Dr. John A. Spertus is a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, where he serves as clinical director of outcomes research at Saint Luke's Mid America Heart Institute. He is a graduate of University of California San Francisco Medical School and completed his internal medicine, cardiology and health services training at the University of Washington. He has served on numerous national committees for the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, American Medical Association, National Quality Forum, United Healthcare and Blue Cross/Blue Shield. His research activities led to his induction into the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 2006. He also founded the Cardiovascular Outcomes Research Consortium and CV Outcomes, a non-profit corporation dedicated to advancing healthcare quality and outcomes research in cardiovascular disease and Health Outcomes Sciences, a biotechnology start-up to support the implementation of his research throughout the country. Dr. Spertus and his collaborators have published over 250 peer-reviewed articles, including over 45 in 2009.

Dr. Spertus' research focus on methods for assessing patients' health outcomes, measuring healthcare quality, and the use of information technology to guide medical decision-making based on risk-prediction models so that treatment can be safer, more cost-effective, evidence-based and patient-centered. He developed the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ), and the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire (KCCQ), which have both been translated into over 50 languages and are emerging as the gold standards for measuring patients' symptoms, function and quality of life in coronary artery disease and heart failure. Most recently, Dr. Spertus has extended his translational research to illuminate the prognostic significance of genetic and other biomarkers on cardiovascular outcomes.

Since arriving in Kansas City, Dr. Spertus has continuously supported his research program through extramural funding totaling over $28M, and currently supports over 18 employees. His group was one of four recipients of the American Heart Association's competitive Outcomes Research Center Awards.