Karol E. Watson, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.C., is John C. Mazziotta, M.D., Ph.D., Term Endowed Chair and Professor of Medicine/Cardiology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California, Los Angeles; Director of the UCLA Barbra Streisand Women’s Heart Health Program and the UCLA Cardiology Fellowship Program; and Co-Director of the UCLA Program in Preventive Cardiology. She was a coauthor of the 2013 American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) Guideline on the Treatment of Blood Cholesterol to Reduce Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Risk in Adults and a coauthor of the 2025 ACC/AHA guideline on the management of high blood pressure. Dr. Watson is a past Vice President for the Association of Black Cardiologists, an American Society of Hypertension Specialist in Hypertension, and a founding board member and fellow of the National Lipid Association. In 2017 Dr. Watson was named "Cardiologist of the Year" by the California Chapter of the ACC. Dr. Watson has authored more than 250 publications addressing subjects including heart disease prevention, vascular calcification, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and cardiovascular disparities.