Christopher J. Cooper

Christopher J. Cooper, M.D., is Distinguished University Professor of Medicine at the University of Toledo, Ohio, where he also served as Dean of the College of Medicine (2014-2024), CEO of University of Toledo Physicians, and Executive Vice-President for Clinical Affairs. Triple-board-certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiovascular Disease, and Interventional Cardiology, he directs the UT Clinical Coordinating Center and has led national randomized trials on renal-artery stenosis.

Education & Training:

• B.A. magna cum laude in Biology (Philosophy minor), Wittenberg University, 1985
• M.D., University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, 1988 — Valedictorian, Alpha Omega Alpha
• Internship & Residency, Brigham and Women’s Hospital / Harvard Medical School, 1988-1991
• Cardiology Fellowship, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, 1991-1994
• Harvard School of Public Health, Clinical Effectiveness Program, 1992

Research Focus: Cooper’s group investigates renovascular hypertension, renal-artery stenosis, and cell-based therapies for vascular disease. As PI of the NIH-funded CORAL trial and multiple industry grants, he has published pivotal papers defining when renal stenting benefits patients and elucidating inflammatory and signaling pathways that couple renal artery narrowing to hypertension and renal failure.

Recent work integrates large-scale clinical outcomes databases with mechanistic studies on Na/K-ATPase signaling, microRNA regulation of cardiac fibrosis, and biomarkers such as CD40-ligand in renovascular disease.

Honors & Awards:

• Best Doctors in America — multiple years (2002-2014)
• America’s Top Doctors, Castle Connolly — consecutive listings (2006-2015)
• College of Medicine Award for Excellence in Clinical Research, UT (2008)
• Elected Fellow, American Heart Association Council on High Blood Pressure Research (2004)
• Valedictorian & Alpha Omega Alpha, Univ. of Cincinnati (1988)

Leadership & Grants: Cooper has held continuous NIH and industry funding for multicenter trials; he founded and directs the UT Clinical Coordinating Center, overseeing regulatory, data, and biostatistical cores for national studies. His administrative leadership spans Department Chair, Heart & Vascular Center Director, and Dean of the College of Medicine, while maintaining an active interventional cardiology practice.

Laboratory & Teams: He leads the Cooper Renal & Vascular Research Group within the UT Cardiovascular Research Institute, mentoring faculty, fellows, and graduate students in translational protocols that bridge molecular cardiology, interventional imaging, and large pragmatic trials.