Renowned neurologist Ralph L. Sacco remembers his stroke leadership and progress

Ralph L. Sacco, MD, MS, professor and chair of the department of neurology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, died Jan. 17 of glioblastoma, according to a statement from the university.

“Dr. Ralph Sacco’s work has helped solidify the reputation of the Miller School and enhance Miami’s world-class reputation in stroke, cardiovascular and brain health,” Henry R. Ford, MD, MHA, dean and academic director of the Miller School, said in the statement. “He was a gifted researcher, a committed teacher and mentor, and an irreplaceable friend who was part of the core of our institution.”

A native of New Jersey, Sacco attended Boston University School of Medicine, where he assisted his mentor in the Framingham Heart Study, the longest-running longitudinal analysis of heart disease risk. heart disease. Sacco then joined the faculty at Columbia University, where he founded the Northern Manhattan Stroke Study, an examination of underserved and understudied black and Latino populations.

Ralph Sacco

Sacco founded and served as executive director of the Florida Stroke Registry and founding principal investigator of the Florida-Puerto Rico Collaboration to Reduce Stroke Disparities and the Family Study of Stroke Risk and Carotid Atherosclerosis, according to the university statement.

In addition to chairing the Department of Neurology at the Miller School of Medicine, Sacco was the Olemberg Family Chair in Neurological Disorders, Chief of Neurology at Jackson Memorial Hospital, and Executive Director of the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute. . He also directed and served as a multi-principal investigator at the Miami Clinical and Translational Science Institute.

Sacco was president of the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) from 2017 to 2019 and was the first neurologist to become president of the American Heart Association (AHA), a position he held from 2010 to 2011. Sacco was the only doctor to be appointed to head both professional organizations.

A member of the AHA, AAN, and American Neurological Association Councils on Stroke and Epidemiology, Sacco has also served on the board of the World Stroke Organization (WSO). He was editor of the AHA’s peer-reviewed scientific journal Kick.

Sacco has received numerous awards and honors throughout his career, including the WSO’s Global Leadership Award and the AHA’s Gold Heart Award, the Distinguished National Leadership Award, and the Distinguished Scientist Award 2022. At his President’s Summit in December, the AAN announced that the event would be renamed the Ralph L. Sacco Chair of Neurology Summit, according to the university’s statement.

“Ralph was one of a kind,” says AHA and American Stroke Association CEO Nancy Brown said in a joint statement from the groups. “His leadership was unparalleled, and his warm, generous heart and care transcended his research and clinic for every person lucky enough to meet him and likely become a friend.

“The association is eternally grateful to him for choosing to share his time and extraordinary talents with us, and we will continue to honor his memory through the work we do to advocate for health equity and brain health, which allows everyone to live longer and healthier lives. »

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