John M Canty, Jr MD

Dr. Canty is a physician-scientist whose career has focused on translational cardiovascular research in chronic ischemic heart disease and sudden cardiac death. He received his BS in Biomedical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and MD from the University at Buffalo. After completing residency at the University of Rochester he returned to join the Division of Cardiology at UB where he is currently the Albert and Elizabeth Rekate Professor and Chief of Cardiovascular Medicine. His preclinical research in chronic hibernating myocardium has identified inhomogeneity in myocardial sympathetic innervation as a potential substrate for the development of sudden cardiac arrest from ventricular fibrillation in the absence of an acute or chronic infarction. These observations have been translated to patients in a clinical trial (PAREPET – Prediction of Arrhythmic Events with Positron Emission Tomography) demonstrating that quantifying the extent of myocardial sympathetic denervation using ¹¹C-hydroxyephedrine with PET imaging can identify primary prevention ICD patients at highest risk of arrhythmic death. Dr. Canty currently serves on several editorial boards, NIH DSMBs and peer review panels.  In addition to being a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, American College of Physicians and American Heart Association, he has been elected to the Association of University Cardiologists and is a Past President of the Association of Professors of Cardiology.