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.

Ralph J. Damiano Jr., MD
Division Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Evarts A. Graham Professor of Surgery

Tsuyoshi Kaneko, MD
Section Chief of Cardiac Surgery
John M. Shoenburg Chair of Cardiovascular Disease

Ralph J. Damiano Jr., MD
Division Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Evarts A. Graham Professor of Surgery

Tsuyoshi Kaneko, MD
Section Chief of Cardiac Surgery
John M. Shoenburg Chair of Cardiovascular Disease

Kunal Kotkar, MD
- Phone: 314-362-7983
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Section of Cardiac Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Muhammad Faraz Masood, MD
- Phone: 314-362-7260
Associate Professor of Surgery
Section of Cardiac Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Associate Program Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program

Amit A. Pawale, MBBS, FRCS, FACS
Associate Professor of Surgery
Section of Cardiac Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Shuddhadeb Ray, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Matthew Schill, MD
Instructor of Surgery
Section of Cardiac Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Christian Zemlin, PhD, MSc
Associate Professor of Surgery & Biomedical Engineering
Director, Cardiac Surgical Research Laboratory

Whitney Brandt, MD
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Section of Thoracic Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

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
Instructor of Surgery
Section of Thoracic Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Benjamin D. Kozower, MD, MPH
- Phone: 314-362-8089
Professor of Surgery
Section of Thoracic Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Ruben G. Nava Bahena, MD
- Phone: 314-362-9181
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Section of General Thoracic Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Varun Puri, MD, MSCI
- Phone: 314-362-4191
Professor of Surgery
Section of Thoracic Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Program Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program

Shuddhadeb Ray, MD, MPH
Assistant Professor of Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery

Varun Puri, MD, MSCI
- Phone: 314-362-4191
Professor of Surgery
Section of Thoracic Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Program Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program

Muhammad Faraz Masood, MD
- Phone: 314-362-7260
Associate Professor of Surgery
Section of Cardiac Surgery
Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Associate Program Director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program

Jason Gauthier, MD
Thoracic Surgery Fellow
Residency
General Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
Medical School
Doctor of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine, New Orleans, Louisiana

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

Ali Khiabani, MD, MHA
Thoracic Surgery Fellow
Residency
General Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
Medical School
Doctor of Medicine, Chicago Medical School, North Chicago, Illinois

Michael Napolitano, MD
Thoracic Surgery Fellow
Residency
Surgery, George Washington University Hospital, Washington, D.C.
Medical School
New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY

Linda Schulte, MD
Thoracic Surgery Fellow
Residency
General Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
Medical School
Doctor of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri

Erin M. Schumer, MD, MPH
Mechanical Circulatory Support & Cardiac Transplantation Fellow
Residency
General Surgery, University of Louisville School of Medicine, Louisville, Kentucky
Medical School
Doctor of Medicine, Ohio State College of Medicine, Columbus, Ohio

Tara Semenkovich, MD, MPHS
Thoracic Surgery Fellow
Residency
General Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine- St. Louis, Missouri
Medical School
Doctor of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine- St. Louis, Missouri

Melanie Subramanian, MD, MPH
Thoracic Surgery Fellow
Residency
General Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
Medical School
Doctor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts

Takuya Wada, MD
Thoracic Surgery Fellow
Residency
General Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
Medical School
Doctor of Medicine, Chicago Medical School, North Chicago, Illinois

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