Personal Life
Christopher Rowan, born in Reno, Nevada, spent his formative years in Modesto, California, alongside his parents, Kathy and Bill, and older sister Laura. A motivated child from the outset, Chris exhibited a thirst for knowledge, delving into textbooks and immersing himself in learning opportunities. His father's passion for aviation ignited Chris's own fascination with flying, prompting him to pursue pilot training with unwavering determination.
By the age of 16, Chris had completed his pilot training, and on his 16th birthday, he soared into the skies on his first solo flight, earning his pilot's license before he could legally drive alone. Driven by his relentless determination and passion for excellence, Chris never faltered in his pursuit of his goals, embodying a spirit of resilience and perseverance in all endeavors.
Returning to his roots in Reno, Chris embarked on a fulfilling medical career, dedicated to serving the community where he was born. Alongside his professional achievements, Chris finds joy in family life, sharing his adventures with his wife, Joanna, and three children, Wyatt, Riley and Jack. A fervent lover of the outdoors, Chris enjoys hiking excursions and embraces his passion for flying, using his piloting skills to provide healthcare access to remote areas of California and Nevada alongside his ongoing practice here in Reno.
Chris's unwavering commitment to his dreams, coupled with his compassionate nature, epitomizes his character.
Professional Life
Dr. Rowan graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara in 1999 with a BS in Mathematics. Although his career as an engineer had been established, his desire to help his community led him to attend Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia. After completing his residency at the University of Washington, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, to complete his cardiology fellowship, which eventually brought him to Reno, where he has practiced cardiology for the past 9 years.
Dr. Rowan specializes in heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, as well as preventative cardiology, general cardiology, and lipidology. His career in medicine has led to various opportunities in research, where he has been recognized numerous times for his accomplishments. While serving as the Director of Clinical Research at Renown, Dr. Rowan co-founded the Healthy Nevada Project, bringing the latest in clinical research to the physicians and patients of Northern Nevada. His efforts earned him the Healthcare Innovator of the Year Award in Nevada.
In 2014, he was invited on a research expedition to the rainforest of Bolivia. The multinational team, composed of researchers from Egypt, France, Peru, Bolivia, as well as major research universities from the United States, studied the indigenous Tsimane people, revolutionizing the understanding of the natural history of heart disease and aging in a pre-industrialized society. Their findings were published in leading medical journals, including Lancet.
In 2015, he was invited to join the Horus team, whose groundbreaking research on heart disease in mummies has been published in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, and top-rated research journals. Their findings have proven that heart disease has been present in humans for well over 4,000 years. Dr. Rowan has participated in five of these voyages, with the most recent being in 2022 to La Paz, Bolivia, in cooperation with the European Mummies Studies and the Bolivian Minister of Culture. Their findings will soon be released to the public.