Jason C. Kovacic

In early 2020 Kovacic became the Executive Director of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute and the Robert Graham Chair and Professor of Cardiovascular Research at the University of New South Wales. His research program now spans Mount Sinai and the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, and he continues to work towards making inroads into the understanding, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease. He also works as a cardiologist at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney

Kovacic progressively rose to become full Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at Mount Sinai Hospital, and in 2019 was the Director of Cardiovascular Translational Science and Acting Director of the Cardiovascular Research Center at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

In 2019, Kovacic received the Founders Award from the Fibromuscular Dysplasia Society of America.

In 2018, Kovacic received the Cullman Family Award for Excellence in Physician Communication for ranking in the top 1% nationally in provider communication by CMS’s CG CAHPS patient experience survey and Deans Healthcare System Team Science Award for the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (as PI of the DEFINE-FMD study).

In 2017, Kovacic was admitted into Mount Sinai LEAD Academy (Leadership Emerging in Academic Departments).

In parallel with this research, Kovacic also established a large clinical practice as an interventional and clinical cardiologist. From 2015 to 2020, Kovacic was the Associate Director of the Interventional Structural Heart Disease Program at Mount Sinai Hospital. In 2018 he was also awarded the Cullman Family Award for Excellence in Physician Communication for ranking in the top 1% nationally in the USA for provider communication by CMS’s CG CAHPS patient experience survey.

In 2015, Kovacic was named an 'Elite Reviewer' by the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

In 2013, Kovacic was recognized as an 'Emerging Leader' by the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions, and the American College of Cardiology.

As a physician-scientist, cardiologist and investigator at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Kovacic established a cardiovascular research laboratory with a strong interest in the cellular, molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying cardiovascular disease His lab at Mount Sinai received its first NIH grant in 2010, and has enjoyed continuous NIH funding since that time. Major career scientific achievements include successful investigator-initiated clinical studies of cardiovascular progenitor cell therapy, molecular characterization of a novel vascular progenitor cell population unravelling the pathobiology of fibromuscular dysplasia and spontaneous coronary artery dissection, numerous basic and translational studies on the biology and manifestations of atherosclerosis, and pioneering studies regarding the role of endothelial to mesenchymal transition (EndMT) in adult vascular biology and disease.

In 2010, Kovacic received Dedication and Achievement Award, The Zena and Michael A. Weiner Cardiovascular Institute and The Marie-Josee and Henry R. Kravis Center for Cardiovascular Health, Mount Sinai Medical Center.

In 2009, Kovacic received the FARE award from National Institutes of Health.

Kovacic pursued a PhD at the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute focusing on the application of cell therapy to treat patients with refractory ischemic heart disease. In 2007 he relocated to the US's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland where he undertook a two year postdoctoral fellowship with the Director, Elizabeth Nabel. In 2009 Kovacic moved to Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and after a further fellowship in interventional cardiology, went on to become a faculty member in 2010. Kovacic went on to become board certified in both internal medicine and cardiology with the American Board of Internal Medicine.

In 2005, Kovacic was the Australian Delegate to Lindau Nobel Prizewinners Meeting in Lake Constance, Germany.

Kovacic undertook a residency at Prince of Wales Hospital, and cardiology specialty training at St. Vincent’s Hospital, Sydney. As a cardiology trainee in early 2003, Kovacic was the doctor for Rolling Stones for some of their Licks World Tour Australian shows. He completed his cardiology specialty training and became a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians in 2003.

In 1992, he received an Academic Achievement Award from Australian Institute of Sport.

Kovacic attended Caulfield Grammar School in Melbourne where he was named valedictorian of his graduating year. He then commenced studies in Medicine at the University of Melbourne, but on his selection into the Australian national junior rowing team, he deferred to compete in the 1986 Junior World Rowing Championships held in Roudnice, Czech Republic. He returned to complete the first four years of his medical degree and in 1991 he deferred a second time to take up a Rowing Scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) in Canberra. During his time in Canberra, Kovacic completed a Bachelor of Medical Science degree in exercise physiology related to blood viscosity in elite rowers at the AIS. Afterward, he resumed his Medicine studies in Melbourne, graduating in 1994. During his final graduation year in Medicine, he rowed for state of Victoria with members of the Oarsome Foursome and won the 1994 Australian Men's Interstate Eight-Oared Rowing Championship - The King's Cup.

In 1985, he was named Valedictorian of Caulfield Grammar School, Melbourne, Australia.

Jason C. Kovacic (born 1968) is an Australian-born cardiologist and physician-scientist; the Robert Graham Chair and Professor of Medicine, University of New South Wales; Executive Director of the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute in Sydney, Australia; and Professor of Medicine (Cardiology) at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York.