Fred Saigh Distinguished Professor of Engineering, Director of the Cardiac Bioelectricity and Arrhythmia Center, Washington University, St. Louis, USA
H. J. J. Wellens Visiting Professor at Maastricht University 2008 - 2009

Prof. Dr. Yoram Rudy was born in Tel-Aviv, Israel. Growing up in a young country with ancient history, Dr. Rudy had a strong interest in history and archaeology which, over the course of time, shifted towards the physical sciences. In 1966, he entered the Department of Physics at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, where he earned a B.Sc. degree in 1970. He continued his studies at the Technion, conducting research in quantum mechanics (tunneling phenomena in superconductors) for which he received the M.Sc. degree in 1973. During his graduate studies, Dr. Rudy developed interest in the life sciences and in particular in the physics of living systems. He decided to pursue this interest and in the Fall of 1973 joined the Ph.D. program in Biomedical Engineering at Case Western Reserve University, where he conducted research in bioelectric phenomena under the guidance of Dr. Robert Plonsey, a pioneer in this field of science. Rudy received his Ph.D. degree from Case Western Reserve University in 1978, where he also attended the first two years of medical school.

In 1980, Dr. Rudy joined the faculty of Case Western Reserve University as an assistant professor of Biomedical Engineering. He later became The M. Frank and Margaret C. Rudy Professor of Cardiac Bioelectricity, with academic appointments in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering, Physiology & Biophysics, and Medicine. In 1994, he established the interdisciplinary Cardiac Bioelectricity Research and Training Center and became its director. The center included thirty-two faculty members from various departments in engineering, science, and the school of medicine. During his tenure at Case Western Reserve, he also served as a visiting professor in several universities, including the Technion, University of Parma (Italy), University of Bern (Switzerland), University of Utah, Tel-Aviv University, Columbia University, and Cornell University.

Dr. Rudy has published over 200 technical papers; graduated 18 doctoral and 20 master students, who continue to pursue careers in academic research, academic medicine, and in the biomedical industry. For his contributions in the fields of cardiac electrophysiology and electrocardiology, he received numerous awards; he is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE), of the American Physiological Society, of the American Heart Association and of the Heart Rhythm Society. He is the recipient of a Merit Award from the NIH, the Biomedical Engineering Society Distinguished Lectureship Award, the Gordon K. Moe Professorship Award, The Rijlant Distinguished Lecturer (International Congress on Electrocardiology), and the Ueda Memorial Award (Japanese Society of Electrocardiology and College of Cardiology).

Currently, Dr. Rudy is the Fred Saigh Distinguished Professor of Engineering, Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Cell Biology & Physiology, Medicine, Radiology, and Pediatrics and Director of the Cardiac Bioelectricity and Arrhythmia Center (CBAC) at Washington University in St. Louis. In March 2008, he was elected as the Hein J.J. Wellens Distinguished Visiting Professor at Maastricht University of Maastricht, The Netherlands. Dr. Rudy will conduct workshops on cardiac electrophysiology at the Cardiovascular Research Institute Maastricht (CARIM) during September 2008 and May 2009. He will also host visiting scientists from Maastricht University in his Washington University laboratory as part of a CBAC – CARIM collaboration in heart research.