Gunnar Gislason - Biography#

Gunnar Hilmar Gislason MD, PhD, FESC, FACC, FAHA is Professor of Cardiology and Cardiovascular Epidemiology at the University of Copenhagen and Chief Science Officer and Director of Research at the Danish Heart Foundation. He also practices clinically as senior consultant cardiologist at Copenhagen University Hospital Herlev-Gentofte. His academic and clinical work is centred around cardiovascular prevention, pharmacoepidemiology, antithrombotic treatment, heart failure, ischemic heart disease, arrhythmias, and large-scale health data science.

He is internationally recognised for pioneering use of nationwide healthcare registries to understand disease patterns, treatment effects and long-term outcomes in heart disease, diabetes, renal and autoimmune conditions. He has authored or co-authored >960 peer-reviewed papers in leading journals such as NEJM, The Lancet, JAMA, BMJ, Circulation, JACC and the European Heart Journal, exceeding 60,000 citations with an h-index of 122. His research has influenced clinical practice, drug safety regulation and cardiovascular risk assessment globally.

Gislason has supervised more than 70 completed PhD projects, mentored postdoctoral researchers, and contributed extensively to pre- and postgraduate medical education. He frequently lectures at international congresses and has advised organisations including the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He plays an active role in multicentre clinical trials and has contributed to national guideline work and cardiovascular quality registry development.

He has held key leadership roles in national research infrastructure and health policy, including advisory functions for Danish national data strategy, healthcare quality programmes, drug supply security and the National Genome Center. Internationally, he serves on the Executive Board of the Global Cardiovascular Research Funders Forum and is Fellow of the European Society of Cardiology, the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

His contributions have been recognised with multiple scientific awards, research prizes and major competitive grants including support from the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the Danish Research Council. Through academic leadership, high-impact research and active engagement with clinical implementation, he has helped shape modern cardiovascular care and strengthen data-driven research nationally and internationally.