Kevin D.

O'Brien

MD

FAHA

CONTACTS

Mailing Address:
University of Washington Medical Center,
1959 NE Pacific Street,
Box 356422,
Seattle, WA 98195-6422

Clinical Contacts:
For appointments or other clinical matters, please contact the Heart Institute.

About

Dr. O'Brien is an attending physician at UWMC and a UW professor of medicine. He is an expert in congestive heart failure, cardiac transplantation, and lipid disorders, practicing in these fields for over 20 years. 

Dr. Kevin O'Brien has 15+ years of experience directing a morphology core for an NIH-funded program project on macrovascular disease in diabetes, as well as, 5+ years co-directing the Nephrology, Macrophascular and Microvascular Core of the Seattle Mouse Metabolic Phenotyping Center. 

Dr. O'Brien has a long-standing interest in models of diabetic vascular disease, and the O'Brien laboratory has further developed expertise in the evaluation of diabetes-related alterations in adipose tissue and myocardium as a key component of his lab's work for both the program project grant and the MMPC. As a practicing cardiologist specializing in heart failure and post-transplant care, he also has direct, clinical experience in echocardiographic and invasive evaluation of cardiomyopathy and atherosclerosis. 

After completing his bachelor’s degree at the University of Idaho, Dr. O’Brien went on to get an M.D. (with honors) from the UW. He followed his internship and residency at the UW with a chief medical residency at the VA and senior fellowships in metabolism, endocrinology, nutrition and cardiology at the UW. 

Dr. O’Brien is board certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular diseases. Among his many honors, he has received the Robert L. Van Citters Medical Thesis Award, the Sheard-Sanford Award from the American Society of Clinical Pathologists, and Outstanding Investigator from the Western Society for Clinical Investigation.

Dr. O'Brien enjoys hiking and traveling.

Education & Training 

Senior Cardiology Fellowship, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (1992)

Senior Research Fellowship in Metabolism, Endocrinology, and Nutrition, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (1989)

Internship and Residency, University of Washington, Seattle, WA (1987)

MD, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, WA (1984)

Medical Student Research Fellowship, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA (1981)

BS, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID (1980)

Honors 

President-Elect, Western Society for Clinical Investigation (2006-2007)

Outstanding Investigator, Western Society for Clinical Investigation (2003)

President, American Federation for Medical Research (2001-2002)

Chief Medical Resident, Veterans' Affairs Medical Center (1988)

Honor in Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine (1984)

Thesis Honors, University of Washington School of Medicine (1984)

Sheard-Sanford Award, American Society of Clinical Pathologists (1983)

Robert L. Van Citters Medical Thesis Award, University of Washington (1982)

Phi Beta Kappa, University of Idaho (1980)

Buchanan Award (Perfect Undergraduate GPA), University of Idaho (1980)

Theophilus Award (The University's Most Outstanding Graduate), University of Idaho (1980)

Summa Cum Laude, University of Idaho (1980)

Research Interests 

• Lipid Disorders
• Diabetes
• Atherosclerosis
• Aortic Valve Disease
• Pathogenesis
• Diabetic Cardiomyopathy

Clinical Interests 

• Congestive Heart Failure
• Cardiac Transplantation
• Lipid Disorders
• Post-cardiac Transplant Care
• Congestive Heart Failure
• Cardiovascular Risk Modification/Prevention

Publications