Emelia J. Benjamin, MD, ScM, will be named the Jay and Louise Coffman Professor of Vascular Medicine effective Oct. 1. A professor of medicine at the Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine and professor of epidemiology at BU School of Public Health, Benjamin has been a Framingham Study investigator since 1988 and a Boston Medical Center attending cardiologist since 1990.

Benjamin is an international leader in cardiovascular medicine. Her research has been continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1998 for studies of atrial fibrillation, vascular function, inflammation and chronic pain. She has more than 850 publications and an H-index of 215. Her citation ranking internationally is #98 in medicine and #7 for women scientists; nationally her ranking is #71 in medicine and #5 for women scientists.

Benjamin has held many leadership roles for the American Heart Association since the 1990s and was the recipient of the 2022 American Heart Association Distinguished Scientist Award. She has devoted substantial effort to mentoring, faculty development and coaching of diverse individuals in health sciences and medicine. Her many accolades include the 2020 Alliance for Academic Internal Medicine Diversity and Inclusion Award and the 2024 American Heart Association Louis B. Russell, Jr. Memorial Award for Diversity. Benjamin is the department of medicine’s inaugural vice chair for faculty development and diversity and the inaugural Medical Campus associate provost for faculty development.