Renowned heart surgeon Leonard Girardi, MD, has been named chairman of the cardiothoracic surgery department at Weill Cornell Medical College and cardiothoracic surgeon-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, both based in New York City.
Here are six things to know about Dr. Girardi.
1. In his new role, Dr. Girardi will maintain and enhance the cardiothoracic surgery department's clinical care and biomedical research programs.
2. He is a Weill Cornell alumnus who has achieved a near three-decade career at the medical college and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. He is recognized for performing complex heart surgeries at the highest level of care, officials said.
3. He is a fellow of the American Heart Association and the American College of Surgeons.
4. He has won numerous awards, including an early-career National Institutes of Health research fellowship and a 2004 Stephen Gold Award for humanitarianism in medicine.
5. He has published more than 100 research articles in journals; presented at national and international meetings; and serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiothoracic Surgery, AORTA, and the Journal of Cardiac Surgery. He was section editor for certification materials for surgeons specializing in adult cardiac surgery, and has written numerous book chapters.
6. Dr. Girardi received his bachelor's degree in biochemistry with honors from Cambridge, Mass.-based Harvard University and his medical degree from Weill Cornell Medical College in 1989 as a member of its honor society, Alpha Omega Alpha. He completed residencies in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell, as well as a one-year fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. He returned to Weill Cornell and NewYork-Presbyterian in 1997 as a faculty member and attending surgeon.
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