland...
, a division of the National Institutes of Health
National Institutes of Health
The National Institutes of Health are an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and are the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and health-related research. Its science and engineering counterpart is the National Science Foundation...
. Here, he continued to work with notable cardiac physicians including Eugene Braunwald
Eugene Braunwald
- Biography :Eugene Braunwald, an eminent American cardiologist, was born August 15, 1929 to Jewish parents Wilhelm Braunwald and Clara Wallach in Vienna....
, Willis Hurst, and Glenn Morrow. Federal money for cardiovascular research, a national priority since the conclusion of World War II allowed for rapid expansion of the program. Roberts soon had 3 pathology fellows per year working with him, and he worked long hours alongside them - usually six nights per week.
The pathology section of the NHLBI was substantial but in Roberts' first year only 25 cardiac specimens were available for study. Determined to catalog the largest possible collection of anatomic cardiac pathology, Roberts personally canvassed more than a dozen institutions each month to collect heart specimens which he would examine and return with completed autopsy results to their parent institutions. Among those hospitals contributing to his collections were Georgetown, George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
, Children's National Medical Center
Children's National Medical Center
- Introduction :Children’s National Medical Center , is the only exclusive provider of pediatric care in the Washington, D.C., area and the only freestanding children’s hospital between Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Norfolk, and Atlanta...
and Johns Hopkins Hospital
Johns Hopkins Hospital
The Johns Hopkins Hospital is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland . It was founded using money from a bequest by philanthropist Johns Hopkins...
as well as the Washington, D.C. Veteran's Affairs hospital and National Naval Medical Center
National Naval Medical Center
The National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, USA — commonly known as the Bethesda Naval Hospital — was for decades the flagship of the United States Navy's system of medical centers. A federal institution, it conducted medical and dental research as well as providing health care for...
. Collectively, Roberts was soon studying more than 50 hearts per month, a twenty-fivefold increase over those available from the NIH alone.
Despite major achievements by the institution in the understanding of cardiovascular diseases, Roberts was frustrated by growing difficulties attracting pathologists interested in cardiovascular disease. These difficulties were compounded by the closure of the NIH cardiac surgery program in 1987, greatly limiting the quantity and diversity of pathology available for study.
Baylor University Medical Center
In March 1993, 32 years after starting at the NIH, Roberts left the National Institutes of Health to join the faculty of Baylor University Medical CenterBaylor University Medical Center
Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas is a faith-based, not-for-profit hospital. In 1903, the hospital opened with 25 beds; today it is a patient care, teaching and research center for the Southwest. Baylor Dallas has 1025 licensed beds and serves as the flagship hospital of Baylor Health...
, the flagship of a large hospital network located in the Dallas/Fort Worth
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
metroplex. Working in a laboratory built for him by the hospital, he continues to study cardiac pathology and has published more than 300 articles since. He is also an active participant in the ongoing training of cardiovascular disease and pathology fellows.
Journal Articles
Roberts has published over 1400 articles to date, almost all of them in peer-reviewed publications. The majority of his original scientific publications focus on anatomic aspects of cardiovascular disease. In addition, Roberts has written or co-authored a number of articles discussing risk factors and risk-factor management in cardiovascular disease. As editor for both the Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings and The American Journal of Cardiology, Roberts has also published a number of editorials discussing current trends in cardiovascular medicine.Books
Roberts has written or co-written four individual titles. In chronological order, these are:- Classification of Heart Disease in Childhood (1970, 70pp.)
- A Manual of Nomenclature and Coding of Cardiovascular Disease in Children: a Supplement to the Systematized Nomenclature of Pathology (1970, 69pp.)
- Congenital Heart Disease in Adults (1979, 574pp.)
- Facts and Ideas from Anywhere (2000, 172pp.)
A second edition of Facts and Ideas from Anywhere was released entitled Facts and Ideas from Anywhere (2000–2006).
Roberts was also editor of a series of books entitled Cardiology which were published in annual editions continuously from 1982-1999. Each of these books summarized the major achievements and discoveries in cardiology for their respective years.
American College of Cardiology
Roberts was actively involved in the leadership of the American College of CardiologyAmerican College of Cardiology
The American College of Cardiology is a nonprofit medical association established in 1949 to advocate for quality cardiovascular care through education, research promotion, development and application of standards and guidelines, and to influence health care policy...
from 1971-1982 in the capacities listed below.
- 1971-1974 Film Review Committee for Annual Scientific Sessions (Chaired in 1974)
- 1971-1978 Annual Scientific Sessions Committee
- 1971-1978 Heart House Committee
- 1973-1978 Board of Trustees
- 1975-1978 Heart House Learning Center Curriculum Committee
- 1976-1978 Ad Hoc Committee on Goals and Objectives
- 1977-1982 Publications Committee (Chairman)
- 1977 Nominating Committee
- 1977-1980 Long-Range Planning Committee
- 1978-1981 Heart House Acquisitions Committee (Chairman)
- 1978-1982 Director of Congenital Heart Disease Course, Heart House of the American College of Cardiology
American Heart Association
Roberts has been actively involved in a number of activities for the American Heart AssociationAmerican Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a non-profit organization in the United States that fosters appropriate cardiac care in an effort to reduce disability and deaths caused by cardiovascular disease and stroke. It is headquartered in Dallas, Texas...
including serving as a reviewer for their annual scientific sessions. He has also been a fellow of the Council of Clinical Cardiology since 1971 and, since July 1994 has been a member of the Dallas AHA affiliate's board of trustees.
