Joseph Hill, M.D., Ph.D., Director of the Harry S. Moss Heart Center and Professor of Internal Medicine in the Division of Cardiology, has received the 2025 Gill Heart and Vascular Institute Award for Outstanding Contributions to Cardiovascular Research. Supported by the Gill Foundation of Texas and presented by the University of Kentucky’s Saha Cardiovascular Research Center, the award recognizes a lifetime of impactful research achievements that deepen the understanding of cardiovascular biology and disease and improve cardiovascular clinical care.

Dr. Hill’s work has been instrumental in uncovering the molecular and cellular mechanisms that drive heart disease. His research centers on cardiac remodeling, with a particular focus on cardiac hypertrophy and heart failure. Using both genetic and surgical models, he explores how the heart adapts to stress, offering insights that continue to influence treatment strategies.

“This is a wonderful tribute to the work my team has accomplished to unveil mechanisms of pathological remodeling in the disease-stressed heart,” said Dr. Hill, who has a secondary appointment in Molecular Biology.

In his presentation at the annual Gill Heart and Vascular Institute Cardiovascular Research Day in September, Dr. Hill emphasized how cardiovascular science and medicine have evolved over the years.

“As a field, we have made very impressive progress. Over several decades, in-hospital mortality from myocardial infarction has dropped from 30% to 3%, to cite just one example. That said, new challenges have emerged, notably the global pandemic of obesity and associated cardiometabolic stress,” he noted.

His presentation included discussing some of the Hill Lab’s recent findings in the realm of HFpEF (heart failure with preserved ejection fraction), a morbid and mortal condition of cardiometabolic stress that is rapidly expanding around the globe.

Also recently, the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences (IACS) presented Dr. Hill with its 2025 Bohuslav Ostadal Award for Excellence in Cardiovascular Sciences. He received the honor Nov. 3 at the 11th IACS European Section Meeting in Prague, where he delivered a presentation titled “Cardiology on High Beam: Obstacles and Opportunities.”

“I am honored to receive this award from the IACS,” Dr. Hill said. “As always, it takes a village to accomplish progress in science, and I am very pleased to work with an impressive team of accomplished investigators and trainees.”

A prolific scholar, Dr. Hill has authored or co-authored nearly 280 scholarly articles and is currently Editor-in-Chief of Circulation. He has served as President of the Association of University Cardiologists and Chair of the Academic Council of the American College of Cardiology. His many honors also include the 2023 Medal of Merit from the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences, the 2019 Louis and Artur Lucian Award from McGill University, and the 2018 Research Achievement Award from the International Society for Heart Research.

After earning medical and doctoral degrees at Duke University, Dr. Hill completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Institut Pasteur in Paris followed by internal medicine residency training and a clinical cardiology fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2002 to become Chief of the Division of Cardiology, a position he held for 21 years before stepping down in 2023.

Dr. Hill counts collaborating with his team among his career highlights. “It is my great honor to work with amazing early-career professionals, hoping to inspire them to discover and excel,” he said.

“As physicians we are tasked with the honor, privilege, and responsibility to help individuals,” he added. “As investigators, we work to do the same for future populations. And as scientific artists, we are able to pursue our creative ideas. What a privilege!”