Joseph A. Vita, MD, 1956-2014.

Abstract

On November 2, 2014, our friend and colleague, Joseph Vita, died after a short but gallant struggle with lung cancer at the age of 58. Joe was never a smoker and typically appeared 10 years younger than his age; thus, it was particularly shocking to many when he became ill so suddenly and in his prime. He will be sorely missed; his contributions to cardiovascular medicine were many and diverse. He was a brilliant investigator, a superb clinician, an outstanding mentor, and an expert journal editor. Joseph Vita was born in Fort Rucker, AL, on March 8, 1956. He received his undergraduate education at Yale University, graduating summa cum laude with a major in chemistry. A true Renaissance man, Joe was recruited by Yale to play football, but, instead, used his “spare” time to enroll in philosophy classes and to sing bass for Yale’s storied a capella group, the Whiffenpoofs. He attended medical school at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he also remained to complete internal medicine training at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, eventually serving as chief medical resident. In 1986, Joe left Columbia for Brigham and Women’s Hospital to complete his cardiology fellowship and to train as an interventional cardiologist. It was during this time that Joe developed his love for research and put his interventional skills to work performing some of the first intracoronary endothelial function studies …