People

Washington University cardiothoracic surgeons are consistently ranked among the Top Doctors in St. Louis. Our experts are internationally regarded as leaders for their excellence in performing advanced techniques, conducting leading-edge research, and educating the next generation of surgeons. Our surgeons provide care at the best hospital in the state of Missouri in three of the highest performing surgical specialties (lung cancer treatment, heart surgery, and lung surgery) in the country, according to U.S. News and World Report.

Division Leadership
Ralph J. Damiano Jr., MD

Ralph J. Damiano Jr., MD

Chief, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Evarts A. Graham Professor of Surgery

Pirooz Eghtesady, MD, PhD

Pirooz Eghtesady, MD, PhD

Chief, Section of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery
Emerson Chair in Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery

 

 

Tsuyoshi Kaneko, MD

Tsuyoshi Kaneko, MD

Chief, Section of Cardiac Surgery
John M. Shoenberg Chair in Cardiovascular Disease

Professor of Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Daniel Kreisel, MD, PhD

Daniel Kreisel, MD, PhD

Chief, Section of Lung Transplantation
G. Alexander Patterson, MD/Mid-America Transplant Endowed Distinguished Chair in Lung Transplantation
Surgical Director, Lung Transplantation

Varun Puri, MD, MSCI

Varun Puri, MD, MSCI

Chief, Section of Thoracic Surgery

Professor of Surgery
Section of Thoracic Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Program Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program

Cardiac Surgery
Alexander A. Brescia, MD, MSc

Alexander A. Brescia, MD, MSc

Assistant Professor of Surgery

Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Section of Cardiac Surgery

Ralph J. Damiano Jr., MD

Ralph J. Damiano Jr., MD

Chief, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Evarts A. Graham Professor of Surgery

Puja Kachroo, MD

Puja Kachroo, MD

Surgical Director, Center for Diseases of the Thoracic Aorta (CDTA)
Associate Professor, Surgery

Section of Cardiac Surgery

Tsuyoshi Kaneko, MD

Tsuyoshi Kaneko, MD

Chief, Section of Cardiac Surgery
John M. Shoenberg Chair in Cardiovascular Disease

Professor of Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Kunal Kotkar, MD

Kunal Kotkar, MD

Assistant Professor of Surgery
Section of Cardiac Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Muhammad Faraz Masood, MD

Muhammad Faraz Masood, MD

Associate Professor of Surgery
Section of Cardiac Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Associate Program Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program

Nabil A. Munfakh, MD

Nabil A. Munfakh, MD

Professor of Surgery
Section of Cardiac Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Takashi Murashita, MD

Takashi Murashita, MD

Assistant Professor of Surgery

Section of Cardiac Surgery

Michael K. Pasque, MD

Michael K. Pasque, MD

Professor of Surgery
Section of Cardiac Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Amit A. Pawale, MBBS, FRCS, FACS

Amit A. Pawale, MBBS, FRCS, FACS

Associate Professor of Surgery
Section of Cardiac Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Shuddhadeb Ray, MD, MPH

Shuddhadeb Ray, MD, MPH

Associate Professor of Surgery

Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Harold G. Roberts, Jr., MD

Harold G. Roberts, Jr., MD

Associate Professor of Surgery

Matthew Schill, MD

Matthew Schill, MD

Assistant Professor of Surgery

Section of Cardiac Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Christian Zemlin, PhD, MSc

Christian Zemlin, PhD, MSc

Director, Cardiothoracic Surgery Research Laboratory
Associate Professor of Surgery
Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering

Thoracic Surgery
Whitney Brandt, MD

Whitney Brandt, MD

Assistant Professor of Surgery
Section of Thoracic Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Andrew Gelman, PhD

Andrew Gelman, PhD

Professor of Surgery
Jacqueline G. and William E. Maritz Endowed Chair
in Immunology and Oncology
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Mohsen Ibrahim, MD, PhD

Mohsen Ibrahim, MD, PhD

Instructor of Surgery
Section of Thoracic Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Benjamin D. Kozower, MD, MPH

Benjamin D. Kozower, MD, MPH

Professor of Surgery
Section of Thoracic Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Daniel Kreisel, MD, PhD

Daniel Kreisel, MD, PhD

Chief, Section of Lung Transplantation
G. Alexander Patterson, MD/Mid-America Transplant Endowed Distinguished Chair in Lung Transplantation
Surgical Director, Lung Transplantation

Bryan Fitch Meyers, MD, MPH

Bryan Fitch Meyers, MD, MPH

Patrick and Joy Williamson Professor of Surgery

Ruben G. Nava Bahena, MD

Ruben G. Nava Bahena, MD

Associate Professor of Surgery
Section of General Thoracic Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

G. Alexander Patterson, MD

G. Alexander Patterson, MD

Joseph Bancroft Professor of Surgery
Section of Thoracic Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Varun Puri, MD, MSCI

Varun Puri, MD, MSCI

Chief, Section of Thoracic Surgery

Professor of Surgery
Section of Thoracic Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Program Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program

Shuddhadeb Ray, MD, MPH

Shuddhadeb Ray, MD, MPH

Associate Professor of Surgery

Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery
Pirooz Eghtesady, MD, PhD

Pirooz Eghtesady, MD, PhD

Chief, Section of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery
Emerson Chair in Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery

 

 

Jacob Miller, MD

Jacob Miller, MD

Assistant Professor of Surgery
Associate Program Director, Congenital CT Fellowship Program

Dilip Nath, MD

Dilip Nath, MD

Associate Professor of Surgery

 

 

Resident Program Leadership
Varun Puri, MD, MSCI

Varun Puri, MD, MSCI

Chief, Section of Thoracic Surgery

Professor of Surgery
Section of Thoracic Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Program Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program

Muhammad Faraz Masood, MD

Muhammad Faraz Masood, MD

Associate Professor of Surgery
Section of Cardiac Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Associate Program Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program

Katie Fuhs

Katie Fuhs

Program Coordinator

Fellows
Connor Callahan, MD

Connor Callahan, MD

Thoracic Surgery Fellow

Residency
Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri

Medical School
Medical College of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, WI

Dan Harris, MD

Dan Harris, MD

Thoracic Surgery Fellow

Residency
The John Hopkins Hospital – Baltimore, MD

Medical School
University of Illinois College of Medicine – Urbana, IL

Meghan Kelly

Meghan Kelly

Thoracic Surgery Fellow

Residency
General Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri

Medical School
University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, MO

 

Sujay Kulshrestha, MD

Sujay Kulshrestha, MD

Thoracic Surgery Fellow

Residency
Loyola University Medical Center – Chicago, IL

Medical School
University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, IL

Taras Lysyy, MD

Taras Lysyy, MD

Thoracic Surgery Fellow

Residency
Loyola University Medical Center – Chicago, IL

Medical School
University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, Chicago, IL

Michael Napolitano, MD

Michael Napolitano, MD

Thoracic Surgery Fellow

Residency
Surgery, George Washington University Hospital, Washington, D.C.

Medical School
New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY

 

Takuya Wada, MD

Takuya Wada, MD

Mechanical Circulatory Support & Cardiac Transplantation Fellow

Residency
Akita University Hospital, Cardiovascular Surgery, Akita, Japan

Medical School
Asahikawa Medical University, Asahikawa, Hokkaido, Japan

Rodrigo Zea Vera

Rodrigo Zea Vera

Thoracic Surgery Fellow

Residency
General Surgery, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX

Medical School
Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Facultad de Medicina Alberto Hurtado, Lima, Peru