PAUL CANNON

CANNON--Paul J., MD,

physician-scientist and former Chief of the Division of Cardiology and a Professor of Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, died on January 2, 2018 at his home in Ridgewood, NJ. He was 84. The cause was complications of Parkinson's disease. Born in New York City, he attended Holy Cross College in Worcester, MA and obtained his MD from Harvard Medical School. After completing his residency training at the Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital (now the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital) he spent his entire career rising through the academic ranks of the Department of Medicine at Columbia University from Instructor to Professor, assuming the directorship of the Division of Cardiology in 1986. He held the first Hatch Chair in Cardiology at Columbia University. He retired in 2003 as Professor Emeritus. He received an Honorary degree from Holy Cross College in 1977. He was elected to the membership of many honorary societies including the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the Association of American Physicians. He led several national and international professional committees and was a member of the Editorial Board of a large number of professional cardiovascular disease academic journals. Dr. Cannon throughout his career made many pioneering scientific contributions to our understanding of the basic mechanisms of diseases of the heart and kidneys. He began his research career while still a hospital resident where, working with John Laragh, he performed what are now seen as classic studies in the role of aldosterone and renin in the control of sodium and potassium balance in normal people and in hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases. He was one of the first to identify the site of action of diuretics in the kidney tubule. Shortly after establishing his own laboratory he began his important studies using short-lived isotopes (xenon, technetium and thallium) to examine the distribution of the blood flow in the coronary circulation in normal and diseased states. These landmark studies required a sophisticated array of methods of radionuclide chemistry and measurement, and statistical interpretation. Dr. Cannon led a team of physicists (at Brookhaven National Labs), radiologists, physiologists and statisticians to develop these methods. They were the first to identify the "geography" of blood flow in the heart of humans and animals and its disturbances in coronary artery disease, a major cause of death in the world. New versions of these methods are in routine clinical use today to evaluate the size of infarcts in the heart. He continued his studies in the circulation of the heart by identifying the role of vasoactive compounds such as nitric oxide and leukotrienes in these circulations. He led the first clinical trial of ACE inhibitors in heart failure establishing its utility as a standard treatment. Dr. Cannon published his research in the leading scientific journals authoring more than 350 articles during his productive career. In addition to his academic pursuits, Dr. Cannon was an accomplished violinist and played in a community orchestra in Ridgewood, NJ. He is fondly remembered by generations of faculty and trainees for his warm humanity, his generosity of spirit, his standard of excellence. Dr. Cannon is survived by his wife of 58 years Chantal de Cannart d'Hammale, his brother Kerry and sister Rita Dowling, four children (Christopher, Peter, Anne and Karen) and nine grandchildren. There will be a visitation on Saturday, January 6th, from 4-6pm at C.C. Van Emburgh funeral home, 306 East Ridgewood Ave., Ridgewood, NJ 07450. His funeral will be at 2pm, Sunday, January 7th at St. Elizabeth's Church, 700 Wyckoff Ave, Wyckoff, NJ 07481. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to College of the Holy Cross, 1 College St, Worcester MA 01610. www.holycross.edu/give Donald W. Landry MD PhD, Chair, Department of Medicine Allan Schwartz MD, Chief, Division of Cardiology Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons