Biography

Dr. Elijah Saunders is a Professor of Medicine and Head, Section of Hypertension in the Division of Cardiology at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. He also serves as Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. He is a vice president for Graduate Medical Education and Affiliations at the University of Maryland Hospital. Dr. Saunders received his medical degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine and his bachelor of science from Morgan State College. He completed both his residency in Internal Medicine and a fellowship in Cardiology at the University of Maryland Hospital in Baltimore. Dr. Saunders has received the American Heart Association’s Award of Merit, Louis B. Russell Award (highest award for contribution to cardiovascular minority health) and the Presidential Award from the Maryland Affiliate. In 2009, he was honored by the Associated Black Charities Inc. (Baltimore) as a “Living Legend” and nominated for the Herbert Nickens Award of the Association of American Medical Colleges. In 2010, Dr. Saunders received the Honor Award and Gold Key from the University of Maryland Medical Alumni Association as well as the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Diversity Recognition Award from the University of Maryland, Baltimore. He was honored by the Association of Black Cardiologists in conjunction with the National Medical Association in 2003 as the “Cardiologist of the Year”. Dr. Saunders has served on all levels of both the national and local American Heart Associations. He has served on numerous panels, study groups, site visit groups and committees of the National Institutes of Health. This includes the Advisory Council of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. He is an active researcher in the field of hypertension and cardiovascular disease, especially as these problems affect African Americans. He is a chartered member and a steering committee member of the Maryland Heart, Hypertension and Kidney Center. Dr. Saunders is a founding member, lifetime board member, former board chairman and former president of the Association of Black Cardiologists. He is also a co-founder, former president, former board chairman, and lifetime board member of the International Society on Hypertension in Blacks (ISHIB). Another organization founded by Dr. Saunders is the (former) Baltimore Urban Cardiology Research Center, Inc. He is a co-founder of Heart House of the American College of Cardiology. Additionally, he is a chartered member of the American Society of Hypertension and has served on its Executive Council. He is also a chartered member of the Coalition of Southeastern Hypertension Centers (COSEHC). Locally, he has served as chairman of the Maryland High Blood Pressure Coordinating Council and a commissioner of the Maryland High Blood Pressure Commission. He is immediate past chairman of the Maryland Advisory Council on Heart Disease and Stroke. Currently, he serves as a member of the Baltimore City Health Department’s Cardiovascular Disease Health Disparities and Diabetes Advisory Panel as well as its Salt Reduction Task Force. A fellow of the American College of Cardiology, American College of Physicians, American Heart Association, American College of Angiology and the American Society of Hypertension, Dr. Saunders has lectured extensively throughout the country and internationally on hypertension, especially in special populations such as Blacks, the elderly and those with concomitant diseases. He is also the national chairman of COACH (Coalition for the Advancement of Cardiovascular Health), a series of CME educational programs, sponsored by the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Dr. Saunders is co-author of the medical textbook, Hypertension in Blacks: Epidemiology, Pathophysiology and Treatment, and a book for the public (High Blood Pressure). He is Chief Editor of the textbook, Cardiovascular Diseases in Blacks. He is also co-author of Handbook of Management of Hypertension in African Americans, currently in its second edition. He has appeared on numerous radio, TV, video taped and internet programs; He has also written extensively for numerous medical journals, textbooks, consumer magazines on the diagnosis, treatment and control of hypertension, particularly in Black populations. Dr. Saunders is a reviewer for several hypertension publications and serves on their editorial boards. Additionally, he is an advisor to several pharmaceutical companies. In 1996-1997, Dr. Saunders took Sabbatical leave from the University of Maryland to do research in England, studying dietary salt, salt sensitivity and hypertension in an African Caribbean population. In May 1998, Dr. Saunders was awarded the (Honorary) Doctor of Science degree from his undergraduate Alma Mater, Morgan State University. In May of 1999 he was awarded an (Honorary) Doctor of Science degree from the Medical University of South Carolina. A Hypertension Professorship and Academic Chair are being developed in recognition of his work at the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine. During his “spare-time”, Dr. Saunders enjoys tennis, golf and plays the violin. He is the founder and executive director of the University of Maryland Medical Center Chamber Players. He is married to Sharon Saunders, M.D., a geriatrician and is the father of three adult children and two step-children. He serves on the Board of Directors of his church and is the founder of his church’s scholarship fund. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the (Baltimore) Hippodrome Foundation, inc., the Community Advisory Board of Comcast Cable Vision, and formerly served on the (Baltimore) Central Scholarship Committee.

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