J.L. Mehta Honored by Italian Society of Cardiology, University of Rome
| Cardiologist J.L. Mehta, M.D., Ph.D., received multiple honors during a recent trip to Rome.
Mehta is a distinguished professor of medicine and physiology and biophysics at UAMS and holds the Stebbins Chair in Cardiology in the UAMS College of Medicine.
He gave an invited lecture at the 80th annual session of the Italian Society of Cardiology, Dec. 12-15 in Rome. Mehta spoke on “Efferocytosis, A New Player in Atherosclerosis.”
Also at the meeting, Mehta’s society peers gave him a Distinguished Achievement Award for being an excellent mentor and outstanding researcher responsible for key discoveries, like the critical role of platelets in coronary artery disease and the role of a particular protein called LOX-1 in cell death and inflammation.
In addition, the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” awarded him a distinguished professorship at a gala ceremony.
Mehta joined the faculty at UAMS in 2000 to lead the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine.
He is known for his original work on platelet biology and thrombosis in myocardial ischemia in collaboration with his wife, Paulette Mehta, M.D., UAMS professor of medicine in the Division of Hematology/Oncology. This groundbreaking work led to trials of aspirin and other anti-platelet drugs in cardiac patients.
His research over the last 15 years has focused on the biology of LOX-1, a receptor for oxidized low-density lipoprotein, which has opened a new target for cardiovascular therapy. His research has been supported continuously for 36 years by the National Institutes of Health, American Heart Association, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and several pharmaceutical companies.
Paulette Mehta, M.D.
Mehta serves or has served on the editorial boards of several major cardiology, physiology and pharmacology journals. He has published over 1,300 papers, abstracts and book chapters. He has published seven books and has 11 patents. He has published in prestigious journals with a worldwide impact.
He is a member of several prestigious academic societies and has received major national and international awards. Recent major awards include a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Academy of Cardiovascular Sciences and the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018.
Mehta was named among the top 27 cardiologists in 2017 in the United States by Forbes magazine. He has been frequently listed among the Top Doctors in the US, and the Best Doctors in Arkansas.
Mehta has lectured in over 35 countries. He is an honorary professor in the University of Rome, Italy, and an adjunct professor for the Clinton School of Public School in Little Rock and serves as consultant to the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville in Nanotechnology and Biomedical Engineering.