John Teerlink, MD
Professor
Medicine
School of Medicine

john.teerlink@ucsf.edu 415-221-4810 ext. 24160

Dr. John R. Teerlink, F.A.C.C., F.A.H.A., F.E.S.C., F.H.F.A., F.H.F.S.A., F.R.C.P.(UK) is Director of Heart Failure and of the Echocardiography Laboratory at the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center in San Francisco, California. He graduated from Swarthmore College with Highest Honors in Comparative Religious Studies and Cellular Biology.

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After receiving his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, where he performed a year of research in the laboratory of Drs. Janice and Marc Pfeffer, he completed an internal medicine residency at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). He continued his basic science training through a post-doctoral research fellowship at Hoffman-LaRoche in Basel, Switzerland with Drs. Martine and Jean-Paul Clozel. Dr. Teerlink completed his cardiovascular medicine fellowship and a Howard Hughes post-doctoral research fellowship at UCSF, subsequently joining the faculty, where he currently is a Professor of Clinical Medicine.

He is actively involved in the design and execution of many acute and chronic heart failure clinical trials, serving on endpoint, data safety monitoring, and steering committees for numerous international studies investigating a variety of new therapies, including tezosentan (RITZ program, VERITAS), levosimendan (REVIVE 1&2), nesiritide (ASCEND-HF), serelaxin (Pre-RELAX-AHF, RELAX-AHF, RELAX-AHF-2, RELAX-ASIA, RELAX-Repeat), rolofylline (PROTECT), omecamtiv mecarbil (CY1111, CY1121, ATOMIC-AHF, COSMIC-HF, GALACTIC-HF, METEORIC-HF), TRV027 (BLAST-AHF), warfarin/ clopidogrel/ aspirin (WATCH, WARCEF), nitroxyl donor (STANDUP-AHF), fineranone (FIGARRO, FIDELIO), LCZ696 (sacubitril/ valsartan; PARADIGM-HF), empagliflozin (EMPEROR-Preserved, EMPEROR-Reduced, DINAMO, EMPULSE) and balcinerone/ dapagliflozin (BalanceD-HF), as well as stem cell therapies (CHART-1) and diagnostic modalities, such as CardioMEMS device (CHAMPION, CardioMEMS Post-approval Study), left atrial pressure sensor (LAPTOP-HF) and other devices (ADAPT-Response, SOLVE-CRT, ALT-FLOW II). He serves as a consultant on clinical development programs in multiple areas of cardiology, as well as in cardiovascular safety for non-cardiovascular indications.

Dr. Teerlink has been an active member of the Heart Failure Society of America, serving on many committees including the Membership, Scientific Program, Corporate Affairs, Development, Lifetime Achievement Award, Guideline and Leadership Recruitment Committees and currently serves as Immediate Past President and on the Board of Directors and the Executive Council. He has also served on the Acute Heart Failure Committee of the European Society of Cardiology Heart Failure Association and the National Committee on Heart Failure and Transplantation of the American Heart Association. He is a founding and charter physician member of the American Association of Heart Failure Nurses. Dr. Teerlink completed a four-year term as a permanent member of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee, and frequently serves as an ad hoc member of multiple other FDA advisory committees and panels for medical devices, diagnostics, biologics and drugs. He was a member of the joint FDA/ Duke University Standardized Data Collection for Cardiovascular Clinical Trials Initiative to develop standardized definitions for cardiovascular endpoints. He was an Associate Editor for the Journal of Cardiac Failure, a Guest Editor-in-Chief for JACC: Heart Failure, and Associate Editor for the European Journal of Heart Failure, and is currently an Associate Editor for JACC: Heart Failure. He is a clinical scholar presenting many lectures and publications, including a chapter on Acute Heart Failure in Braunwald’s Heart Disease textbook. He was profiled in The Lancet as an internationally recognized leader in heart failure.

Awards

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  • UCSF Clinical Cardiology Fellow’s Teaching Award, UCSF, 2010
  • Advisory Committee Service Award, United States Food and Drug Administration, 2008
  • Veterans Affairs Young Investigators Research Award, Department of Veterans Affairs, VISN 21, 2000
  • Alpha Omega Alpha Nominee, Outstanding House Officer Teacher, UCSF, 1995
  • Alpha Omega Alpha Nominee, Outstanding House Officer Teacher, UCSF, 1990
  • Medical Student Research Fellowship Award, American Heart Association/ Harvard Medical School, 1986-1987
  • Holmes Prize in Religion, Swarthmore College, 1983
  • Phi Beta Kappa, Swarthmore College, 1983
  • Holmes Prize in Religion, Swarthmore College, 1981

Education & Training

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  • Clinical Cardiology Fellowship Cardiovascular Medicine University of California, San Francisco 1995
  • Post-Doctoral Fellowship Cardiovascular Pharmacology F. Hoffmann-La Roche, LTD (Basel, Switzerland 1993
  • Internal Medicine Residency Internal Medicine University of California, San Francisco 1991
  • M.D. Medicine Harvard Medical School 1988
  • BA with Highest Honors Comparative Religious Studies/ Cellular and Molecular Biology Swarthmore College 1983

