Amy Kontorovich, MD, PhD
- ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR | Medicine, Cardiology
- ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR | Medicine, Medical Genomics
Specialty:
Cardiovascular Disease (Heart Disease)
Amy Rosen Kontorovich, MD, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in the Division of Cardiology and is the Medical Director of Adult Cardiovascular Genetics in the Zena and Michael A. Wiener Cardiovascular Institute and the Marie-Josee and Henry R. Kravis Center for Cardiovascular Health of the Mount Sinai Medical Center. Dr. Kontorovich received a B.S.E in Bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania and M.D. and Ph.D. degrees through the esteemed Medical Scientist Training Program of the National Institutes of Health at Stony Brook University. Her doctoral work was recognized by the United States Patent and Trademark Office, which named her a finalist in the National Collegiate Inventor’s Competition and Dr. Kontorovich holds two US patents for tracking stem cells with quantum dot nanoparticles.
Dr. Kontorovich completed the Internal Medicine residency at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where she also completed the fellowship in Cardiology. During fellowship she engaged in specialized training in clinical genetics and conducted research on the genetics of viral myocarditis, an inflammatory condition of the heart that can lead to sudden cardiac death and cardiomyopathy. Her research was recognized by the New York Academy of Medicine, which awarded her the prestigious Glorney-Raisbeck Fellowship in Cardiovascular Diseases. Dr. Kontorovich currently heads a Cardiac Genetics Labortatory, which focuses on the study of genetic traits that modulate risk and evolution of cardiovascular diseases. The work includes investigations of a number of cardiovascular disorders from a phenotype-first or genotype-first approach.
Dr. Kontorovich’s clinical practice is focused on the diagnosis and management of individuals with heritable cardiovascular conditions including vascular connective tissue disorders and aortopathies, cardiomyopathies, channelopathies and sudden cardiac death. As Medical Director of Adult Cardiovascular Genetics, Dr. Kontorovich is part of the leadership of Mount Sinai Heart’s Cardiovascular Genetics Program:
http://www.mountsinai.org/care/heart/services/cardiovascular-genetics
Clinical focus areas include:
• Aortic aneurysm
• Vascular connective tissue disorders (including Marfan syndrome, Loeys-Dietz syndrome and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome)
• Other aneurysm and/or dissections
• Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
• Dilated cardiomyopathy
• Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathies
• Familial rhythm disorders (including Long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia and sudden cardiac death)
• Familial hyperlipidemia
Certifications:
Cardiovascular Disease
American Board of Internal Medicine
Certifications
Cardiovascular Disease
American Board of Internal Medicine
Clinical Focus
- Heart Disease
Education
MD, Stony Brook University Medical Center
PhD, Stony Brook University Medical Center
Residency, Internal Medicine, The Mount Sinai Hospital
Fellowship, Cardiovascular Disease, The Mount Sinai Hospital
Research topics Myocarditis, cardiomyopathy, genetics of cardiovascular diseases
Research
Dr. Kontorovich’s research is focused on finding genetic factors that influence development of myocarditis. Myocarditis, most often caused by viral infection, is associated with considerable morbidity and mortality in adults and children, causing more than 10% of cases of dilated cardiomyopathy and sudden cardiac death in adults. Little is known about the pathogenesis of viral infection or replication in human myocardium. Cardiotropic viruses are quite common in the environment, yet most infected individuals have no apparent clinical manifestations and the vast majority never develops myocarditis. Human genetic variation is therefore likely important in the phenotypic evolution of myocarditis and may determine the fate of disease in infected individuals. Hence, Dr. Kontorovich is investigating genetic factors that underlie predilection to myocarditis through experiments using human induced pluripotent stem cells, sophisticated gene editing techniques (CRISPR technology), as well as human genomic studies on patients with myocarditis.
Physicians and scientists on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai often interact with pharmaceutical, device and biotechnology companies to improve patient care, develop new therapies and achieve scientific breakthroughs. In order to promote an ethical and transparent environment for conducting research, providing clinical care and teaching, Mount Sinai requires that salaried faculty inform the School of their relationships with such companies.
Dr. Kontorovich did not report having any of the following types of financial relationships with industry during 2022 and/or 2023: consulting, scientific advisory board, industry-sponsored lectures, service on Board of Directors, participation on industry-sponsored committees, equity ownership valued at greater than 5% of a publicly traded company or any value in a privately held company. Please note that this information may differ from information posted on corporate sites due to timing or classification differences.
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