Melvyn Rubenfire is an American academic and clinical cardiologist.[1] During his 55year career in cardiovascular medicine he was a tenured full professor for 45 years during which he helped train an estimated 1,500 residents in internal medicine and 250 trainees in cardiovascular medicine.[2] He helped publish over 250 articles in medical journals and co-authored 35 chapters in medical textbooks.
Rubenfire retired from his clinical career at the University of Michigan in mid-2025 and was honored to continue his academic career as Professor Emeritus allowing him to continue faculty participation in research and teaching locally and nationally.
Early life
He was born to Jewish parents Harry Rubenfire and Sue Nachman in Detroit in 1939.[4] His parents encouraged him towards higher education and a professional career considering job opportunities and promotion was very limited by anti-Semitism.[5] He married Diane Mellen in 1961 just prior to entering medical school and soon after had children Mark and Karen, and now five grandchildren and one great-grandson.[6] His career in cardiology was heavily influenced by his interest in cardiovascular physiology, cardiology faculty at Wayne State University School of Medicine and his academic career by his colleague and pioneer heart surgeon Adrian Kantrowitz and his team at Sinai Hospital of Detroit.[7]
His academic future was markedly enhanced by skills developed with his second year NIH fellowship at Henry Ford Hospital.[5] The grant was to develop an animal model for valvular heart disease. Each experience prepared him to be hired as full-time director of cardiology at Sinai Hospital in 1970 with the charge/opportunity to develop a high quality clinical and research program with Dr. Adrian Kantrowwitz, the newly hired head of cardiac surgery. Dr. Kantrowitz, the inventor of the intra-aortic balloon pump to treat heart shock and severe heart failure in patients and animal models was recruited to begin a heart surgical and research program.[11]
Sinai Hospital leadership encouraged the development of a clinical cardiology training program, and research facilities for both large and small animals.[12] Rubenfire was responsible for helping to develop treatment options for induced heart attacks and shock, both acute and chronic heart failure.[13] The clinical program became known locally and nationally for devices to treat acute heart failure and shock. Most important was a mechanical heart-assist device, the intra-aortic balloon pump that was in the early phase of development to reduce mortality in cardiogenic shock and heart attacks. The team included Dr. Kantrowitz as the lead, surgical intensivists, biomedical engineers, and industry interested in developing new catheters and pacemakers.[14]
In the late 1970’s he became interested in cardiac rehabilitation which was well advanced in Europe. He proposed Sinai recruit an exercise physiologist with a PhD and experience in the new field of cardiopulmonary exercise testing and cardiac rehab.[15] He was fortunate to recruit Barry Franklin PhD, the PI of a pilot clinical trial to evaluate cardiac rehab and train him in clinical cardiovascular disease and prevention. They worked together to develop one of the first cardiac rehab programs in the US and published methods and values extensively.[16]
Rubenfire attended a series of seminars and post-graduate courses and worked closely with colleagues in other disciplines (e.g. pulmonary, endocrine, dental, radiology, CV and thoracic surgery).[1] He recruited a lipid chemist and began special clinics in lipids, heart failure, arrhythmias, and angina for advanced clinical care and research at Sinai Hospital.[3] Each was led by well-prepared cardiology colleagues with coordination of the research programs by Dr. Roger Blevins, one of the first Doctors of Pharmacy to participate in clinical research.[17]
Rubenfire was active at Wayne State University, holding positions from instructor (1970) to full Professor of Internal Medicine (1985–1991). He spent 20 years at Sinai as Section Chief of Cardiovascular Diseases (Sinai Hospital, 1970–1991) and Chairman of the Department of Medicine (Sinai Hospital, 1984–1991).[18]
In 1991, he was recruited to the faculty of the University of Michigan as a tenured professor.[10] Soon after arriving he was asked to lead the small cardiac rehab effort and create a preventive cardiology clinic to include lipid management and resident rotations.[19] Together with his colleague Lori Mosca who was working on her PhD in Epidemiology they published extensively on CV risk factors particularly evaluating difference by gender and obesity including predictors of oxidized LDL and pioneering use of brachial and carotid artery reactivity to assess endothelial function to identify persons at risk and with coronary artery disease. Techniques that identified risk cohorts but were shown to have no clinical value.[20]
Soon after arriving at the University the pulmonary medicine lung transplant team requested Rubenfire join them to help determine causes of pulmonary hypertension that may be treatable with lung transplant. With Dr. Fernando Martinez from pulmonary medicine they developed a large pulmonary hypertension program with referral throughout Michigan to clarify diagnosis, prognosis and treatment options and enroll patients in clinical trials with promising treatments for primary pulmonary hypertension with a universally high risk for mortality.[7]
By raising funds and support from the Division he was able to employ non-physician scientists who created the database within Preventive Cardiology that helped monitor and improve clinical care, results that would be published and provide academic opportunities to residents and fellows, and by non-physician staff (statisticians, dentists, nurses, social workers, nutritionists, and psychologists).[9] Preventive Cardiology included lipid, hypertension vascular, and Women’s clinic, and cardiac rehab. Amongst the most important and novel contributions of his team was (is) the Metabolic Fitness Program (MetFit) a novel outpatient program that used the resources of cardiac rehab to reduce risk of diabetes and vascular disease resulting from the metabolic syndrome.[21] As the Professor Emeritus he currently continues his research in cardiac rehabilitation as the PI of a randomized controlled study “Designing and Assessing a Women Only Cardiac Rehabilitation Program”.[22]
Amongst his other contributions to assess cardiopulmonary disease, treatment options and response to treatment he has published extensively on cardiopulmonary exercise testing of measured oxygen consumption and use of the six-minute hall-walk.[18] And together with Dr. Robert Brook, the value of apolipoprotein B and LDL particle size rather than LDL-C as the lipid marker of risk and treatment target, use of lipoprotein (a) a risk factor, and use of carotid artery intima media thickness and plaque area to assess presence and risk of atherosclerosis.[23]
Awards
Rubenfire’s honors include the Laureate Award from the American College of Physicians – Michigan Chapter (2000), Faculty Teacher of the Year (University of Michigan, 2010), and election to the Clinical Excellence Society (2013).[10] In 2020, the University of Michigan established the Melvyn Rubenfire, Professorship in Preventive Cardiology in his honor, and in July 2025 he was awarded Professor Emeritus status.[1]
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