Association of University Cardiologists

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Morton Arnsdorf, M.D.

1941 - 2010

Dr. Arnsdorf was recently honored with the University of Chicago Department of Medicine’s Distinguished Service Award. For over 40 years Dr. Arnsdorf, Professor of Medicine, built a distinguished career as an outstanding scientist, dedicated clinician and inspirational mentor in the Department of Medicine. Dr. Arnsdorf first arrived at the University of Chicago in 1969 as a trainee in the Department of Medicine’s residency program. Following completion of his cardiology fellowship training at Columbia University and a brief stint in the United States Air Force, Dr. Arnsdorf returned to the Department of Medicine in 1973 to join the faculty in the Section of Cardiology where he has remained. In 1981 he was named Chief of the Section of Cardiology a position he held for nine years. In 1983, Dr. Arnsdorf was promoted to full professor and in 2004, was appointed Vice-Chairman for Appointments and Promotions in the Department of Medicine a position he held until recently.

As an accomplished researcher, Dr. Arnsdorf established his scientific reputation investigating the mechanisms by which abnormal heart rhythms arise in heart cells and in the early application of nanotechnology to biomedical problems. He was among the first to study the effects of arrhythmogenic and antiarrhythmic influences simultaneously on active and passive cellular properties including cell-cell communication and to demonstrate that electrophysiologic changes act as a nonlinear system, that is, as an electrophysiologic universe. More recently, he and his colleagues applied nanotechnology to various biomedical problems by using atomic force microscopy to the study of gap junctions, yeast prion dynamics, amyloid formation, ion channels, crystals in arthritis, the development of biospecific probes and other topics. In recent years, he published clinical research on heart
disease in women.

A nationally renowned cardiologist, Dr. Arnsdorf held many important leadership roles. He served as a trustee, a member of the board of governors and secretary of the American College of Cardiology. He was past president of the Chicago Heart Association, a trustee and member of the Steering Committee of the American Heart Association, a fellow of the Clinical Council of the American Heart Association. He served as past president of the Illinois Chapter of the American College of Cardiology, and the Cardiac Electrophysiology Society. He served as a regular member of the NIH Pharmacology Study Section other special study sections and advisory panels. Dr. Arnsdorf served as one of early editors of UpToDate, the most widely consulted electronic medical data base, and continued to contribute his time as a co-editor for the cardiovascular section. He served on multiple editorial boards and was an Associate editor of Circulation Research.

Dr. Arnsdorf was recognized for his contributions in cardiology with numerous prestigious honors and awards. In 2001, he was conferred as Master of the American College of Cardiology; an honor bestowed on fewer than 60 cardiologists in the United States. In 2005 received the ACC’s Distinguished Fellow Award. In 2006, he was named as the recipient of the American Heart Association’s Women in Cardiology Mentoring Award for his outstanding effort in effectively mentoring the professional development women cardiologists. Dr. Arnsdorf was also elected to Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in America, Who's Who in the Frontiers of Science, Who's Who in American Education, and Who's Who in Science and Engineering.

Courtesy of:

Roy E. Weiss, MD, Ph.D., FACE, FACP
Interim Chair, Department of Medicine
Chair, Section of Endocrinology, Diabetes, & Metabolism

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