Cleveland, OH - Dr Steven Nissen has been appointed chair of cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, the position he has held as interim chair since the departure of Dr Eric Topol in February 2006. The change is effective immediately, a Cleveland Clinic press release announced Monday.

Dr Steven Nissen

The appointment follows a six-month search to elect a permanent position. Before assuming the interim post, Nissen had been vice chair of the department of cardiology, section head of clinical cardiology, and director of the coronary intensive care unit.

"I am thrilled to have the opportunity to chair a department that is widely recognized as the world leader in cardiovascular care and research," Nissen is quoted in the press release. "We have an extraordinarily talented group of physicians and support staff, who consistently place the needs of our patients as their highest priority. Having people of this level of quality makes my job easy."

Nissen says his plans for the department are "ambitious" and include being the world's best provider of cardiovascular care, being a leader in research and innovation, developing new therapies, and boosting basic research capacities in collaboration with the Lerner Research Institute.

"I also want to reach out to the city of Cleveland as a partner in healthcare innovation. During the 14 years I have lived in Cleveland, I have developed great affection for our city and its people. I want to give something back to the community."

Nissen's promotion to interim chair in February came during a rocky period for the world-renowned hospital. In December 2005, media reports exposed lucrative partnerships between the Cleveland Clinic, its CEO Dr Toby Cosgrove, other clinic physicians, and companies manufacturing devices being tested in trials at the Cleveland Clinic. During the same period, Topol, who later vacated the post to become a genetics professor at Case Western Reserve University Medical School, was stripped of his title as chief academic officer and provost of the medical college at the clinic. The board of trustee's decision was deemed to be the result of "administrative streamlining" but, conspicuously, was announced immediately following Topol's testimony, under subpoena in a Vioxx lawsuit in federal court, that linked the chair of the clinic's board of trustees to the former CEO of Merck, who was displeased about Topol's outspoken views.

Nissen has also been vocal with his concerns about drug safety, including the safety of COX-2 inhibitors. He conceded that the Cleveland Clinic has weathered some turbulence in recent months but told heartwire he believes his forthright approach is up to the task of steering the department and not ill-suited to his new position.

"I will continue to be very candid about issues of integrity and transparency in research," he told heartwire. "I will continue to try to make the necessary observations in a respectful but principled fashion. I'm pleased that I work at an institution committed to the same principles and supportive of my role in the critical public-policy issues facing medicine."