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Clyde Yancy Receives Distinguished Alumni Award

Drs. Salahuddin Kazi and Clyde Yancy
Dr. Salahuddin Kazi, left, presents the Internal Medicine Distinguished Alumni Award to Dr. Clyde Yancy.

Clyde W. Yancy, M.D., M.Sc., Chief and Magerstadt Professor of Cardiology in the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University, received the inaugural Internal Medicine Distinguished Alumni Award at the annual Residency Graduation and Awards Celebration on May 17. Dr. Yancy also presented the inaugural Daniel W. Foster Lecture as part of Internal Medicine Grand Rounds on May 16.

Originally from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Dr. Yancy holds a bachelor's degree from Southern University. He received his medical degree from Tulane University in 1982 and, in 1985, completed internal medicine residency training at UT Southwestern, where he also obtained advanced training through fellowship programs in cardiology (1989) and in advanced heart failure transplant (1991). During fellowship, he received research training in the human physiology laboratories of Drs. Gunnar Blomqvist and Jere Mitchell, as well as advanced heart failure and heart transplant training from Dr. Maria-Teresa Olivari.

Dr. Yancy joined the faculty at UT Southwestern faculty in 1989 and, over the course of 17 years, he became the Carl H. Westcott Distinguished Chair in Medical Research, Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs, and served as Medical Director of the Heart Failure/Heart Transplant Program. During this time, he also took a particular interest in disparities in cardiovascular disease. In 2001, Dr. Yancy received the Outstanding Research Award and the Daniel Savage Award for Scientific Achievement from the Association of Black Cardiologists. The American Heart Association (AHA) named him Physician of the Year in 2003.

In 2006, Dr. Yancy joined the faculty at Baylor University Medical Center and was named Medical Director of the Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute. In 2010, he earned a master's degree in healthcare management from the University of Texas at Dallas. He joined the Northwestern University faculty in 2011.

Dr. Yancy was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2016. In 2018, he was appointed to the Minority Health Affairs Subcommittee, Department of Health and Human Services. He also held ;leadership positions in the National Institutes of Health, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, the Food and Drug Administration, and the Patient Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

Tulane University presented him its Outstanding Alumnus Award in 2019. In 2020, Dr. Yancy was elected to the Association of American Physicians. In 2021, he received the Northwestern Medicine Mihai Gheorghiade Award for Mentorship and the Gary Mecklenburg Distinguished Physician Award for exemplary professionalism and humanism. In 2022, he received the AHA's “Heart of Gold” award. Also in 2022, Dr. Yancy was recognized by the Heart Failure Society of America with its Distinguished Leadership Award (for education and mentorship). In 2023 he received the New York Academy of Medicine John Stearns Medal for Distinguished Contributions in Clinical Practice.

Dr. Yancy is an active member of the American College of Cardiology, American College of Physicians, Association of Black Cardiologists, and the International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation.