A pioneer in cardiac catheterization and coronary arteriography, Spencer King was co-developer of the multi-purpose technique of coronary arteriography and has directed invasive and interventional cardiology training for more than 150 cardiology fellows.

Dr. King served as Director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory of Emory University Hospital from its inception through 2000 and was Director of Interventional Cardiology and the Andreas Greuntzig Cardiovascular Center at Emory University from 1985 until 2000.

Dr. King was President of the American College of Cardiology (1998-1999), President of the Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions (1990-1991) and served as Chair of the Interventional Cardiology Boards of the American Board of Internal Medicine (1997-2007). He is Chairman of the New York State Cardiac Advisory Board and has participated on many committees of the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

Dr. King is author of over 500 papers on cardiology, has edited or co-edited ten books including Interventional Cardiology and Hurst’s The Heart 12th Edition both published in 2007. He is Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Interventions, is associate editor of JACC and is on the editorial board of seven other journals including Circulation.

He has served as principal investigator or member of the steering committees of 15 national and international clinical trails in cardiology, as well as conducting the first NHLBI trial of coronary angioplasty versus bypass surgery.

His research interest has been in the area of restenosis prevention, having been a developer of radiation therapy to block restenosis, as well as new device development, evaluation of therapeutic approaches to cardiovascular disease and preventive cardiology. Honors include Master of the American College of Cardiology, the Mikamo Lecture and Honorary International Fellow of the Japan Circulation Society, the Bishop Lecture of the American College of Cardiology, the ETHICA Award of the European Society of Cardiology, the Jesse E. Edwards Lecture of the American Heart Association and Distinguished Alumnus Awards from the Medical College of Georgia and Mercer University.

Dr. King recently has been instrumental in developing a multi-institutional collaboration within metropolitan Atlanta to improve triage and early intervention for patients with acute myocardial infarction.