Dr. Brook is an associate professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Michigan (U-M). He majored in physiology at Michigan State University and graduated Phi Beta Kappa and with high honors in 1991. He attended the University of Michigan Medical School (1991-1995) and completed residency training in internal medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago (1995-1998). He then returned to the University of Michigan and completed a fellowship in hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and vascular medicine 1998-99).
He then joined the University of Michigan faculty as a physician-scientist and was promoted to associate professor in 2008. Currently, Dr. Brook is a Fellow of the Society for Vascular Medicine (FSVM), a Fellow of the American Society of Hypertension (FASH), and a Fellow of the National Lipid Association (FNLA). His clinical interests are in resistant and secondary hypertension, orthostatic hypotension, complex lipid disorders, and primary cardiovascular disease prevention.
Dr. Brook has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications in the areas of vascular biology, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular imaging, hypertension, prevention, and hyperlipidemia. However, his main research interest has been the adverse cardiovascular effects of particulate matter air pollution on humans. His emphasis has been on understanding the biological mechanisms of how air pollutants cause heart disease and/or trigger cardiovascular events, with a focus upon changes in vascular function and blood pressure. His studies have helped to foster the growth of the field, Environmental Cardiology. These efforts culminated in him serving as the Chair and lead author on a landmark Scientific Statement by the American Heart Association regarding the cardiovascular effects of air pollution (Brook RD, et al. Circulation 2010; 121: 2331-78).
Dr. Brook has additional research interests in obesity-mediated hypertension and alternative non-pharmacological means to lower blood pressure. In this latter regard, he recently served as the Chair of a Scientific Statement by the American Heart Association that critically reviewed the evidence supporting the efficacy of alternative mechanisms to lower blood pressure.
