A master of masters in cardiac surgery: Lawrence H. Cohn
In February, we feel great honor to have Dr. Lawrence H. Cohn (Figure 1) as the distinguished editorial board member of Journal of Thoracic Disease. Now, let’s take a look at Dr. Cohn’s journey to a master of masters in cardiac surgery.
Education and career
Dr. Cohn was born in San Francisco, CA. He received his baccalaureate from the University of California, Berkeley with honors and his MD from Stanford School of Medicine (AOA). He received his graduate training at Boston City Hospital, National Heart Institute, University of California, San Francisco and Stanford University. He has been on the staff of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital since 1971. Dr. Cohn has been a Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School since 1980 and in 2000 was awarded the first endowed Chair in Cardiac Surgery at Harvard Medical School, the Virginia and James Hubbard Chair in Cardiac Surgery. He is the past Chair of the Brigham and Women’s Physicians Organization. Currently, he serves as Physician Director of Medical Device Technology for Partners HealthCare Systems and is the Chair of the Physician and Scientist Fundraising Group at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Dr. Cohn was awarded an honorary masters of Medicine from Harvard in 1989 and a doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Paris in 1992. In 2005 he was the recipient of the Paul Dudley White Award, the highest award given by the American Heart Association.
Clinical and research interest
Dr. Cohn’s clinical and research interest span the entirety of adult cardiac surgery including reconstructive valve surgery and minimally invasive technology. He also directed the Cardiac Surgery Laboratory from 1971-2001, which has a long interest in myocardial protection, cardiac transplantation and angiogenesis.
Academic achievement
Dr. Cohn has performed over 11,000 cardiac surgical operations and is a world-renowned expert in the field of valve repair and replacement surgery and minimally invasive heart valve surgery. He has published over 440 original scientific articles, 105 book chapters and 12 books, including Cardiac Surgery in the Adult, 2nd and 3rd Editions, and the most referenced text book in adult cardiac surgery today. He has given more than 750 lectures worldwide. Dr. Cohn has held or holds office in the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, the American College of Cardiology, and the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) of which he was President. He has also been the President of the American College of Chest Physicians and Chairman of the Board of the National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, MD. He is immediate Past-President of the Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education. He is a member of 20 other professional organizations, including honorary membership in four international organizations. He has served on the Editorial Board of 14 prestigious journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, the most referenced Journal in the field of Thoracic Surgery.
Educator: master of masters
Dr. Cohn has trained more than 150 residents and fellows at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Children’s Hospital Medical Center Cardiothoracic Residency Program. Graduates of this program occupy responsible positions at major medical centers worldwide, including approximately 30 surgeons who are division chiefs or department chairs.
An old friend to Journal of Thoracic Disease
Dr. Cohn is a new editorial board member of Journal of Thoracic Disease while he is already an old friend to Journal of Thoracic Disease. Our friendship begins from the special issue on Minimal access cardiac surgery in 2013. As Dr. Cohn is one of the author of the article entitled “Reoperative minimal access aortic valve replacement”, the editorial members are highly impressed on him for this excellent and informative contribution. After that, we have met Dr. Cohn on the 2014 AATS. As we contemplate the academic achievement of Dr. Cohn closely and his gentle assistance, we are really filled with admiration. We feel great honor to have Dr. Cohn as our distinguished editorial board member. Together with Dr. Cohn, we would like to work more miracles for JTD.
Acknowledgements
Disclosure: The author declares no conflict of interest.
