A&S alumni spotlight: Jerome Fleg
Jerome Fleg, A&S ’67, Med ’70. Photo/provided.
Jerome Fleg, A&S ’67, Med ’70, has led a fulfilling life in cardiovascular research and practice. Having worked in various capacities within the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD, his lifelong relationship with UC includes his co-authorship of "Cardiovascular Disease in the Elderly," which UC's medical school incorporated into its curriculum.
A Cincinnati native, Dr. Fleg credits much of his career success to his academic experiences in the College of Arts and Sciences and his extracurricular involvement in the UC Band.
Here, Dr. Fleg discusses the impact of A&S on his career:
Q: What was your journey like from graduating from the College of Arts and Sciences to your current role?
A: After graduating from A&S, I completed medical school at UC, followed by two years as a flight surgeon in the Air Force, and then spent the next four years at Washington University in St. Louis studying and training in internal medicine and cardiology.
Right after completing medical training, I joined the National Institute on Aging to conduct research on aging changes in the human cardiovascular system in healthy volunteers from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging (BLSA). Although I had virtually no training in this nascent area, I spent the next 25 years helping to define normal versus abnormal cardiovascular aging, a relevant topic for all adults, through clinical studies in the BLSA.
In 2002, I relocated to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to gain experience and expertise in conducting large clinical trials in persons with cardiovascular disease, with a focus on heart failure and coronary artery disease, the two most common cardiovascular causes of death and disability in older adults. I am still working full-time at NHLBI.
Q: Are you currently involved in your local community?
A: As a part-time musician, I lead a six-piece jazz band that performs regularly at retirement communities throughout the Baltimore-Washington-Annapolis area. This activity is therapeutic to both the band members and the audiences. I also have volunteered for the past 15 years at a cardiology clinic serving low-income, uninsured patients in the Washington area, with the fringe benefit of improving my modest ability to communicate in Spanish, the native language of approximately half of the patients.
Q: Are there any awards or accomplishments you have received that you are most proud of?
A: The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging nominated me for the Commendation Medal that was awarded by the U.S. Public Health Service. Many years later, after transferring to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), I received both the NHLBI and the NIH Director’s Awards, recognizing my involvement in clinical studies of patients affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Q: Do you stay involved with UC?
A: Alas, my distance from UC prevents me from attending UC events on a regular basis. However, I have created endowed scholarships at A&S, the College of Medicine and CCM in honor of family members who attended these UC colleges.
Q: What is your favorite Bearcat memory?
A: Although I have many fond UC memories, my favorite ones were organizing and leading a student Dixieland band at the annual Metro talent show during my sophomore and junior years.
Featured image at top of A&S Hall in the fall. Photo/UC Marketing + Brand.
Emma Kamrass
Director, Alumni Engagement, College of Arts and Sciences and UC Clermont
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