Emile Riggs Mohler

Emile Riggs Mohler III, professor of medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and at the Presbyterian Medical Center of Philadelphia and director of vascular medicine at the University of Pennsylvania Health System, died on October 13 of Lou Gehrig’s disease. He was 56 years old.

Dr. Mohler was raised in Ellicott City, Maryland and graduated from Loyola High School in 1979. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Boston College in 1983, a master’s in physiology from Georgetown University in 1984 and a medical degree from Georgetown in 1988. 

He joined Penn in 1996 as an instructor in cardiovascular medicine. He became assistant professor of medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) in 1997 (Almanac April 29, 1997). He became associate professor of medicine for HUP, for the Philadelphia VA Medical Center (VAMC) and for Presbyterian Medical Center (PMC) in 2002 (Almanac March 4, 2003). Finally, he became professor of medicine at HUP, VAMC and PMC in 2011. He also was a clinician educator and held a CPUP clinical position. He retired in October 2017.

Dr. Mohler conducted cardiovascular research at Penn through the Mohler Lab, a component of the vascular medicine research program within the cardiovascular division and the department of medicine.

He was a member of the American Board of Internal Medicine Cardiovascular Committee, the Society of Vascular Medicine, the American Heart Association and the American College of Physicians, and a fellow of the American College of Cardiology. He was also a founder of the vascular council for the American Society of Echocardiography. He was awarded the Master of SVM designation from the Society for Vascular Medicine in June of this year.

Dr. Mohler published 250 articles and edited seven books, and was a member of the editorial boards of Endovascular Today, Thrombosis Research and Vascular Medicine.

He is survived by his wife, Bonnie MacManus Mohler; three sons, Riggs, Greg and John; his parents, Emile R. Mohler Jr. and Peggy Mohler Strahan; and three brothers, Bill, Bob and Tom.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The Mohler Innovation Fund for Biomedical Research at Penn Medicine and sent to Allyse Orsini, 3535 Market St., Suite 750, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Checks should be made payable to Penn Medicine with “Mohler Fund” in the memo line.

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