Dr. Karol Watson, MD
Not yet claimedLipidologist, Cardiologist, Preventive cardiologist · Physician (MD)
Los Angeles, CA
Physician certified in clinical lipidology by the American Board of Clinical Lipidology, practicing at UCLA Med School in Los Angeles, CA. Lipidologists manage cholesterol, triglycerides, and lipoprotein(a) with guideline-based care.
About Dr. Karol Watson, MD
Updated Sep 20, 2026Dr. Karol E. Watson is a cardiologist and professor of medicine at UCLA in Los Angeles. She sees patients at UCLA Health's Westwood Specialty Care and focuses on women's cardiovascular disease and preventive cardiology. She directs the UCLA Women's Cardiovascular Health Center, the UCLA-Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Health Program, and the UCLA cardiology fellowship program, and co-directs the UCLA Program in Preventive Cardiology.
She trained at Stanford (undergraduate), Harvard Medical School (MD, magna cum laude), and UCLA, where she earned a PhD in physiology and completed her internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship. She is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology.
Much of her public work is in research and national guidelines. She has been a principal investigator on large NIH studies, including the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study. She co-authored the 2013 ACC/AHA blood cholesterol guideline and the 2025 AHA/ACC high blood pressure guideline. She also holds editorial roles with NEJM Group and the journal Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine, and serves on boards including the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and a federal advisory committee on minority health.
Between 2021 and 2025, CMS Open Payments records list $293,594.82 to her across 219 records, mostly from Lilly USA and Boehringer Ingelheim. Payments from drug and device companies are common and legal, and often reflect speaking, consulting, or research work. Patients who want to know more can ask her directly.
- Women's heart health leadership
- She directs the UCLA Women's Cardiovascular Health Center and the UCLA-Barbra Streisand Women's Heart Health Program. uclahealth.org
- Preventive cardiology role
- She is Co-Director of the UCLA Program in Preventive Cardiology and Director of the UCLA cardiovascular disease fellowship program. uclahealth.org
- Training background
- Stanford undergraduate, MD from Harvard Medical School magna cum laude, PhD in physiology from UCLA, with internal medicine residency and cardiology fellowship at UCLA. cirm.ca.gov
- National guideline author
- Co-author of the 2013 ACC/AHA blood cholesterol guideline and the 2025 ACC/AHA high blood pressure guideline. clinician.nejm.org
- Large NIH research studies
- Principal investigator on the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) and the Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study. uclahealth.org
- Journal editor roles
- Lead Editor with NEJM Group (NEJM Clinician) and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Reviews in Cardiovascular Medicine starting April 2025. imrpress.com
- Named endowed chair
- Holds the John C. Mazziotta, MD, PhD Term Chair in Medicine at UCLA. uclahealth.org
- ACC awards
- Received the 2023 Bernadine Healy Leadership in Women's Cardiovascular Disease Award from the American College of Cardiology, and was named Cardiologist of the Year by the ACC California chapter in 2017. medschool.ucla.edu
- Federal advisory appointment
- Appointed by the White House to the U.S. HHS Advisory Committee on Minority Health, announced in late 2024. newsroom.ucla.edu
- Industry payments on record
- CMS Open Payments lists $293,594.82 across 219 records from 2021 to 2025, with the largest amounts from Lilly USA ($127,166.59) and Boehringer Ingelheim ($114,348.75). uclahealth.org
Worth knowing
- Industry payments totaling $293,594.82 over 2021-2025 appear in CMS Open Payments records. Such payments are common and legal for physicians who speak, consult, or run research, but patients may want to ask how they relate to treatment recommendations. uclahealth.org
- Her board certification in clinical lipidology (ABCL) and her ABIM cardiovascular disease certification were not independently confirmed during this research. Patients can check the ABCL diplomate directory or ABIM verification tool. lipidboard.org
- Her X (Twitter) account, @kewatson, showed no posts in the version indexed, so it is not an active source of updates. x.com
Industry payments (CMS Open Payments)
Open the CMS recordFederal law requires drug and device companies to report what they pay clinicians: meals, travel, speaking, consulting, and research. Payments are common and legal; the point is that you can see them.
2021 to 2025
$293,595
219 payments
| 2021 | $123,503 |
| 2022 | $70,383 |
| 2023 | $36,897 |
| 2024 | $39,665 |
| 2025 | $23,146 |
Top payers
- Lilly USA, LLC$127,167
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.$114,349
- Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation$13,787
- Amgen Inc.$10,673
- Merck Sharp & Dohme LLC$8,233
Payment types
- Compensation for services other than consulting, including serving as faculty or as a speaker at a venue other than a continuing education program$230,375
- Consulting Fee$39,648
- Travel and Lodging$17,170
- Food and Beverage$3,901
- Compensation for serving as faculty or as a speaker for a medical education program$2,500
A word of caution about these numbers
A payment does not mean your doctor is compromised or acting unethically. Most of these entries are drug samples left for patients, or lunch brought in for the office staff, and the amounts are usually small. Research funding and speaking at medical meetings are also normal parts of a clinical career.
As a rough guide, a total under $15,000 a year is usually not a concern. Much larger sums, especially from one company whose product your doctor recommends to you, are worth asking about. You are allowed to ask.
Sources: uclahealth.org · uclahealth.org · profiles.ucla.edu · bioscience.ucla.edu · x.com · doximity.com · cirm.ca.gov · uclahealth.org. Something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.
Summary prepared with AI assistance from the public sources linked above. It is not a review, a rating, or an endorsement.
Practice location
UCLA Med School
10833 LeConte Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90095
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