Kim A.Williams, MD FACC FASNC FAHA

The James B. Herrick, MD, Professor of Heart Research, Rush University Medical Center

Chief, Division of Cardiology, Department of Internal Medicine, Rush Medical College

Immediate Past President, American College of Cardiology

Kim A.Williams, MD FACC FASNC FAHA completed his MD at University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, and a medical residency in the Department of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta.  He returned to the University of Chicago for fellowships in cardiology, clinical pharmacology and nuclear medicine, and has been an Illinois board certified physician and surgeon for 35 years, with his credentialed areas of practice encompassing internal medicine, cardiovascular diseases, nuclear medicine, nuclear cardiology and cardiovascular computed tomography.

Dr. Williams is the Immediate Past President of the 49,000-member American College of Cardiology, an organization he has served in dozens of offices and capacities since the early 1990’s.  He has since 2013 held appointments as James B. Herrick Professor and Chief of the Division of Cardiology at Rush University Medical Center.  He previously served as Chair of the Division of Cardiology at Wayne State University School of Medicine, and from 1986 to 2010 had served as Assistant Professor, then Associate Professor, then Professor, of Medicine and Radiology at University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.

Dr. Williams was selected annually for 10 years as one of “America’s Top Doctors”, and has been named a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the Association of Black Cardiologists, the American Heart Association Cardiovascular Radiology Council, the American College of Chest Physicians, and the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (of which he was a founding member).  He served for many years as a reviewer for the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Journal of Nuclear Cardiology and Journal of Nuclear Medicine, and for periods of time was a Guest Editor or Editorial Board member for the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Cardiology Today and US Cardiology.  He has been the author or co-author of more than 30 original articles, and more than 75 review articles, position statements and editorials published in peer-reviewed journals, as well as more than a dozen textbook chapters.

Dr. Williams personally began following a vegan diet in 2003, and his strong professional focus upon the prevention of cardiovascular disease has incorporated recommendations to patients about pursuing plant-based approaches to eating.  His recent research efforts have also examined the impact of health care disparities in contemporary society.