May 15, 2001
Penn Physician Elected President
of the American Association of Thoracic Surgery
(Philadelphia,
PA) - Timothy Gardner, MD, Measey Professor of Surgery
and Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery
at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine,
was elected President of the American Association for
Thoracic Surgery (AATS) on May 8 in San Diego at the
association's annual meeting.
"It is an honor to serve such a prestigious organization
at such an important time in its history," said
Gardner. "Recent advances in the materials and
techniques of cardiothoracic surgery, however remarkable,
will likely pale in comparison to what is to come and
the members of the AATS have always been at the vanguard
of progress."
Service in the name of medical advances has been a hallmark
of Gardner's career. Gardner served on the Surgery and
Bioengineering Study Section of the National Institutes
of Health from 1986 to 1990. He was Chair of the Surgery
Council of the American Heart Association from 1997-1999.
Currently, he is a Director of the American Board of
Thoracic Surgery and has served as Chair of the Professional
Affairs Committee of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons
from 1996 to 2000.
Gardner was educated at Georgetown University and received
his post-graduate surgical training at the Johns Hopkins
Hospital and University. He was a faculty member at
Johns Hopkins from 1976 until 1993, when he accepted
his appointment at Penn.
Since joining the faculty of the Penn School of Medicine,
Gardner has participated in the major expansion of cardiac
surgical activities throughout Penn Health System, including
programs at the Presbyterian Medical Center and Pennsylvania
Hospital. In addition, the cardiac surgical program
at Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania has grown
dramatically, particularly in the areas of thoracic
aortic surgery and the surgical treatment of heart failure
and heart transplantation. The research activities of
the division have also expanded with the recruitment
and funding of new faculty members.
Begun in 1917, the AATS is the senior professional association
for Cardiothoracic Surgeons. Gardner will serve as the
82nd President of the association until the election
of the new president at the next annual meeting in Washington,
DC in May 2002.
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