Draft:Ronald Karlsberg

Dr. Ronald Karlsberg (born July 24, 1947) was born in Syracuse, New York. He is a Cardiologist, academic physician, medical researcher, professor, and clinician in the field of medicine. He specializes in cardiovascular imaging and an in innovator in the field.

Education

College

University of California, Los Angeles, 1965 - 1966

University of California, Berkeley, B.A. Psychology, 1966 - 1969

Medical School

University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine Medical Degree, 1969 - 1973

Post Graduate Training

University of Colorado School of Medicine Intern in Medicine, 1973 - 1974

Resident in Medicine, 1974 - 1975

Washington University School of Medicine Barnes Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri

Cardiology Fellowship, 1975 - 1977

Career and Research

Ronald Karlsberg, MD holds dual Professorships from the Cedars Sinai Smidt Heart Institute, Los Angeles, and the David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles. He is also President and Founder of the Cardiovascular Research Foundation of Southern California and managing partner of the Cardiovascular Medical Group of Southern California, Beverly Hills.

Ronald Karlsberg's research, academic endeavors, teaching, and leadership have driven the field of cardiovascular medicine. His medical research has included basic, clinical, and multi-center trials. Following graduation from UCSF, Dr. Karlsberg joined Dr. Robert Schier, who became Chief of Medicine at the University of Colorado, where he completed his residency in Internal Medicine. After residency, he joined Dr. Robert Roberts and Dr. Burton Sobel in developing an early understanding of myocardial infarction. As an intentional cardiologist he adopted evolving technology such as thrombolytic therapy for myocardial infarction, stents and then drug eluding stents.  Karlsberg was Director of the Cardiac Interventional laboratory at Brotman Hospital from 1984 to 2014 where he led the team and assisted Industry in innovations including the transition from 35 mm film to digital cardiac imaging using the DICOM standard in one of the first digital cardiac interventional laboratories in the country.  He was also deeply influenced by Dr. Jermany Swan inventor of the Swan Ganz catheter who after retiring from Cedars Sinai Medical Center as founding Chief of Cardiology joined him at Cardiovascular Medical Group of Southern California. When Dr. Swan became ill, Dr. Karlsberg placed the PA catheter for him.  

Clinical Practice Teaching and Mentorship:

Throughout his career he directly provided clinical care to notable and public figures and most recently in an international concierge practice. Beginning his teaching career at Washington University, Dr. Karlsberg has educated a generation of medical students, residents, and fellows, focusing on interventional cardiology techniques. His teaching and clinical work have been recognized with numerous awards and accolades such as the best teaching award for instructing Cardiac Fellows at both Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and UCLA. He started one of the longest running Cardiac CT training programs that has prepared radiologists, cardiologists, and nuclear physicians for board certification since 2006.

Extensive Work in Medical Informatics: Dr. Karlsberg's interest in medical informatics led him to develop one of the first medical websites and implement early and first web-based electronic medical record systems. He has been a key consultant on projects aimed at standardizing electronic medical records and has contributed to the development and validation of mobile and consumer-focused ECG technologies.  He was an early adopter of remote medical consultation and assisted medical insurance companies confront the challenges of intrastate medical practices.

Specialties

Myocardial Infarction: The team developed animal and enzyme-released modes to study and develop methods to reduce the damage of a heart attack. Dr. Karlsberg developed an animal model that was crucial in understanding the link between infarction size and catecholamine release, and metabolic changes which later had implications for human treatment. His research contributed to the early trials of beta-blockers and the development of techniques to improve the outcome of myocardial infarction. Dr. Karlsberg's studies extended to the efficacy of calcium channel blockers both in animals and humans and the role of statins for lipid control, including leadership in multi-center trials.

Cardiac Imaging: At the University of California Irvine and the Long Beach VA, Dr. Karlsberg's contributions to developing solid-state set the stage for significant advancement in cardiac diagnostics. He was an early adopter of Cardiac CTA technology, publishing one of the early papers on Cardiac CT, when the technology was first developed, promoting its integration into clinical practice. This work led to improvements in non-invasive coronary angiography and the early detection of cardiac conditions. His work in measuring blood flow from Cardiac CT (FFR-CT) and the use of AI  technology has helped new standards in cardiac imaging.

