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Robert Beekman, MD, to Chair AAP's Section on Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery

Monday, January 01, 0001

CINCINNATI -- Robert Beekman, III, MD, professor of cardiology at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, has been named chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery. He will begin serving a two-year term as chairman on Nov. 1.

The Section was founded in 1955 and is committed to improving the cardiac care of infants, children and adolescents. Objectives include providing an opportunity within the AAP for the presentation and discussion of investigations and scientific observations pertaining to the cardiovascular system in children. The Section holds its organizational meetings and hosts educational programs for pediatric cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons at the AAP's annual meeting. The annual meeting includes scientific abstract presentations and symposia on current topics in the field.

Dr. Beekman will chair the AAP's eight-member executive committee, which is composed of pediatric cardiology and cardiac surgery experts from around the nation. He will replace outgoing chairman Thomas Klitzner, MD, PhD, chief of pediatric cardiology at the Mattel Children's Hospital at UCLA.

"Dr. Beekman's interests and skills make him the perfect leader for the AAP Section on Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery," says Dr. Klitzner. "I have worked with Dr. Beekman for many years and I am confident that he will make strong contributions to the health and well being of children with heart disease through his leadership."

Dr. Beekman came to Cincinnati Children's in 1996 to direct the Division of Cardiology. He recently stepped down as division director and remains a full-time faculty member. Beekman's subspecialty interests involve cardiac catheterization and interventional cardiology. His academic interests relate to cardiac catheterization, and he has made numerous scholarly contributions in the field of hemodynamic assessment and transcatheter therapies for congenital heart disease. Dr. Beekman has published more than 150 manuscripts on these topics in cardiology and pediatric journals.

A native of California, Dr. Beekman graduated summa cum laude from Occidental College in Los Angeles and earned his MD at Duke University. He completed his pediatric internship and residency at UCLA Medical Center and his pediatric cardiology fellowship at the University of Michigan Medical Center in Ann Arbor. He also earned a master's degree in statistics and research design at the University of Michigan.

Before coming to Cincinnati Children's he was a member of the division of pediatric cardiology at the University of Michigan School of Medicine.

Dr. Beekman has been active in the cardiology community both in Cincinnati and nationally. He is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Southwest Ohio Chapter of the American Heart Association and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Cincinnati Children's Heart Association. He has been a member of the Executive Committee and the Training Committee of the American Heart Association Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young, and a member of the Congenital Heart Disease Committee of the American College of Cardiology.

Dr. Beekman is currently on the editorial boards of Congenital Heart Disease and The Journal of Interventional Cardiology. He is a contributing editor of theHeart.org, an Internet cardiology journal.

Cincinnati Children's is a 475-bed institution devoted to bringing the world the joy of healthier kids. Cincinnati Children's is dedicated to transforming the way health care is delivered by providing care that is timely, efficient, effective, family-centered, equitable and safe. Cincinnati Children's ranks second nationally among all pediatric centers in research grants from the National Institutes of Health. It is a teaching affiliate of the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine. The Cincinnati Children's vision is to be the leader in improving child health.

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