On Jan. 13th, 2023, Cardiometabolic Health Congress (CMHC) faculty member Keith C. Ferdinand, MD, was awarded the Living Legends Award from the Southern University at New Orleans (SUNO) Center for African and African American Studies (CAAAS). The award honors unsung heroes in the African American community of New Orleans.
Cardiologist Keith C. Ferdinand, MD, started a small clinic in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana, that operated for three decades before being destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Now at Tulane University School of Medicine as a professor, physician and researcher, he leads the effort to reduce health disparities in heart disease. He has published more than 250 studies on cardiovascular disease and its risk factors, especially inracial and ethnic minority populations. He delivers medical lectures worldwide, but he says what’s most meaningful to him is the work he does at home in “NOLA.”
In response to being named the recipient of the Living Legends Award, Dr. Ferdinand said, “I am pleased and honored to receive [sic] the 2023 Living Legends Award from the CAAAS and SUNO. This wonderful recognition from the NOLA community I serve represents my personal and professional growth.”
As a CMHC faculty member, Dr. Ferdinand is active on the Senior Planning Committee, speaks at events such as the 17th Annual Congress in Boston, and regularly contributes to virtual webinars and expert panels, often on the topic of racial disparities in health care.
“Being a physician means that you’re able to hear people’s inner thoughts. They tell you their secrets. They believe us, they trust us. It’s an important relationship and we shouldn’t take that for granted.” – Dr. Ferdinand
Dr. Ferdinand led CMHC’s webinar highlighting Black History month in Feb. 2022, which won a Digital Health Award. Watch Looming Cardiometabolic Crisis: A Conversation About Race, and stay tuned for another webinar from Dr. Ferdinand and colleagues this Feb. 2023 as they tackle complex issues involving cardiovascular health outcomes in racial and ethnic minority populations.
Watch Dr. Ferdinand receive the Living Legends Award
