This section describes specific ways in which alumni, patients, and other donors have enhanced our ability to educate our students, treat our patients, and conduct research aimed at preventing and curing disease.

t a heartfelt spring celebration at the Grand Hyatt-Atlanta, Emory School of Medicine honored four men Dean Thomas Lawley described as "giants of the heart": Drs. Linton H. Bishop, Charles R. Hatcher, Jr., J. Willis Hurst, and R. Bruce Logue. Collectively, these men have shaped Emory's strong reputation in cardiology and cardiac surgery. Dr. Logue, often called the father of cardiology at Emory, helped establish a strong relationship between cardiology and cardiac surgery. He started the first residency program in cardiology at Emory, was a founder of The Emory Clinic, served as founding president of the Georgia Heart Association, and for seven years directed the Carlyle Fraser Heart Center at Crawford Long Hospital. Dr. Hurst chaired the Department of Medicine for nearly three decades and continues to teach house officers and students daily in the medical school. Frequently listed among the nation's best physicians in national magazines, he has written and edited more than 50 books, including seven editions of The Heart. He also served as president of the American Heart Association. Dr. Bishop began his medical career as Dr. Logue's first fellow. A widely respected internist and cardiology specialist, he has been chief of cardiology at Crawford Long, served as an active member of Emory's clinical faculty at Grady Hospital, and received the Aven Cup for dedicated service in the medical profession. He helped found the Carlyle Fraser Heart Center and is an emeritus member of the Emory University Board of Trustees. Dr. Hatcher performed Georgia's first coronary bypass, valve replacement, and other cardiac procedures. He built the heart surgery program at Emory into one of the nation's largest and most successful, before becoming director of The Emory Clinic. From 1984 to 1996, he oversaw growth of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center as its director and vice president for health affairs. He was the founding chairman of the organization now known as Emory Healthcare. The school has established chairs in honor of each of these giants, and interestingly, the men chosen to hold these chairs trained under the doctors the chairs honor. Dr. Robert Guyton holds the Hatcher Chair; Dr. Wayne Alexander, the Logue Chair; and Dr. Doug Morris, the Hurst Chair. The Bishop Chair will be filled in the process of building the school's genetics program. Dr. Guyton, director of cardiothoracic surgery at Emory, is known for having developed a number of surgical procedures, including a heart repair in infants that allows for future growth of the organ, helping minimize the need for subsequent surgery. He was one of the first co-directors of the Emory-Georgia Tech Research Center. Dr. Alexander, who holds a PhD in physiology as well as an MD, directs the Division of Cardiology. He is a pioneer in characterizing vascular structure and function and the role vessel walls play in the development of atherosclerotic plaque. A highly regarded cardiologist, Dr. Morris has served as head of the Emory Heart Center since 1993. Previously, he directed the Carlyle Fraser Heart Center at Crawford Long. Dr. Morris trained under Dr. Hurst, and his direction of these centers brings programs that Dr. Hurst established back full circle.

These giants of the heart and the men who trained them and now hold chairs in their honor gathered for an Emory celehration of the heart. Pictured, from l to r, Drs. J. Willis Hurst, Wayne Alexander, Doug Morris, Charles R. Hatcher, Jr., R. Bruce Logue, Linton H. Bishop, and Robert Guyton.