Gan-Xin Yan, MD, PhD

Dr. Gan-Xin Yan is a cardiac electrophysiologist and cardiovascular research scientist whose laboratory serves as a major hub of basic cardiovascular research at Lankenau Medical Center and the Lankenau Institute for Medical Research. He is Professor at LIMR and Professor of Medicine at Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University.

As Director of Cardiovascular Research, Dr. Yan brings a strong translational perspective that bridges clinical arrhythmia care with mechanistic investigation. He is internationally recognized for his contributions to the understanding of sudden cardiac death and arrhythmia mechanisms. In a landmark contribution, in January 1996, Dr. Yan, together with Dr. Charles Antzelevitch, was the first to name and characterize Brugada syndrome, a pivotal advance in the modern understanding of inherited arrhythmia disorders.

Building on this work, Dr. Yan proposed the unifying concept of J-wave syndromes, a framework encompassing J wave–associated arrhythmias, including Brugada syndrome, early repolarization syndrome, and idiopathic ventricular fibrillation with prominent J waves. More recently, he introduced the novel concept of inverse decremental conduction, also referred to as Yan conduction, further advancing the mechanistic understanding of cardiac arrhythmias.

Dr. Yan currently serves on the Editorial Board of Heart Rhythm and has organized and participated in international expert consensus panels on J-wave syndromes and early repolarization. He has published more than 160 peer-reviewed papers and has edited or co-edited four textbooks in cardiac electrophysiology with Drs. Peter Kowey, Charles Antzelevitch, and Ihor Gussak.

His work provides fellows with unique exposure to the basic science foundations of arrhythmia mechanisms and electrophysiological phenomena, as well as practical insights into the diagnosis and management of clinical arrhythmias and access to the robust research environment at Lankenau Medical Center and LIMR.