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Dr. Christie M. Ballantyne is director of the Center for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention at Methodist DeBakey Heart Center, chief of the section of atherosclerosis and vascular medicine in the department of Medicine at the Baylor College of Medicine, and director of the Maria and Alando J. Ballantyne, MD, Atherosclerosis Clinical Research Laboratory at Baylor. He is a professor of medicine with a joint appointment in pediatrics at the Baylor College of Medicine and co-directs the Lipid Metabolism and Atherosclerosis Clinic at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas.

He received his MD from Baylor College of Medicine, and his postgraduate training included an internal medicine residency at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas a cardiology fellowship at Baylor College of Medicine, and an American Heart Association/Bugher Foundation Fellowship at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Institute for Molecular Genetics at Baylor.

Dr. Ballantyne is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, fellow of the American College of Cardiology, and fellow of the American College of Physicians. He previously served as governor of the Texas Chapter of the American College of Cardiology and president of the Houston Chapter of the American Heart Association.

Dr. Ballantyne has been the recipient of numerous study grants, including an American Heart Association Established Investigator Award and several NIH grants to study leukocyte–endothelial adhesion molecules and novel biomarkers for atherosclerosis. He has also been a member of numerous steering committees for multicenter trials, including the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study, Improved Reduction of Outcomes: Vytorin Efficacy International Trial (IMPROVE IT), A Study to Evaluate the Effect of Rosuvastatin on Intravascular Ultrasound-Derived Coronary Atheroma Burden (ASTEROID), National Cholesterol Education Program Evaluation Project Utilizing Novel E-Technology II (NEPTUNE II), and Effect of Niacin ER/Lovastatin on Peak Walking Time and Claudication Onset Time in Patients With Intermittent Claudication (ICPOP), and has also participated as a member of several data and safety monitoring boards. Additionally, Dr. Ballantyne is editorial director of www.lipidsonline.org, and has published extensively and has spoken nationally and internationally on lipids, atherosclerosis, and inflammation.

Dr. Ballantyne's research interests include the pathophysiology of atherosclerosis, with an emphasis on monocyte activation and adhesion. His clinical interests include preventive cardiology, lipids, metabolic syndrome, atherosclerosis, genetics, and coronary artery disease.