Pharmacological Research: Overseeing and participating in numerous clinical trials since 1980, Dr. Karlsberg has been a central figure in the testing and development of a wide range of cardiovascular drugs. He played a leading role in trials with drugs for myocardial infarction and other novel cardiac treatments. Dr Karlsberg performed research on multiple medications through collaborative multicenter trials for example, Calcium Channel blockers, beta blockers, antiplatelet drugs, phosphodiesterase  lipid medications, antiarrhythmics, medications to name a few. He was lead investigator for the Milrinone-Dobutamine Study group for congestive heart failure following myocardial infarction.

Industry Consultation: Dr. Karlsberg has a long-standing relationship within the healthcare industry and has served as a consultant to a wide range of entities, including venture capital groups, imaging companies, pharmaceutical entities, as well as emerging companies whose mission has been to enter the medical marketplace.  In some of these roles, he has been featured at International Medical meetings as well as appearing on national televised commercials as an endorsing authority in the field.

Academic Appointments and Positions

Washington University School of Medicine

Barnes Hospital, St. Louis, Missouri

Instructor in Medicine, Cardiology, 1977 - 1978 University of California, Irvine

School of Medicine

Assistant Professor of Medicine in Residence, 1978 - 1982 Long Beach Veterans Administration Hospital

Chief, Cardiovascular Physiology, 1978 - 1981

Director, Cardiology Ward, 1978 - 1981

Director, Cardiac Rehabilitation, 1980 - 1981 University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine

Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, 1982 - 1992 Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, 1992 - 1998 Clinical Professor of Medicine of Medicine, 1998 - present

Cardiovascular Medical Group of Southern California Beverly Hills, California, 1981 - present Cardiology Practice – Executive Committee Consultative and Interventional Cardiology Clinical Research and Advanced Cardiac Imaging

Brotman Medical Center

Culver City, CA 90231

Director, Cardiac Diagnostic and Interventional Center 1990 - 2010 Cedars Sinai Medical Center

Staff Member 1981 - present

Cedars Sinai Heart Institute Member 2012 - present Access Clinical Trials (1995 - 2006)

Beverly Hills, California, Founder and Director

Professional Affiliations

Dr. Ronald Karlsberg's current affiliations include:

-         Attending, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

-         Board of Directors, Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography

-         Clinical Advisor, RCE

-         Councilor, California Chapter of the American College of Cardiology, District X, Los Angeles

-         Board Member, Intersocietal Commission for Accreditation of Computed Tomography Laboratories by American College of Cardiology  

Publications

His work and trial experiences have been published in numerous peer-reviewed medical journals including, The Journal of Clinical Investigation, Circulation Research, Circulation, Journal American College of Cardiology,  American Journal of Physiology, Cardiovascular Research, American Heart Journal, Chest, Archives of Internal Medicine, Journal of the American Medical Association,  British Heart Journal, New England Journal of Medicine, Lancet, Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, International Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging, American Journal of Medicine, Journal of Nuclear Medicine, Journal of Nephrology, Women’s Health Issues, Atherosclerosis, Journal of Vascular Interventional Radiology and others. He is also a reviewer for many of these journals.

Awards, Honors and Recognitions

Dr. Karlsberg has been a member of several prestigious organizations, reflecting his leadership in the field of cardiology. His lifetime achievement award from the American Heart Association and other recognitions highlight his impact on both the medical community and the field of public health. He is an early and founding member and previous Board Member of the Society for Cardiovascular Computed Tomography, Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association and a frequent presenter at international meetings.

Philanthropy

Through the Cardiovascular Research Foundation, Dr. Karlsberg has played a vital role in supporting the next generation of cardiologists and advancing cardiovascular research.  The non-profit research foundation he founded provides best scientific awards at two international medical meetings. He also provides awards to the various Cardiology Fellowship programs in California. Throughout his career, Dr. Karlsberg has had the opportunity to train over a thousand physicians, many of which are now in leadership roles at leading institutions throughout the world. Dr. Karlsberg has always found it critical to give back and mentor future physicians and researchers.

References

https://www.cedars-sinai.org/provider/ronald-karlsberg-2419769.html

https://scct.org/page/RonaldKarlsbergbio

https://rce.ai/2023/10/23/rce-welcomes-ronald-p-karlsberg-md-as-clinical-advisor/