Paul K. Whelton, M.B., M.D., M.Sc. is a medical graduate of University College Cork, Ireland. He earned a master’s degree in clinical epidemiology from University of London and a prevention doctorate from National University of Ireland. He spent 26 years at Johns Hopkins, where he founded the Welch Center for Prevention, Epidemiology, and Clinical Research. Subsequently, he served as Tulane University Dean, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Dean, School of Medicine, and Senior Vice President for Health Sciences. Later, he was President/CEO, Loyola University Health System and Medical Center before returning to Tulane as the Show Chwan Health System Endowed Chair in Global Public Health.

   Dr. Whelton’s interests include blood pressure-related cardiovascular/renal disease epidemiology, prevention, clinical trials, policy, and global health. He has chaired many NIH studies, including the Trials of Hypertension Prevention (TOHP), Trial of Nonpharmacologic Interventions in the Elderly (TONE), Antihypertensive and Lipid Lowering Treatment to Prevent Heart Attack Trial (ALLHAT) and Systolic Blood Pressure Intervention Trial (SPRINT). He chaired the 2017 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Blood Pressure Guideline Writing Committee. A recipient of the American Heart Association Population Research Prize in 2007, and the American Heart Association Blood Pressure Council Excellence in Hypertension Research Award in 2018, he has published more than 500 peer reviewed manuscripts, books/chapters, supplements or monographs.