Robert I. Levy (1937–2000) was an American physician and pioneer of preventive cardiology best known for his research that established the link between low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and heart disease. [1] [2]
Levy was born in Bronx, New York in 1937. [3] He graduated from Cornell University and Yale Medical School. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital. [4] He joined the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in 1963 of which he was director from 1975 to 1981. [5] In 1973, he became director of NHLBI's Division of Heart and Vascular Diseases where he managed a network of Lipid Research Clinics. [6]
He was one of the first researchers to separate cholesterol into high-density and low-density lipoproteins, which became known as the good and bad cholesterol. [5] In 1981, he became vice president and dean of the Tufts University School of Medicine and was a professor of medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He served as president of the Sandoz Research Institute from 1988 to 1992. [5]
He died aged 63 of pancreatic cancer at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in Manhattan. [5]
He was the Project Officer of the Coronary Primary Prevention Trial, which was one of the first clinical trials to demonstrate that lowering LDL-C reduces coronary heart disease incidence. [2] [6] [7] That study has been described as laying the groundwork for further research on lipid lowering agents such as statins. [8]
Robert I. Levy (1937–2000) was an American physician and pioneer of preventive cardiology best known for his research that established the link between low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and heart disease. [1] [2]
Levy was born in Bronx, New York in 1937. [3] He graduated from Cornell University and Yale Medical School. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital. [4] He joined the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in 1963 of which he was director from 1975 to 1981. [5] In 1973, he became director of NHLBI's Division of Heart and Vascular Diseases where he managed a network of Lipid Research Clinics. [6]
He was one of the first researchers to separate cholesterol into high-density and low-density lipoproteins, which became known as the good and bad cholesterol. [5] In 1981, he became vice president and dean of the Tufts University School of Medicine and was a professor of medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He served as president of the Sandoz Research Institute from 1988 to 1992. [5]
He died aged 63 of pancreatic cancer at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in Manhattan. [5]
He was the Project Officer of the Coronary Primary Prevention Trial, which was one of the first clinical trials to demonstrate that lowering LDL-C reduces coronary heart disease incidence. [2] [6] [7] That study has been described as laying the groundwork for further research on lipid lowering agents such as statins. [8]