Medical Journal/Publication Editorial Boards
Currently or previously, he has also served in editorial board capacities for the following publications (listed alphabetically):- American Heart Journal: July 1979 – December 1996
- American Journal of Cardiology: January 1973 – June 1980, June 1982 – present
- American Journal of Geriatric Cardiology: January 1999 – present
- American Journal of Medicine: January 1975 – December 1986
- American Journal of Medicine & Sports: January 1998 – present
- Cardiac Chronicle: 1989 – present
- Cardiology: July 1989 – present
- Cardiology Today: Current News in Cardiovascular Disease: 1998 – present
- Cardiovascular Diseases: Diagnosis and management: July 1978 – present
- Cardiovascular Reviews and Reports: June 1980 – present
- Cardiovascular Risk Factors: April 1988 – present
- Chest: July 1979 – June 1984
- Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Diseases: July 1980 – June 1984
- Circulation: January 1973 – July 1978; July 1993 – present
- Clinical Cardiology: January 1978 – present
- Clinical Perspectives in Cardiology: July 1984 – present
- Coronary Artery Disease Index & Reviews: January 1995 – present
- Current Cardiology Reviews: July 2004 – present
- Current Problems in Cardiology: January 1975 – June 1984
- Geriatric Medicine Alert: May 1982 – December 1982
- International Journal of Cardiology: July 1981 – December 1985
- Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation: April 1991 – present
- Journal of Heart Disease: July 1999 – present
- Journal of Heart Failure: January 1994 – present
- Journal of the Louisiana State Medical Society April 2003—present
- Journal of Vascular Medicine and Biology: July 1989 – present
- Laboratory Investigation: January 1975 – May 1985
- Lipids & Atherogenesis: September 1992 – present
- Medical Month: October 1983 – March 1984
- Medical Times: 1977–1990
- MD TV Program Guide: January 1984 – present
- Preventive Cardiology: January 1998 – present
- Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine: September 1996 – present
Williamsburg Conference on Heart Disease
Each year since 1973, Roberts has served as chief administrator and host of an annual course in cardiology held in Williamsburg, VirginiaWilliamsburg, Virginia
Williamsburg is an independent city located on the Virginia Peninsula in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia, USA. As of the 2010 Census, the city had an estimated population of 14,068. It is bordered by James City County and York County, and is an independent city...
. Attendees are drawn from across the country and attend three days of sessions on varying current topics in cardiology, each led by a noted expert in the relevant field.
Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings
In April, 1994, Roberts was appointed as editor of the Baylor University Medical Center Proceedings, a peer-reviewed and PubMedPubMed
PubMed is a free database accessing primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. The United States National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health maintains the database as part of the Entrez information retrieval system...
-indexed periodical of primarily regional interest in Northwest Texas. Roberts himself contributes a column to each issue entitled "Facts and Ideas from Anywhere", an homage to one of the guiding principles he ascribes to his colleague Eugene Braunwald
Eugene Braunwald
- Biography :Eugene Braunwald, an eminent American cardiologist, was born August 15, 1929 to Jewish parents Wilhelm Braunwald and Clara Wallach in Vienna....
.
American Journal of Cardiology
Roberts was appointed to chair the publications committee of the American College of CardiologyAmerican College of Cardiology
The American College of Cardiology is a nonprofit medical association established in 1949 to advocate for quality cardiovascular care through education, research promotion, development and application of standards and guidelines, and to influence health care policy...
(ACC) in 1976 by then-president Dean Mason, and continued to serve in this position for the next six years. In 1982, the publisher of the American Journal of Cardiology
American Journal of Cardiology
The American Journal of Cardiology is a peer-reviewed scientific journal in the field of cardiology and general cardiovascular disease. It is independent from the American College of Cardiology....
and the ACC, the organization which had founded it, parted ways. The ACC went on to form the Journal of the American College of Cardiology ("JACC") and took with it editor Simon Dack, leaving the AJC without an editor. Roberts was tapped to fill this position and readily accepted. He has held the editor-in-chief position continuously ever since.
Roberts has stated that his goals as editor-in-chief are to increase the "fun" of authorship and help encourage authors to contribute meaningful information to the sphere of cardiology while minimizing the political complexities he considers frequently associated with the process of academic publication. In addition, Roberts has published an extensive collection of more than 125 oral histories of prominent figures in the history and present of medicine, with a special focus on those contributing to the understanding and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
Notable Awards
- 1978: Gifted Teacher (American College of Cardiology)
-
-
- (Roberts' distinction here follows that of his admired contemporary Jesse Edwards in 1977)
- 1979: Public Health Service Commendation Medal
- 1983: College Medalist (American College of Chest Physicians)
- 1984: Distinguished Medical Achievement (Emory University Medical Alumni Assn)
- 1994: Distinguished Achievement (Society of Cardiovascular Pathology)
- 1995: Honorary Doctorate of Science, Far Eastern University, Manila, Philippines
- 1996: Distinguished Alumnus (Southern Methodist University)
- 2004: Master of the American College of Cardiology
- (Limited to a maximum of 3 per year with 1 additional award to the current president of the ACC)
- (Roberts' distinction here follows that of his admired contemporary Jesse Edwards in 1977)
-