The Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR), the leading international organization dedicated to finding a cure for sarcoidosis and improving care for sarcoidosis patients, announced on Monday the appointment of Jordana Kron, MD, to serve on the organization’s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). She will join thirteen other new SAB members with a term starting January 1, 2025.
The FSR SAB consists of a committed group of highly respected and experienced researchers, clinicians, and health industry leaders representing diverse professional disciplines with experience in advancing research, clinical trials, and the scientific understanding of sarcoidosis.

“Our new Scientific Advisory Board members’ expertise and dedication will be instrumental in advancing our mission to improve patient outcomes and advocate for innovative sarcoidosis research initiatives,” said Mary McGowan, FSR Chief Executive Officer. “Their diverse perspectives will help us navigate the complexities of modern medicine and ensure that our efforts remain patient-centered and strategic.”

Dr. Kron graduated magna cum laude from Princeton University with a major in chemistry and went to medical school at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, where she also completed internal medicine residency. She completed fellowships in cardiology and cardiac electrophysiology at the University of Florida. She joined the faculty as a clinical cardiac electrophysiologist at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2008, where she was program director for the electrophysiology fellowship program from 2013-2017 and an associate professor since 2015, and professor since 2021. She is a founding member of the VCU Sarcoidosis Clinic.

Her primary research interest is cardiac sarcoidosis. She served on the writing committee for the Heart Rhythm Society Expert Consensus Statement on the Management of Arrhythmias Associated with Cardiac Sarcoidosis and was section leader for Management of Atrial Arrhythmias and Conduction System Disease in Patients with Cardiac Sarcoidosis. She is a founding member of the Cardiac Sarcoidosis Consortium, an international collaborative research group committed to furthering the understanding of cardiac sarcoidosis. In 2018, she was selected as a VCU Center for Clinical and Translational Research Translational Scholar to support her research on prevention of arrhythmias and heart failure therapy in cardiac sarcoidosis. She has received funding from the VCU Johnson Center, the VCU CCTR, and the Pauley Heart Center to support her translational research. She received an AHA Collaborative Sciences Award to investigate novel therapy with Interleukin-1 blockade and new imaging techniques for cardiac sarcoidosis and in 2020, and an NIH NCATS R21 grant to support a multisite randomized controlled trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of Interleukin-1 to treat cardiac sarcoidosis.

About the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR)
The Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR) is the leading international organization dedicated to finding a cure for sarcoidosis and improving care for sarcoidosis patients through research, education, and support. Since its establishment in 2000, FSR has fostered over $6.5 million in sarcoidosis-specific research efforts. For more information, visit www.stopsarcoidosis.org.

About the Pauley Heart Center at VCU Health
Founded more than 20 years ago, the Pauley Heart Center is today the top-ranked heart center in Virginia, and one of only a handful of named heart centers in the nation. Headquartered at VCU Health in Richmond with outpatient centers throughout central and southeast Virginia, Pauley provides clinical services and community education and outreach programs throughout the region. Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death nationwide and in Virginia, and despite advances in prevention and treatment in recent decades, CVD disproportionately affects individuals with poor social determinants of health. Pauley’s mission is to improve cardiovascular care and reduce health disparities for all through interdisciplinary, cutting-edge, clinical, translational, and community-based research; training and developing the next generation of cardiovascular clinicians and researchers across all levels of education; and providing innovative and accessible cardiovascular procedural care (both surgical and catheter-based) that is the best in the Commonwealth. Pauley is a regional and national leader in research, education, and clinical programs involving electrophysiology; advanced cardiac imaging (MRI, CT, echo); advanced heart failure, including device-based treatments, total artificial heart, and heart transplant programs; cardio-oncology; high-risk percutaneous coronary interventions; adult congenital heart disease; and exercise-based cardiovascular disease prevention. Pauley also operates top-flight subspeciality clinics and research programs investigating cardiac amyloidosis; cardiac sarcoidosis; and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.