Interests

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  • Drug and Device Regulatory Approval
  • Clinical trial design
  • Omecamtiv mecarbil
  • Heart Failure (acute and chronic)
  • Neurohormonal antagonism
  • Impedance and phonocardiography
  • Cardiovascular outcomes trials
  • Cardiovascular safety
  • Implantable monitoring devices
  • Regulatory issues
  • SGLT2 inhibitors
  • Natriuretic peptides
  • Clinical development program
  • Cardiorenal syndrome
  • Relaxin/ serelaxin
  • Angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitors (ARNI)
  • Cardiac myosin activators

Grants and Projects

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  • Novel adrenergic mechanisms in heart failure therapy, NIH, 2018-2022
  • EMPULSE: A multicentre, randomised, double-blind, 90-day superiority trial to evaluate the effect on clinical benefit, safety and tolerability of once daily oral EMPaglilozin 10 mg compared to placebo, initiated in patients hospitalised for acUte decompensated heartfaiLure who have been StabilisEd. (EudraCT 2019-002946-19), Boerhinger-Ingelheim, 2019
  • DINAMO: A Double-blind, Randomised, Placebo-controlled, Parallel Group Trial to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Empagliflozin and Linagliptin Over 26 Weeks, With a Double-blind Active Treatment Safety Extension Period up to 52 Weeks, in Children and Adolescents With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. (NCT03429543), Boerhinger-Ingelheim, 2018
  • ANTHEM-HFrEF Pivotal Study: Autonomic Regulation Therapy to Enhance Myocardial Function and Reduce Progression of Heart Failure with Reduced Ejection Fraction. (NCT03425422), LivaNova, 2017
  • SOLVE-CRT: Stimulation Of the Left Ventricular Endocardium for Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy in Non-Responders and Previously Untreatable Patients. (NCT02922036), EBR Systems Inc., 2017
  • EMPEROR-Preserved: A phase III randomised, double-blind trial to evaluate efficacy and safety of once daily empagliflozin 10 mg compared to placebo, in patients with chronic Heart Failure with preserved Ejection Fraction. EMPagliflozin outcomE tRial in patients with chrOnic heaRt failure. (EudraCT 2016-002278-11), Boerhinger-Ingelheim, 2017
  • EMPEROR-Reduced: A phase III randomised, double-blind trial to evaluate efficacy and safety of once daily empagliflozin 10 mg compared to placebo, in patients with chronic Heart Failure with reduced Ejection Fraction. EMPagliflozin outcomE tRial in patients with chrOnic heaRt failure. (EudraCT 2016-002280-34), Boerhinger-Ingelheim, 2017
  • STANDUP-AHF: Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of 48-Hour Infusions of HNO (Nitroxyl) Donor in Hospitalized Patients With Heart Failure. (NCT03016325), Bristol-Myers Squibb, 2016
  • LAPTOP-HF: Left Atrial Pressure Monitoring to Optimize Heart Failure Therapy Study, St. Jude, 2010-2015
  • GALACTIC-HF: Global Approach to Lowering Adverse Cardiac Outcomes Through Improving Contractility in Heart Failure. (NCT02929329), Amgen/ Cytokinetics/ Servier, 2015
  • FIDELIO-DKD: FInerenone in reducing kiDnEy faiLure and dIsease prOgression in Diabetic Kidney Disease, Bayer, 2015
  • FIGARO-DKD: FInerenone in reducinG cArdiovascular moRtality and mOrbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease, Bayer, 2015
  • CardioMEMS PAS: CardioMEMS HF System Post Approval Study, St. Jude/ Abbott, 2015
  • ADAPT-Response: AdaptResponse Clinical Trial, Medtronic, 2014
  • BLAST-AHF: Biased Ligand of the Angiotensin II Type 1 Receptor in Patients with Acute Heart Failure, Trevena, Inc, 2013
  • RELAX-REPEAT, Novartis, 2013
  • RELAX-AHF-Asia: Evaluating the Efficacy, Safety, and Tolerability of Serelaxin when Added to Standard Therapy in Asian Patients with Acute Heart Failure, Novartis, 2013
  • COSMIC-HF: Chronic Oral Study of Myosin Activation to Increase Contractility in Heart Failure, Amgen/ Cytokinetics, 2012
  • RELAX-AHF-2: Serelaxin in addition to standard therapy in acute heart failure, Novartis, 2012
  • CHART: Congestive Heart failure Cardiopoietic Regenerative Therapy, Celyad, 2012
  • PARADIGM-HF: A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-blind, Parallel Group, Active-controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of LCZ696 Compared to Enalapril on Morbidity and Mortality in Patients With Chronic Heart Failure and Reduced Ejection Fraction, Novartis, 2010

Publications (359)

Top publication keywords:
Heart Failure, SystolicCardiovascular AgentsCardiologyCardiac MyosinsNatriuretic Peptide, BrainDiureticsUreaHeart FailureXanthinesCardiotonic AgentsAcute DiseaseRelaxinStroke VolumeVentricular Function, LeftVentricular Dysfunction, Left

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