Association of University Cardiologists
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Leonard Scherlis, M.D.
1921 - 2006
Dr. Scherlis joined Maryland’s faculty in 1951 and was named head of the division of cardiology in 1954, a position he held for 32 years. A Baltimore native, Scherlis decided to pursue a medical career in cardiology after being injured in an automobile accident. He graduated from Johns Hopkins in 1945, and from 1946 to 1948 was a captain in the U.S. Army. Scherlis served his residency at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York before returning to Baltimore to establish a private practice and join Maryland’s faculty. He became a staunch supporter of cardiopulmonary resuscitation when it was first developed, and he co-authored a CPR manual in 1962. He was also one of the first to speak about the dangers of high cholesterol. While at Maryland, Scherlis trained more than 70 fellows, taught hundreds of medical students, organized its intensive care unit, and worked with R Adams Cowley, ’44, in developing Shock Trauma. After retiring from Maryland in 1986, Scherlis was a consultant to the U.S. House Select Committee on Aging, the House Subcommittee on Health and Long-term Care, and the Health Care Financing Administration. While in retirement he created and taught a program on health care policy at Maryland. He served as a member of the board of directors and chairman of the institutional review board for the Maryland Medical Research Institute. He authored more than 60 publications and served as president of the Maryland Heart Association.