Alden H. Harken, MD, Pioneer in Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology

1941 –

Biography

Alden H. Harken, MD graduated from Case Western Reserve Medical School in 1967 and completed surgical and pediatric cardiovascular surgical residencies at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and Boston Children’s Medical Center. After three years as an investigator at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, he joined the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania. During his eight years there he published more than 100 scientific papers, was awarded two NIH grants and was quickly advanced to the rank of Professor of Surgery. In 1983, he accepted the position as Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the University of Colorado’s Health Sciences Center. After two enormously successful decades in Denver, he accepted his current position as Professor and Chairman of the University of California San Francisco – East Bay Department of Surgery.

Harken’s interest in and contributions to the field of cardiac electrophysiology began early in his illustrious career when as an Assistant Professor of Surgery he, along with Drs. Mark Josephson and Leonard Horowitz, performed the seminal work in mapping and surgical ablation for ventricular tachyarrhythmias. The fruits of this ground-breaking labor formed the cornerstone of our current understanding of the pathophysiology of ventricular tachycardia and have provided the basis for today’s methods of ablative treatment of ischemic ventricular tachycardia. He was one of the early investigators in the implantation of implantable tachyarrhythmia devices and became one of the foremost experts in the surgical treatment of supraventricular tachyarrhythmias.

Harken has authored 500 scientific publications, been awarded 10 NIH grants and has served as the Director of the American Board of Surgery and the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, a Regent of the American College of Surgeons and President of the Society of University Surgeons and the Association of Academic Surgery.

In addition to his clinical and research accomplishments, Harken is the consummate teacher, educating generations of students, surgical residents and electrophysiology fellows in the pathophysiology and treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. He has been the recipient of teaching awards in every institution he has attended, including the distinguished Lindback Award at the University of Pennsylvania in 1983 and the Julia Burke Outstanding Teacher of the Year in both 2005 and 2006. In 2000, he was awarded one of the University of Colorado’s highest honors, the Thomas Jefferson Award, for his excellence and commitment to academic ideals and for his participation in humanitarian activities.

Harken’s energy, insight, enthusiasm and innovative work have created a legacy that will influence the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias for many years to come. He has clearly been a pioneer in the field, and richly deserves his award as the Pioneer In Cardiac Pacing And Electrophysiology 2009 from the Heart Rhythm Society.