Why I got into Medicine
Why I Went Into Medicine: Sanjiv Narayan, MD, PhD
As a child, Stanford cardiologist Sanjiv Narayan was fascinated with the science of computers, but his father told him there was no future in it. Narayan decided he’d follow in his father’s footsteps and became a doctor and a computer engineer. What’s delighted him is how he’s been able to combine the two to practice innovative medicine in cardiac electro-physiology. Stanford Physician: Sanjiv Narayan, MD, PhD https://stanfordhealthcare.org/doctors/n/sanjiv-narayan-sanjiv1.html#summary-content

Sanjiv Narayan

Cardiac electrophysiologist

Bio:   Dr. Narayan is Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, a practicing cardiologist and a translational scientist in the field of arrhythmia medicine. Dr. Narayan is director of Electrophysiology Research at Stanford, and has built an independently funded “bedside-to-bench-to-bedside” translational research program focused on the mechanisms for human atrial fibrillation and life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. This work led to the development of mapping techniques for fibrillation that use computational analysis in an attempt to circumvent the limitations of electrogram analysis by computationally reconstructing optical mapping - the gold standard for mapping arrhythmias that remains unavailable in patients. This led to the discovery of rotors in human AF, with ablation (Focal Impulse and Rotor Modulation, FIRM) as the basis for novel improved therapies for cardiac fibrillation. The laboratory is grateful for continuous funding of this work by the National Institutes of Health from 2001-2019, and also by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association. To further develop technology resulting from this research and enable wider clinical testing, Dr. Narayan co-founded a startup company (Topera, Inc), and the FIRM approach is increasingly used at centers worldwide.

Dr. Narayan is active in mentorship, and has trained numerous graduate students in bioengineering, residents/fellows in training and medical students. In addition to publishing their work, and a large number of these trainees have applied successfully for extramural funding, have won research and clinical prizes and over 80% remain in academic medicine. Dr. Narayan has won teaching prizes for his clinical mentorship as well as research prizes.

Dr. Narayan was born in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, then his family moved to Birmingham where he trained initially in medicine then in software engineering, becoming a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of London. He then did his doctoral research in neuroscience at the University of California Los Angeles, and his clinical training in Internal medicine at Harvard/Mount Auburn Hospital, and in Cardiology/EP at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Narayan is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Cardiology and Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology, has been voted as a “Top Doctor", and has an active clinical practice at Stanford. He is a devoted family man, and he and his wife have three children. Together, they enjoy swimming, biking, skateboarding, music and travel.

Cardiac Arrhythmia Service

  • 300 Pasteur Drive
  • 2nd Floor
  • Stanford, CA 94305
  • Phone: 650-723-6459
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Practice Areas

Professional Education

  • Board Certification: Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology, American Board of Internal Medicine (2001)
  • Fellowship: Washington University School of Medicine/Barnes Jewish Consortium (2001) MO
  • Board Certification: Cardiovascular Disease, American Board of Internal Medicine (2000)
  • Residency: Barnes and Allied Hospitals/Washington University School of Med (2000) MO
  • Board Certification: Internal Medicine, American Board of Internal Medicine (1996)
  • Internship: Mount Auburn / Harvard Medical School (1996) MA
  • Fellowship: UCLA - School of Medicine (1994) CA
  • Internship: University of Birmingham (1991) UK
  • Medical Education: University of Birmingham (1987) United Kingdom

Administrative Appointments

  • Director, Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology Fellowship Training Program, University of California, San Diego (2008 - 2012)
  • Co-Director, Electrophysiology Program, University of California, San Diego (2008 - 2014)
  • Director, Electrophysiology Program, Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System (2001 - 2014)
  • Director, Electrophysiology Research, Stanford Medicine (2014 - Present)
  • Director, Atrial Fibrillation Program, Stanford Medicine (2014 - Present)
Summary