Dr. Michael Ma Promoted to Associate Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery

by Stanford CT Surgery Marketing Team
March 1, 2025

The Stanford Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery is pleased to announce the promotion of Michael Ma, MD, to Associate Professor, effective March 1, 2025. The promotion is well deserved and reflects his accomplishments as a pediatric cardiac surgeon and his role as Chief of the Division of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery in the department and of the Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford.

Dr. Ma is widely recognized as an outstanding clinician, translational scientist, leader, and educator. His practice encompasses all aspects of congenital heart disease, with an emphasis on neonates, complex biventricular repair, pulmonary artery reconstruction, and heart failure. He is also known for his impactful research applying biomechanical engineering principles to optimize existing and developing de novo surgical and endovascular therapies in the treatment of complex heart defects. His aim is to optimize existing techniques through technology and research, and to translate those quickly to the operating room.

“I am honored by the promotion to associate professor. Stanford has always been at the very forefront of cardiothoracic surgery, across its clinical, academic, and educational endeavors. I am excited to continue contributing in all arenas, with an emphasis on improving the lives of our sickest children afflicted by congenital heart disease,” Dr. Ma said.

In the Cardiovascular Engineering Research Laboratory, Dr. Ma relies on computational fluid dynamics, ex-vivo circulatory loops, and large animal models to model blood flow in complex surgical reconstructions of congenital heart defects. He aims to develop rapidly translatable patient-specific therapies for a variety of specific defects, focusing on pediatric heart valves, ventricular septation, and end-stage heart failure. For his exceptional innovations, he has received funding from the National Institutes of Health and Stanford Medicine’s Maternal and Child Health Research Institute and Cardiovascular Institute. 

Recently, Dr. Ma changed the trajectory of a newborn’s life who had Tetralogy of Fallot and an aortic valve defect. Through his partnership with the Stanford School of Engineering’s Cardiovascular Biomechanics Computation Lab and scientists from Betty Irene Moore Children’s Heart Center’s Basic Science and Engineering Initiative (BASE), he and his colleagues provided the baby with a patient-specific, computationally simulated and designed aortic valve. The lab ran complex computational fluid dynamic simulations to create the ideal geometry and flow of the child’s valve, which was then used to guide surgery. 

Dr. Ma serves as the surgical director of the Pediatric Advanced Cardiac Therapies (PACT) (combined heart failure/heart transplant program), the Biventricular Reconstruction Program, and as a cardiothoracic surgeon for the Pulmonary Artery Reconstruction (PAR) Program at the Moore Children’s Heart Center.

“Dr. Ma has thoroughly earned this promotion for his exceptional surgical skill, his drive to innovate, and his commitment to the department’s culture of excellence,” said Joseph Woo, MD, Norman E. Shumway Professor and Chair of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery.  

Dr. Ma obtained his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from Stanford University and then earned his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. He completed his residency and fellowship at the Stanford Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in 2016 and 2018, respectively. He joined the department’s faculty in 2018 and was named Division Chief of Pediatric Cardiac Surgery in January 2024. He is board-certified in thoracic and cardiac surgery and congenital cardiac surgery.

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Ma on his promotion.