Dr. Leah Backhus promoted to Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery

by Roxanna Van Norman
June 27, 2023

Dr. Leah Backhus devotes career to helping patients lead healthier lives, advancing lung cancer research, and leading the next generation of future surgeons. 

The Stanford Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery is excited to congratulate Leah Backhus, MD, MPH, for her promotion to Professor, effective June 1, 2023.

Dr. Backhus practices at Stanford Hospital and serves as the Chief of Thoracic Surgery at the Veterans Affairs (VA) Palo Alto Health Care. She has built an impressive career in cardiothoracic surgery, encompassing all aspects of general thoracic surgery, with a special emphasis on thoracic oncology and minimally invasive surgical techniques.

Active clinical initiatives

Since joining the department in 2015, Dr. Backhus has spearheaded the clinical expansion of the Stanford Adult Chest Wall Surgery Program. As director of a robust chest wall reconstruction program, she collaborates closely with a multidisciplinary team representing various disciplines to deliver surgical care to adult patients requiring primary repair and revisional surgery for pectus excavatum.

"We are excited to offer the minimally invasive pectus repair option to our adult population, which fills a previous void in our surgical offerings," remarked Dr. Backhus. "It also allows us to expand our footprint in advanced chest wall reconstruction as we tackle challenging cases for both malignant and benign conditions, especially in the realm of revisional surgery."

Dr. Backhus frequently operates on patients with lung cancer, esophageal cancer, and chest wall conditions as part of her active clinical practice. Given that lung cancer is the second most common cancer and the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, she is dedicated to raising awareness about lung cancer screening. This includes helping to establish best practices for increasing lung cancer screening in terms of access and awareness.

She believes incorporating input from a multidisciplinary team is imperative to implement a screening program that enables patients to receive potential diagnoses and treatments earlier. Dr. Backhus collaborates closely with her colleagues in thoracic surgery, radiology, and pulmonary medicine to target high-risk populations to improve access to screening and other cancer resources. Her work at Stanford connects well with her external efforts with the National Lung Cancer Roundtable of the American Cancer Society, serving as a member of the Health Equity Task Group.

Surveillance in lung cancer research

Besides her clinical practice, Dr. Backhus actively engages in research and has published numerous articles in peer-reviewed journals, focusing on various aspects of thoracic surgery, lung cancer, and patient outcomes.

In her role as the co-director of the Thoracic Surgery Clinical Research Program, she collaborates with faculty members across Stanford Medicine and leads a team of research staff and statisticians. Together, they employ various health services research methodologies to assess the quality and effectiveness of thoracic surgical interventions for both individual patients and population-based studies.

Dr. Backhus's research interests include imaging surveillance following lung cancer treatment and cancer survivorship. One of her recent projects in this area has received funding through the VA Health Services Research and Development Service (HSR&D) Investigator-Initiated Research Merit Award, with preliminary findings from this study presented at the World Conference on Lung Cancer. 

This project aims to analyze and link patient records from multiple data sources, utilizing a novel computerized semi-automated data abstraction method to extract information from patient records connected to structured clinical data fields. Dr. Backhus and the research team hope findings from this study will inform guideline recommendations on post-lung cancer treatment surveillance that improves patient survival.

Mentoring future leaders

Dr. Backhus is deeply passionate about mentoring residents and trainees pursuing a career in the specialty. She understands firsthand how exposure and engagement with mentors can solidify a decision for someone entering a specialized surgical field.

Initially considering neurosurgery early in her medical training, she shifted her focus to cardiothoracic surgery after realizing how critical mentorship was for her after being encouraged to pursue the field by a trusted mentor.

"Mentors are critical in helping you shape your career and set you up for success," said Dr. Backhus, who completed her general surgery training at the University of Southern California and residency in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of California, Los Angeles. "I know they were for me."

"We need to increase the numbers of women in our field, and in doing so, we can help each surgeon to reap the benefits of peer-to-peer mentorship, creating a safe space for talking about difficult topics. We can demystify the promotion process and allow for easier navigation of career milestones crucial to more representation in leadership positions," said Dr. Backhus.

Currently, the department has 11 female faculty and nine female trainees, for a combined total of 20 female surgeons – the highest reported percentage of females among all academic cardiothoracic surgery programs nationwide, according to Dr. Backhus.

She recently received the inaugural 2023 Extraordinary Women of Cardiothoracic Surgery Award from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and Women in Thoracic Surgery (WTS). This prestigious award recognizes women surgeons who have demonstrated excellence in clinical practice and exemplify excellence in clinical practice, leadership, mentorship, and advocacy.

She is a member and leader in numerous major surgical societies, most recently holding the position of Director-At-Large on the board of directors of STS and WTS. In 2019, she was honored with the Dwight C. McGoon Teaching Award for her commitment to resident education and mentorship, presented by the Thoracic Surgery Residents Association at the STS 56th annual meeting.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Backhus on her promotion.