physician profile MILTON PACKER , M . D .
Milton Packer , M . D ., recently joined Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas as the new distinguished scholar in cardiovascular science .
Over his 40-year career , Dr . Packer has served as an investigator for the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration in heart failure , cardiovascular research and drug developments . Those efforts have led to significant recognition and accolades . Formerly , he was the chair of the Clinical Sciences Department at UT Southwestern Medical Center .
Dr . Packer works hard , but he suggests that this is just a part of his successful career .
“ Success is far more than working hard . There are many people who work hard , and it ’ s certainly one very important ingredient to success , but by no means the most important ,” said Dr . Packer . “ For me , the most important thing was being able to think differently . I was told heart failure was a certain type of disease , and it was totally wrong . It ’ s important to raise doubts about the assumptions you carry for what represents truth and fiction – to step back and question and test these assumptions , and to show there ’ s another way of putting together the answers . I think being a skeptic is crucial for scientific success .”
Dr . Packer ’ s skepticism and decades of research have established the cornerstone of the current
“ Baylor does a wonderful job of taking care of patients . The opportunity to combine that quality with my research objectives was very unique and appealing .”
DR . MILTON PACKER
treatments for heart failure . For this , he was named the recipient of the Lewis Katz lifetime achievement award in cardiovascular research . He is also widely recognized for his outstanding leadership abilities . He led the Division of Circulatory Physiology at Columbia University for 12 years and built the nation ’ s most outstanding research group devoted to heart failure . In addition , he has been the principal investigator for more than 15 large international , multicenter trials . What drove your decision to join Baylor ?
The two institutions with which I worked in New York made an intensive effort to combine patient care and research . That focus and concentration was extremely gratifying . When my wife joined UT Southwestern , I changed hats from what I had been doing , and agreed to run a department devoted to clinical research . I gave up my identity as a cardiologist . Baylor does a wonderful job at taking care of patients . The opportunity to combine that quality with my research objectives was very unique and appealing . After 12 years , it was a driving force behind me coming aboard .
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