Blair P. Grubb is an American physician, surgeon, researcher and scientist, currently a distinguished university professor of medicine and pediatrics at the
University of Toledo
The University of Toledo (UToledo or UT) is a public research university in Toledo, Ohio. It is the northernmost campus of the University System of Ohio. The university also operates a Health Science campus, which includes the University of T ...
.
He is well known for his contributions to the study of
syncope and disorders of the autonomic nervous system (in particular
Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome
Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a condition characterized by an abnormally large increase in heart rate upon standing. Symptoms may include lightheadedness, brain fog, blurred vision, weakness, fatigue, headaches, heart ...
) (3).
History and career
Grubb was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on January 21, 1954, and grew up in the then rural
Carroll County of Maryland. The son of an electrician, Dr Grubb grew up in very modest surroundings and began working full-time as an electrician and sign maker starting at the age of 14 years, and continued to do so until his mid-twenties. He graduated from
South Carroll High School
South Carroll High School (SCHS) is a four-year public high school in Sykesville in Carroll County, Maryland, United States. The school is located near the southwest corner of Carroll County on Liberty Road between Maryland Route 27 and Maryla ...
in 1972, and later earned a BA in biologic sciences from the
University of Maryland, Baltimore County
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) is a public research university in Baltimore County, Maryland. It has a fall 2022 enrollment of 13,991 students, 61 undergraduate majors, over 92 graduate programs (38 master, 25 doctoral, ...
(UMBC) in 1976. He earned a Medical degree from the
Universidad Central del Este in the Dominican Republic in 1980. He then completed a medical residency at the
Greater Baltimore Medical Center
Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) is a U.S. hospital located in the Baltimore suburb of Towson, Maryland. It was opened in 1965. GBMC serves more than 20,455 inpatient cases and approximately 52,000 emergency department visits annually. GB ...
, where he also served as chief medical resident. While doing a rotation in cardiology at the Johns Hopkins Hospital he became interested in cardiac electrophysiology after watching some of the first human defibrillator implants. He thereafter completed fellowships in both cardiology and clinical
cardiac electrophysiology
Cardiac electrophysiology is a branch of cardiology and basic science focusing on the electrical activities of the heart. The term is usually used in clinical context, to describe studies of such phenomena by invasive (intracardiac) catheter recor ...
at the
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...
's
Milton S. Hershey Medical Center in Hershey, Pennsylvania(4). Grubb then joined the faculty of the Medical College of Ohio (later renamed the
University of Toledo Medical Center
:''This article refers to The University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, a medical school in Toledo, Ohio (formerly the Medical College of Ohio, and the Medical University of Ohio). For the former Medical College of Ohio in Cinc ...
) as an assistant professor of medicine in 1988, where he initiated the institution's cardiac electrophysiology program. He became an associate professor of medicine and pediatrics in 1993, and was elevated to a full professor of medicine and pediatrics in 1999.
Grubb is widely known for his research into the
pathophysiology
Pathophysiology ( physiopathology) – a convergence of pathology with physiology – is the study of the disordered physiological processes that cause, result from, or are otherwise associated with a disease or injury. Pathology is the ...
, diagnosis and management of syncope. He was among the first researchers in the United States to employ head upright tilt table testing for the diagnosis of vasovagal (neurocardiogenic) syncope. He is also widely considered one of the world's leading experts on
Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome
Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a condition characterized by an abnormally large increase in heart rate upon standing. Symptoms may include lightheadedness, brain fog, blurred vision, weakness, fatigue, headaches, heart ...
(POTS) and orthostatic hypotension. Dr. Grubb has also pioneered new wound closure techniques designed to reduce infection rates and enhance wound appearance during permanent pacemaker and implantable defibrillator surgeries. He has also been a principal investigator in using permanent pacemakers with closed loop stimulation capacity (CLS) in the treatment of refractory neurocardiogenic/vasovagal syncope. His current focus of research is in exploring the role of autoimmunity in the pathogenesis of POTS and other autonomic disorders. He recently has also been investigating the potential role of autoimmunity in patients suffering from Long-Haul COVID syndrome. He has authored over 270 peer-reviewed scientific papers and 34 book chapters. He is co-editor of the textbook ''Syncope: Mechanisms and Management'' and the author of the book ''The Fainting Phenomenon''. He was a senior editor of the journal ''
Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology''for 25 years. He is currently the director of the Cardiac Electrophysiology Program and the Syncope and Autonomic Disorders Clinic at the University of Toledo Medical Center (UTMC) in Toledo, Ohio. He is also the director of the Autonomic Disorders Fellowship training program at UTMC.
Dr. Grubb has also published numerous essays on his experiences as a physician and patient, a collection of which were published as a book entitled
The Calling(5). He has also published a number of poems. Dr. Grubb achieved the rank of Eagle in Boy Scouts, and earned varsity athletic letters in both high school and college. He has also received numerous awards throughout his career and received UMBC's Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1994, and was elected to the
Alpha Omega Alpha
Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society () is an honor society in the field of medicine.
Alpha Omega Alpha currently has active Chapters in 132 LCME- accredited medical schools in the United States and Lebanon. It annually elects over 4,000 new ...
(AOA) medical honor society in 1997. Grubb was presented with the Northwest Ohio American Heart Associations' "Legacy of Achievement" Award in 2001. He was named as a Distinguished University Professor by the University of Toledo (UT) in 2009. He was given the
Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award in 2006. He received the University's Dean's Award for Career Achievement in 2016 as well as the University's Outstanding Research and Scholarship Award in 2017. Grubb received Dysautonomia International's "Physician of the Year" Award in 2015(6,7,8). That same year the British Arrhythmia Alliance named him "Medical Professional of the Decade"(9). Also in 2015 he was recognized by the Ohio State Senate for outstanding research and clinical practice naming him "One of Ohio's finest citizens". In 2017 he received the Dion D. Raftopoulos/Sigma Xi Honor Society Award for outstanding original research. In 2018 he was given the University of Toledo's President's Award for Outstanding Contributions in Scholarship and Creative Activity. In 2019 he received the "Revolutionary Researcher Award" by the Dysautonomia Support Network. In 2020 he was awarded the University of Toledo Medical Center's "Shining Star Award" for outstanding patient care. Also in 2020 UT presented him with the "Blair P. Grubb Endowed Chair in Syncope and Arrhythmias", one of the highest honors the University can bestow upon a faculty member. In 2021 and 2022 he again received UT's President's Award for Creative and Scholarly Activity. Grubb has been recognized as one of "America's Top Doctors" for 20 years in a row. He is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a Fellow of the American Heart Association as well as a member of the Heart Rhythm Society and the American Autonomic Society. He was married to the late Barbara Straus MD for 38 years(10). He is currently married to Dr. Dena Eber PhD. He has two children, Helen and Alex, and one stepchild, Alex.
References
*3. http://uthealth.utoledo.edu/clinics/hvc/Syncope_Center.html
*4.http://uthealth.utoledo.edu/findaphysician/Details/Blair-P-Grubb_75
*5. http://www.eplabdigest.com/articles/A-Life%E2%80%99s-Work-Electrophysiology-An-Interview-with-Blair-P-Grubb-MD
*6. http://www.dysautonomiainternational.org/pdf/Grubb_POTSQuest.pdf
*7. http://wordpress.utoledo.edu/newsreleases/2015/07/14/grubb-named-physician-of-the-year-by-dysautonomia-international/
*8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbt33-vP6EA
*9.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93-hYQiH5e4
*10. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/toledoblade/obituary.aspx?pid=173940796
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Living people
University of Toledo faculty
American cardiologists
1954 births