Washington, DC - Dr Eric Topol, the former chief of academic and cardiovascular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic, is moving to California. Topol, the editor-in-chief of theheart.org, will assume the new position of chief academic officer and chief of genomic medicine and translational science for Scripps Health.

Dr Eric Topol

In addition to these positions, Topol will also serve as a senior consultant in the division of cardiology at Scripps Clinic. The announcement was made here at the TCT 2006 annual meeting.

To heartwire, Topol said he will be spearheading a major new initiative in genomic medicine, a project that will involve genotyping tens of thousands of individuals of diverse ancestry in an attempt to identify and define genes responsible for major disease and the underpinnings of health. Identifying these genes will lead to drug discovery and gene-specific clinical trials. The move will also see Topol back with patients and the practice of medicine.

"I get back to the practice of cardiology, which I have missed, and get to work with my close friend of 20 years, Dr Paul Teirstein, who is the chief of the division of cardiology and has built one of the best interventional cardiology programs in the country," said Topol. "Scripps will be a hub and leader in the new, burgeoning era of individualized medicine."

During a briefing, Teirstein introduced Topol as one of the great leaders in cardiovascular medicine, noting that he has pioneered the development of key therapies that are now used to treat patients. More important, said Teirstein, Topol has always possessed a vision of the future, which he believes is individualized medicine, making him an excellent choice to head up the new department of genomic medicine and translational science.

"To my mind, there is no better place to work," said Topol.

Earlier this month, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) announced the recipients of its new Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSAs), representing $100 million in redirected funds. The awards have led to a flurry of announcements across the US, where academic medical centers will now establish "translational medicine" programs with the aim of creating a consortium that can more fluidly advance the swift transition of basic science to clinical application. The Scripps Research Institute is the largest nonprofit biomedical research facility in the world, with $230 million of annual NIH grants.