BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Edward S. Cooper, M.D. Emeritus Professor of Medicine
University of Pennsylvania, School of Medicine
Past President, American Heart Association
Edward Sawyer Cooper, M.D., was born in Columbia, S.C., 12-11-26, to late
Ada Sawyer Cooper and H. Howard Cooper, Sr., D.D.S. He earned an A.B.
from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania and M.D. from Meharry Medical
College, with highest honors.
He completed his internship, medical residency and cardiology fellowship at
the former Philadelphia General Hospital (PGH). Following his training he
joined the physician staff of PGH and was appointed to the faculty of the
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (UPSM) in 1958. He
subsequently served as president of the PGH medical staff as well as chief
of the UPSM medical service at the hospital. He was co-founder and co-director
of the Stroke Research Center at PGH and in 1972 he became the first tenured
African-American physician/professor at the UPSM, the nations oldest medical
school. In addition, from 1956 to 1996, Dr. Cooper maintained a private
practice in the field of internal medicine and stroke prevention, at the
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He retired and Emeritus
Professor status was conferred on January 1, 1996.
In June 1992 Dr. Cooper became the first African-American president of the
American Heart Association (AHA), an organization he had served for over
30 years. He chaired the Stroke Council Association as well as the writing
committee that produced the AHA's scientific statement: Cardiovascular Disease
and Stroke in African-American and Other Racial Minorities.
He has published widely; served on the editorial boards of several medical
journals; and lectured as a visiting professor and invited speaker on numerous
occasions both in this country and abroad. He is co-editor of the book,
Stroke in Blacks, which was released in 1999. He has served extensively on
national and local committees and commissions dealing with issues of stroke
and cardiovascular prevention.
Dr. Cooper's many awards include the American Heart Association Gold Heart
Award, the AHA's highest national award; the Charles Drew Award for
Distinguished Contribution to Minority Education; the Distinguished Alumnus
Award from the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Education; and
the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, Edna Kynett Memorial Award in
2003. The American Heart Association Edward S. Cooper Award is given at a
special dinner each year at its annual meeting and an annual visiting
lectureship is sponsored by the Department of Medicine in his honor. A
professorship has been commissioned in his name by UPSM.
