Skip to main content

Cam Patterson, MD, MBA, will become Chief Operating Officer at Weill Cornell Medical Center in January 2014. He has held numerous leadership positions at UNC since 2000.


Cam Patterson, MD, MBA, will become Chief Operating Officer at Weill Cornell Medical Center in January 2014. He has held numerous leadership positions at UNC since 2000.

image2
Dr. Cam Patterson

Cam Patterson, MD, MBA, FACC, FAHA, is known at UNC Health Care and the university campus for leading change in major ways. He guided the successful implementation of a joint MD-MBA program for medical students, ushered in significant financial resources to establish the McAllister Heart Institute, and provided strategic direction for UNC Heart & Vascular as clinical responsibilities grew through the expansion of the UNC Health Care System across the state of North Carolina. Dr. Patterson will move on to a new position as Chief Operating Officer at Weill Cornell Medical Center in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, where he will have primary responsibility for the strategic direction and management of the New York Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, as well as development and management of other strategic initiatives within the New York Presbyterian system.

“Cam has been a great asset to the University in many ways, not only as the classic ‘triple-threat’ faculty member who succeeds in research, teaching, and patient care,” said Marschall S. Runge, MD, PhD, Executive Dean for the UNC School of Medicine, “but beyond that as a leader for innovative business practices in clinical and research settings.”

In 2010, Dr. Patterson was selected to serve as the School of Medicine’s Associate Dean for Medical Entrepreneurship. In this role, he worked closely with UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School to facilitate programs that promote technological advances and steward business ventures and entrepreneurial development, including a dual MD-MBA degree launched in 2012 as well as a concentration in healthcare entrepreneurship that benefits both traditional MBA students and MD-MBA students.

“Cam has driven the development of a truly distinct partnership between the School of Medicine and Kenan-Flagler Business School that is pioneering, which has led to a new concentration in healthcare entrepreneurship that is already highly regarded,” said Ted Zoller, PhD, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurial Studies and Associate Professor at the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School.

Dr. Patterson has always been a significant player in the successful funding of the NC TraCS Institute, since UNC was first awarded the major NIH grant in 2005. He led the Carolina KickStart initiative, which provides support to help faculty members launch businesses based on their clinical and research innovations. Dr. Patterson was a very active member of Chancellor Thorp’s Innovation Circle for many years as well.

“Cam is a very talented individual, with much success here at UNC,” said William L. Roper, MD, MPH, Dean of the UNC School of Medicine and CEO of UNC Health Care. “We wish him the best in his new endeavor.”

Patterson is a nationally-acclaimed cardiologist, serving as Physician-in-Chief for the UNC Center for Heart and Vascular Care since 2009 and an attending physician since 2000. He was recently appointed as Director of the UNC Heart and Vascular Network, a position overseeing heart and vascular services for the UNC Health Care System.

As chief of Cardiology, he successfully implemented a strategic initiative to expand our electrophysiology (EP) program, which is now one of the top programs in the nation. EP procedure volumes have almost tripled since 2008, with growth in complex ablations. His support for the division’s fellowship programs led to the cardiovascular fellowship seeing its best match in years, and two new programs earning accreditation in electrophysiology and heart failure. Cardiology now has 23 approved fellowships across its four programs. Dr. Patterson provided significant support and recognition of faculty, encouraging clinical time in their area of specific interest. He instilled fiscal discipline to increase productivity and eliminate significant annual deficits.

An active researcher, Patterson focuses on the processes of angiogenesis, cardiac failure, and atherosclerosis. “Cam’s passion for scientific research in the realm of cardiovascular biology is world-renowned,” said Andrea Portbury, a research associate in Dr. Patterson’s laboratory. Dr. Patterson, continuously funded by the NIH since 1994, has published close to 300 peer-reviewed research articles. “Cam is an avid mentor of up-and-coming researchers and an enthusiastic collaborator,” said Portbury. “He has forged numerous partnerships with scientists all over the world.”

From 2009 to 2011, Dr. Patterson served as the first Director of the McAllister Heart Institute, playing the central role in establishing the Center, which was named in honor of Hugh McAllister and based on the work of the Carolina Cardiovascular Biology Center, which is now positioned to be a national leader in cardiovascular research. Dr. Patterson served as Associate Chair for Research in the Department of Medicine for many years, as well.

Since 2007, Dr. Patterson has led philanthropy efforts for UNC Cardiovascular Medicine. His efforts include establishing the Cardiovascular Medicine Board of Advisors, raising more than $15 million in new commitments, including four professorships, $400,000 in unrestricted research endowment, two additional research endowments and numerous bequests and current gifts.

During the transition, Dr. Runge will continue to work with health care system leadership for all Heart and Vascular services. Rick Stouffer, MD, will serve as interim Chief for the Division of Cardiology.