George A. Mensah, M.D.


George Mensah headshot

Dr. George Mensah is a clinician-scientist who currently serves as the Director of the Center for Translation Research and Implementation Science at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In this role, Dr. Mensah leads a trans-NHLBI effort to advance late-stage translational research and implementation science to address gaps in the prevention, treatment, and control of heart, lung, and blood diseases and the elimination of related health inequities.  His goal is to maximize the population health impact of advances made in fundamental discovery science and pre-clinical or early-stage translational research.  Dr. Mensah is an honors graduate of Harvard University.  He obtained his medical degree from Washington University and trained in Internal Medicine and Cardiology at Cornell.  His professional experience includes more than 20 years of public health service between the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the NIH. In addition to his public service, Dr. Mensah had 15 years of experience in direct patient care, teaching, and research at Cornell, Vanderbilt, and the Medical College of Georgia (MCG).  He was a full professor with tenure at MCG and is currently a Visiting Full Professor at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Dr. Mensah has been admitted to fellowships in several national and international societies including the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, and the European Society of Cardiology. He maintains active collaboration with several international groups to advance research on the global burden of diseases and risk factors.