A pioneer in cardiac catheterization, coronary arteriography, and interventional cardiology, Dr. Spencer King III was co-developer of the multipurpose technique of coronary arteriography and has directed invasive and interventional cardiology training for more than 150 cardiology fellows. In 1972, he became the first director of the Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory of Emory University Hospital, and in 1980, he recruited Andreas Gruentzig to begin the interventional cardiology program.

Dr. King was president of the American College of Cardiology (ACC) (1998–1999) president of SCAI (1991–1992), and he served as the first chair of the Interventional Cardiology Boards of the American Board of Internal Medicine (1997–2007). Currently, he is chairman of the New York State Cardiac Advisory Board and has participated on many committees of the American Heart Association (AHA), ACC, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).

Dr. King is the author of more than 600 papers on cardiology and has edited or co-edited 10 books, including “Interventional Cardiology” and “Hurst’s The Heart” 9th through 13th editions. He is the founding editor-in-chief of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC): Cardiovascular Interventions and associate editor of the JACC. He has also served as a principal investigator or member of the steering committees of 15 national and international clinical trails in cardiology, as well as conducting the first NHLBI-sponsored trial of coronary angioplasty versus bypass surgery. At present, Dr. King is also the chairman of the board for Mercer University (2018–).

Dr. King’s research interest has been in the area of restenosis prevention, having been a developer of radiation therapy to block restenosis, as well as new device development, evaluation of therapeutic approaches to cardiovascular disease, and preventive cardiology. His honors include Master of the American College Spencer B. King III, MD, MSCAI of Cardiology, the Lifetime Achievement Award of TCT, the Honorary International Fellow of the Japan Circulation Society, the Bishop Lecture of the American College of Cardiology, the ETHICA Award of the European Society of Cardiology, the Jesse E. Edwards Lecture of the American Heart Association, and Distinguished Alumnus Awards from the Medical College of Georgia and Mercer University, and SCAI’s Helping Hearts Lifetime Service Award (2018).