Nanette Wenger Lectureship


History of the Nanette Wenger Lectureship:

When Nanette K. Wenger, MD, professor of medicine in the division of cardiology at Emory University School of Medicine began her career, heart disease was something doctors thought only affected men. Today, the American Society for Preventive Cardiology honors her significant contributions as a champion for women’s heart health with a lectureship in her name. “Dr. Wenger is an icon in many aspects of cardiology, but perhaps her greatest achievement involves her commitment to exposing the previously unrecognized toll cardiovascular disease takes on women,” says Seth J. Baum, MD, immediate past president of the American Society for Preventive Cardiology. “It is safe to say that without Dr. Wenger’s tireless efforts; women’s cardiovascular care would not have advanced to where it is today. We all owe her a tremendous debt of gratitude. There is no one who could better speak to the cause of women and heart health than Dr. Nanette K. Wenger."

2023 Nanette Wenger, MD Award Recipient

Janet S. Wright, MD, MACC
Director, Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention
Centers for Disease Control

Dr. Janet S. Wright was appointed director in the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention in July 2021, after returning to CDC from a two-year detail in the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG) as the acting Director of Science and Policy. During her service, OSG produced a Surgeon General’s Advisory on Marijuana and the Developing Brain; two Surgeon General’s Reports (Tobacco Cessation and Community Health and Economic Prosperity); and three Surgeon General’s Calls to Action (Hypertension, Maternal Health, and Suicide Prevention). She received the 2020 Surgeon General’s Award for Exemplary Service. In 2023, Dr. Wright was designated Master of the American College of Cardiology and Fellow of the Preventive Cardiovascular Nurses Association.

From 2011 to 2019, Dr. Wright served as executive director of Million Hearts®, a national HHS initiative that CDC co-leads with CMS to prevent 1 million heart attacks and strokes over a five-year period.

Prior to federal service, Dr. Wright served as Senior Vice President for Science and Quality at the American College of Cardiology from 2008 to 2011, providing medical and scientific oversight of clinical guidelines, performance measures, health policy statements, and appropriate use criteria; quality improvement projects; and the National Cardiovascular Data Registry.

Dr. Wright practiced cardiology for many years in Chico, California and served on ACC’s Board of Trustees, NCQA’s Physician Program Committee, and the Center for Information Therapy, a non-profit organization committed to the provision of personalized health information during each health encounter. Dr. Wright received her MD from the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center and completed her internal medicine residency at Children’s Hospital and Adult Medical Center and her fellowship in cardiology at San Francisco General Hospital and the University of California, San Francisco.

Previous Winners of the Nanette Wenger Lectureship

2022 Carl J. Pepine, MD, MACC
2021 JoAnn Manson, MD, MPH, DrPH
2020 Leslee J. Shaw, PhD, FACC, MASNC, FAHA, FSCCT
2019 Martha Gulati, MD, MS, FACC, FAHA
2018 Lori Mosca
2016 Roxana Mehran
2015 Mary McGowan