Visiting Professors and Lectures
The Stanford Department of Cardiothoracic features distinguished scientists and surgeons at its Visiting Professors and Lecture Series in coordinated presentations. Since 2008, this series has showcased lectures by renowned visiting faculty who are nationally and internationally recognized for their expertise in the field of cardiothoracic surgery.
Past Events
Norman Edward Shumway (February 9, 1923 – February 10, 2006) was a pioneer of heart surgery at Stanford. Shumway, professor emeritus of cardiothoracic surgery at the Stanford School of Medicine, performed the first successful human heart transplant in the United States in 1968 at Stanford. The landmark operation created a burst of enthusiasm for heart transplantation.
Shumway joined the Stanford School of Medicine faculty in 1958 as an instructor in surgery. Shortly after his arrival, the medical school moved from San Francisco to Palo Alto, giving Shumway the opportunity to launch the cardiovascular surgery program at the new campus. He served as the interim Chief of the Division of Cardiovascular Surgery in 1959.
In 1968, Shumway worked with Edward Stinson to perform the first adult human heart transplant in the U.S. In 1981, Shumway and Bruce Reitz performed the world’s first successful combined heart-lung transplant. Shumway had a National Institutes of Health program grant for cardiac transplantation. Shumway later founded the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery at Stanford in 1974 and served as its first Chairman from 1974 to 1993.
A pioneer in the field of cardiothoracic surgery and "the father of heart transplant", Shumway is often referred to as the world's greatest first assistant and always insisted on the resident operating on the right side of the table. Shumway served as the 67th American Association for Thoracic Surgery President. Shumway died of lung cancer in Palo Alto in 2006, on the day after his 83rd birthday.
Translational Research in Aortic Disease
Presented by John S. Ikonomidis, MD, PhD
July 29, 2016
Bruce Reitz and R. Scott Mitchell Celebration
Presenters: Joseph Woo, Lloyd Minor, Tim Gardner (Our Academic Future), Michael Acker (Importance of Randomized Clinical Trials to the Future of CV Surgery), Susan Moffatt-Bruce (Integrating Quality in Value-Based Cardiac Care)
May 29, 2015
Presenters: Joseph Woo, William A. Baumgartner (Bruce A. Reitz, MD: An Innovator, Master Surgeon, Mentor, Colleague, and Friend), Bruce Reitz, D. Craig Miller (R. Scott Mitchell), R. Scott Mitchell (The Shumway Era: 1957–2014)
Presenters: Joseph Woo, Edward B. Stinson, D. Craig Miller (Presentation of Pat O. Daily award to R. Scott Mitchell), Michael P. Fischbein (The Integrated I-6 Residency: Integrate Within or Replace the Traditional Pathway?), James Fann (CT Surgery Education: Changes and Challenges), Robbin Cohen (Pathways to Training in Cardiothoracic Surgery)
The Perfect Storm: The Affordable Care Act and Repeal of Sustainable Growth Rate Formula
Presented by Jeffrey B. Rich, MD
May 9, 2014
Neurologic Protection in Aortic Surgery: The Central Role of Hypothermia
Presented by Randall B. Griepp, MD
May 31, 2013
Neurocognitive Dysfunction in Cardiac Surgery: Bench to Bedside
Presented by William A. Baumgartner, MD | Event Summary
April 27, 2012
Cardiovascular Medicine: A Joint Mission
Presented by Michael J. Mack, MD, FACC | Event Summary
May 14, 2010
Surgery of the Mitral Valve: Conceptual and Technical Development
Presented by Lawrence H. Cohn, MD | Event Summary
June 19, 2009
Presented by Denton Cooley, MD | Event Summary
June 20, 2008
Dr. Lawrence Cohn was a San Francisco born pioneering cardiac surgeon, researcher, and medical educator. He has performed more than 11,500 cardiac surgical operations and was a world-renowned expert in the field of valve repair and replacement surgery. At the Brigham and Women’s Hospital, he pioneered the process of minimally invasive heart valve surgery along with many other innovations, including New England's first heart transplant, bioprosthetic porcine valve, and computer assisted robot surgery. Dr. Cohn's clinical and research interests spanned the entirety of adult cardiac surgery. He published more than 550 original scientific articles, 105 book chapters, and 12 books. An excellent public speaker, Dr. Cohn delivered more than 1,000 lectures worldwide.
