Dan M. Roden, MD: Leader in pharmacology

Drawn to journalism and medicine, he pursued both until his passion for pharmacology won his full attention.

In college, Dan M. Roden, MD, split his time between the math world and the newsroom, but made his final decision to choose the path of medicine when he went to medical school. Throughout his career, he has been recognized for his studies in mechanisms and treatment of abnormal heart rhythms, as well as his work in genetics to understand the problem of variable responses to drug classes.

Roden received medical training and his degree in internal medicine at McGill University in Montreal. Afterward, he trained in clinical pharmacology and cardiology at Vanderbilt University. He currently serves there as professor of medicine and pharmacology and the assistant vice-chancellor for personalized medicine.

Dan M. Roden, MD Internal Medicine at McGill University in Montreal Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology and Assistant Vice-Chancellor for Personalized Medicine, Vanderbilt University Principal investigator of the Vanderbilt sites for the NIH’s Pharmacogenomics Research Network and the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics Network Member, Arrhythmia Disorders section of Cardiology Today’s Editorial Board

From 2005 to 2010, Roden acted as North American coordinator for the Fondation Leducq Transatlantic Network of Excellence, “Alliance Against Sudden Cardiac Death.” He led Vanderbilt’s broader efforts in pharmacogenomics discovery and implementation during the past 10 years and served as director of the Vanderbilt Arrhythmia Service and director of the division of clinical pharmacology. He is currently principal investigator of the Vanderbilt sites for the NIH’s Pharmacogenomics Research Network and the Electronic Medical Records and Genomics Network.

What do you enjoy doing when you’re not practicing medicine?

I enjoy traveling. My three children live in different cities, so traveling for me means going to visit them. I also enjoy doing crossword puzzles. I went to The New York Times crossword puzzle tournament 2 years ago and came in 345th place out of 689 competitors. If you do the math, I was exactly average — right at the 50th percentile.

If you hadn’t gone into cardiology or medicine, what would you have done?

I guess I might have been a science journalist. I got involved with the daily newspaper at McGill University and then worked for The Gazette, a city newspaper in Montreal. When I was applying to medical school, I was already working as a beat reporter. I told my parents before I went to medical school that if it didn’t work out after a couple months, I would have gone back to my job at The Gazette. But it was pretty clear after a couple weeks of medical school that this was what I was going to do.

What would you consider one of your biggest successes in your specialty?

There’s not a single experiment I’d point to, but rather a set of experiments over the last 30 years studying mechanisms underlying variability in drug actions, with a big focus on arrhythmia mechanisms and CV drugs. We’ve come a long way in that area and specifically in understanding molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying that variability. One theme that I am still working on is mechanisms underlying drug-induced torsades; that journey has involved clinical, animal, cellular, molecular and genetic approaches, and is now getting us into areas like systems biology and international collaborations using tools of modern genomics.

What is the last book you read /music you purchased? Why, and what did you think of it?

The last book I read was The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson. It’s high-end, escapist science fiction. I enjoy his work. The last music I purchased was probably 30 years ago. I’m stuck in oldies [music], and that’s all there is to it.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

I never remember what long counseling sessions with mentors look like decades later. What I remember are specifics, small incidents that change the way I’ve approached a problem. One piece of advice I remember getting was if you are going to try to translate — which is what I’ve always aspired to do — then find something you really enjoy doing and get good at it clinically. You can’t, for example, be the best general cardiologist and do high-end translational research, but you can focus on a particular area. It’s the idea of specializing in a particular area and maintaining clinical expertise. I have been very fortunate that my career has grown up, so to speak, with the disciplines of clinical electrophysiology and CV genetics. I have had an opportunity to grow specialized clinical expertise as well as a research program in those areas.

Whom do you consider your mentor?

When I first came to Vanderbilt, I was an internist; I came to do clinical pharmacology. John A. Oates, MD, chief of the division at the time, would certainly be considered one of my mentors. He set the tone of how the division approached problems, what kinds of patients we would study, and how we translate. He was — and is — passionate about using the best science to understand clinical problems and to use clinical medicine to inform how we choose problems to study. Another very important mentor for me was a young faculty member at the time, Raymond L. Woosley, MD. I sat in Ray’s orbit, meaning I had a desk in his lab or, when I got older, had a little office around the corner from his office. It would be an unusual week if I weren’t in his office at least a couple of hours, bouncing ideas off him. Those kinds of day-to-day conversations about the research we were doing and planning is a critical element of mentoring, the way I define it.

What kind of diet and exercise regimen do you have?

I’ve taken up golf in the last 4 years. I’m pretty terrible, but the appeal is to get me out of the house, and one beautiful shot in 50 is enough to keep me coming back. And now I make one beautiful shot more often than that! My wife leads the way with diet. She’s become a near-vegetarian. I haven’t moved that far in that direction, but it’s fair to say I eat healthier than I used to.

Dr. Roden and his wife, Maisie, on a trip last summer to Alaska. Photo courtesy of: Dan M. Roden, MD

What do you think will have the biggest influence on cardiology in the next 10 years?

Personalizing medicine. The ability to personalize therapies is a manifestation of our ability to understand underlying mechanisms. As we unravel pathways that are important in atherosclerosis, arrhythmogenesis and hypertension, we will develop new and more effective therapies. While we have many great therapies now for common diseases, most don’t really attack the fundamental pathophysiologies. We are on the verge of using genomic technology and other kinds of omic technology to understand underlying mechanisms. And, it won’t be only about –omics; it is going to be about really good, rigorous science that defines underlying mechanisms.

What is your favorite travel destination?

Besides visiting my kids, France. I grew up in Quebec and can be reasonably fluent in French, although not as fluent as when I lived there. My wife and I have traveled [all over France], not just the big cities. We rent a car and pick a little hotel in the countryside with a nice restaurant attached to it. There’s something very special about that, both because it’s fun to see and the French take their cooking seriously.

What is your favorite restaurant?

Last year for my birthday, my wife and I went to Alinea in Chicago, which is currently rated the best restaurant in the United States (by Restaurant magazine). We had a 24-course meal, with some courses consisting of just a little bite. It’s certainly one of the most amazing dining experiences I’ve ever had, and well worth a special trip. – by Casey Murphy