Professor Kenneth Chien, MD, PhD is an internationally recognized leader in cardiovascular science, as well as a pioneer in developing new therapeutic strategies to prevent the onset and progression of heart failure. At Karolinska Institutet, Professor Chien leads a team of physicians and scientist on the pathways for human cardiogenesis, with a goal of finding new insights into congenital heart disease in children, as well as novel pathways and principles for regenerative medicine and the repair of damaged cardiac muscle cells. Prior positions include Professor in the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University. From 2005-2009, he was appointed as Scientific Director of the Cardiovascular Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and Director of the UCSD Institute of Molecular Medicine. Professor Chien earned his MD in 1980 and PhD in 1983 from Temple University in Pennsylvania.