Kenneth W. Mahaffey, MD received a bachelor of science in chemistry from Stanford University and a Medical Degree from the University of Washington. He spent 17 years as a faculty member Duke in the Division of Cardiology and the Duke Clinical Research Institute (DCRI), an internationally recognized academic research organization. In 2012, he was promoted to Professor of Medicine and appointed an Associate Director of the DCRI. He moved to Stanford University in 2013 as the Vice Chair of Clinical Research in the Department of Medicine. He is also a founder of the Stanford Center for Clinical Research (SCCR).
Dr. Mahaffey’s primary research interest is the design and conduct of multicenter clinical trials and analyses of important clinical cardiac issues using large patient databases. His research focuses on novel antithrombotic agents for the treatment of acute coronary syndromes and atrial fibrillation, the study of agents targeted to protect the myocardium during reperfusion therapy for acute myocardial infarction, and the evaluation of cardiovascular safety of therapies in multiple disciplines of medicine including diabetes. He has been the principal or co-principal investigator for the AMISTAD, ATBAT, CARDINAL, SYNERGY and TRACER trials. He was one of the key leaders for the ROCKET AF, PLATO and CHAMPION trials. He has also served on numerous other trial leadership committees.
Dr. Mahaffey is also interested in the methodology of clinical trials. Current research activities include standardization of the definition of myocardial infarction used in clinical trials, the adjudication of suspected clinical endpoint events, and the evaluating evidenced-based operations in the conduct of large multinational clinical trials. He previously lead the DCRI Event Adjudication Group and CV Mega-Trial groups which are internationally recognized leaders and has developed efficient strategies to adjudicate clinical endpoints and conduct and manage operational features of global cardiovascular clinical trials.
Dr. Mahaffey is a member of the Stanford University Institutional Review Board (IRB).
