Pradeep Natarajan, M.D., M.M.Sc., FAHA, will receive the American Heart Association's Population Research Prize during Scientific Sessions 2026, the organization announced on September 28, 2026. The meeting will take place Nov. 6-9, 2026, in Chicago, and Dr. Natarajan will be recognized during the Presidential Session on Sunday, Nov. 8. The award honors a cardiovascular geneticist whose research has used human genetics and data from large, diverse populations to transform the understanding and prevention of cardiovascular disease.
Dr. Natarajan's work has uncovered genetic mechanisms in lipid disorders, coronary artery disease and clonal hematopoiesis. He has advanced polygenic risk scores and precision medicine approaches that may help identify individuals with elevated cardiovascular risk earlier in life. His discoveries have also accelerated the development of novel therapeutic targets. As a vice chair of writing groups for three scientific statements, he contributed to guidance on polygenic risk scores for cardiovascular disease, direct-to-consumer genetic testing for cardiovascular disease, and the cardiovascular implications of clonal hematopoiesis. He also served on the writing committee for the 2026 Joint Clinical Practice Guideline on the Management of Dyslipidemia.
"Congratulations to Dr. Pradeep Natarajan for his groundbreaking work that has redefined how human genetics and large population studies can be used to prevent cardiovascular disease," said Manesh R. Patel, M.D., FAHA, the American Heart Association's 2026-2027 volunteer president. "His innovative research has helped bridge genomic discovery with clinical application, advancing precision medicine while improving our understanding of cardiovascular risk across diverse populations."
Dr. Natarajan joined Amgen in August 2026 as vice president of global research, head of human genetics and head of the Cardiometabolic Therapeutic Area. He also serves as a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and a distinguished physician at Massachusetts General Hospital. "I am honored to receive this recognition from the American Heart Association, an organization that shares my mission to improve health outcomes for those impacted by cardiovascular disease," Dr. Natarajan said. "I have dedicated my career to discovering and understanding the drivers of cardiovascular disease using human genetics, innovative methods and interdisciplinary collaboration towards optimal cardiovascular prevention and health."
The recognition underscores the growing role of genetics in cardiovascular prevention and treatment. Dr. Natarajan's research has integrated genomics, multi-omics, electronic health records and large population biobanks, spanning international collaborations involving millions of participants. He has led numerous National Institutes of Health-funded investigations focused on lipid biology, coronary artery disease, clonal hematopoiesis and precision medicine. His work helps establish new approaches for translating genetic discoveries into clinical care, potentially enabling earlier identification of at-risk individuals and more personalized prevention strategies.
A longtime volunteer leader with the Heart Association since 2011, Dr. Natarajan has been a member of its Data Science and Precision Medicine Committee since 2020, serving as vice chair from 2022 to 2024 and chair since 2024. He has also served on the Scientific Sessions Planning Committee since 2021. He has authored or co-authored more than 330 peer-reviewed publications and has served as principal investigator on several major NIH-funded studies, including an $11.2 million NIH Common Fund project advancing the study of somatic mosaicism across human tissues. His honors include election to the American Society for Clinical Investigation in 2022 and the Association of American Physicians in 2024, and receiving the Heart Association's Joseph A. Vita Award in 2023 and the Genomic and Precision Medicine Mid-Career Award in 2025.
Additional multimedia is available on the release link. For more news at American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2026, follow the organization on X @HeartNews, #ScientificSessions26. The American Heart Association provides critical resources to save and improve lives affected by cardiovascular disease and stroke; more information is available at heart.org and stroke.org.