Always striving to advance medical practices, Dr. Cohn and his wife Roberta, established a global health forum at the T.H. Chan School of Public Health. This forum gathers speakers to discuss important health issues worldwide. Larry and Roberta also endowed the Lawrence H. and Mrs. Roberta Cohn Lectureship in Cardiovascular Surgery at Stanford Medical School in October 2015.
Adverse Events After Mitral Valve Repair for Leaflet Prolapse
Presented by Tirone E. David, MD | Event program
October 1, 2019
Stanford and Brigham, Shumway and Cohn: The Legacy
Presented by Frederick Y. Chen, MD, PhD | Event program
November 5, 2018
Thoracoabdominal Aortic Aneurysm: You Say Want a Revolution? From Open to Endovascular
Presented by Joseph S. Coselli, MD | Event program
September 29, 2017
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi: International Growth of the U.S. Hospital Care Industry
Presented by Tomislav Mihaljevic, MD | Event program
September 26, 2016
Dr. James B. D. Mark Family Lecture was so-named for the former head of Thoracic Surgery at Stanford, who supported and funded the annual event celebrating pioneering work in thoracic surgery.
Dr. Mark has held positions as Associate Dean for Student Affairs (1970-1972), Associate Dean for Regional Medical Affairs (1973-1974), Acting Chair of the Department of Surgery (1974-1977) and Chief of Staff of Stanford University Hospital (1988- 1992). He was a Senior Fulbright-Hays Fellow and Visiting Professor of Surgery at the University of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania during the 1972-1973 academic year. He is a member of a number of professional organizations and has been president of seven of them, including the Halsted Society (1984), the Western Thoracic Surgical Association (1992-1993) and the American College of Chest Physicians (1994-1995). He has been recognized for his contributions to medical education by the Santa Clara County Medical Association (1984) and the Stanford University School of Medicine (1987). He received the Gold Medal of the City of Milan, Italy in 1990, the Distinguished Alumnus Award of Vanderbil t University School of Medicine in 1996, and the Albion Walter Hewlett Award from the Department of Medicine in 2005. Dr. Mark is the author of almost 150 scientific publications and was on the editorial board of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery (1987- 1994), the World Journal of Surgery (1995-2003) and The Pharos (2002-2010).
Evolution of Minimally Invasive Esophagectomy
Presented by James D. Luketich, MD | Event flyer
February 24, 2020
Esophageal Cancer: Past, Present, Future.
Presented by Keith S. Naunheim, MD | Event flyer
February 25, 2019
Electronic Learning: Is It Useful for Thoracic Surgeons?
Presented by Mark S. Allen, MD | Event flyer
March 5, 2018
The Surgeon's Role in Targeted Therapy for Early Stage Lung Cancer
Presented by David R. Jones, MD | Event program
January 11, 2016
Bruce A. Reitz is best known for leading the first combined heart-lung transplantation in 1981 with pioneer heart transplant surgeon, Norman Shumway. He obtained an undergraduate degree at Stanford University (B.S. 1966) a medical degree at Yale Medical School (M.D. 1970) and completed an internship at Johns Hopkins Hospital (1971) and residencies and fellowships at Stanford University Hospital (1972 and 1978) and the National Institutes of Health (1974). He joined the surgical faculty at Stanford University (1978) then became chief of cardiac surgery at Johns Hopkins University (1982–92) and Chairman of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford (1992–2005). In 1995 he conducted another pioneering operation: the first Heartport procedure, using a device that allows minimally invasive coronary bypass and valve operations. Reitz also played a major role in the resident education program at Stanford, which he reorganized and maintained.
Cardiac Cellular Reprogramming: Doing the Unthinkable
Presented by Todd K. Rosengart, MD, FACS
March 1 ,2016
The Future of Angiogenesis for the Treatment of Coronary Disease: A Historical Perspective
Presented by Frank W. Sellke, MD
December 7, 2015
Unpalliation of Fontan Palliation: What Lies Ahead…
Presented by Dr. Mark D. Rodefeld | Event program
February 3, 2016