Dr. Lauer is the director of the Division of Cardiovascular Sciences at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In this position, Dr. Lauer provides leadership for the Institute’s national program for research on the causes, prevention, and treatment of cardiovascular (basic, clinical, population, and health sciences) diseases. Dr. Lauer joined the NHLBI in July 2007.

​

Dr. Lauer’s primary research interests include cardiovascular clinical epidemiology and comparative effectiveness, with a focus on diagnostic testing. He also has a strong background in leadership of the cardiovascular community and longstanding interests in medical editing—for seven years he was a contributing editor for Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) — and human subjects protection.

​

Prior to joining the NHLBI, Dr. Lauer served as the director of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation Exercise Laboratory and vice chair of the clinic’s Institutional Review Board. He also served as co-director of the Coronary Intensive Care Unit and director of clinical research in the clinic’s department of cardiology.

​

Dr. Lauer earned his Bachelor of Science degree in biology, summa cum laude, from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1983 and his Doctor of Medicine, magna cum laude, from Albany Medical College in 1985. Following internal medical training at the Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, he completed a clinical fellowship in cardiology at the Boston Beth Israel Hospital, Harvard Medical School. His further training in epidemiology included a research fellowship at the NHLBI’s Framingham Heart Study, Boston University; the program in clinical effectiveness, Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard University; and the Program for Physician Educators, Harvard Macy Institute.

​

Dr. Lauer is an elected fellow of the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association, and has been elected to membership in the American Society for Clinical Investigation. He also served as chairman of the Exercise, Cardiac Rehabilitation, and Prevention Committee of the American Heart Association’s Council of Clinical Cardiology, and has received numerous awards in recognition of his scientific and teaching accomplishments.