Network Answers Call to Be ‘Good Citizens’ During Public Health Emergency

CHICAGO (April 14, 2021) — After dramatically changing its scope of work and mobilizing resources in record time, the Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN) became a major contributor to life-changing COVID-19 research and has been recognized as the gold standard for performance across all of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored research networks. 

Apr 12, 2021

The 2021 C. Walton Lillehei Lecture was presented during The Society of Thoracic Surgeons 57th Annual Meeting by Paul G. Yock, MD, MA, founder and director of the Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign in California.

During the lecture, Dr. Yock encourage participants to view innovation as a discipline—one that can be taught, practiced, and recreated. He acknowledged, though, that comprehensive innovation can be difficult in the health care setting because it involves multiple stakeholders. He likened the “user” in this scenario to an “eight-headed monster.”

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In the News: A Surgeon's View
"If CT surgery is to continue advancing and attracting the brightest, most skilled, and innovative people, we must invite, encourage, and guide qualified individuals from all races, cultures, genders, sexual orientations, and experiences to join us," Dr. Godoy says.
5 min read
Luis A. Godoy, MD
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Career Development Blog
The basic elements needed to get started in clinical research.
4 min read
Robert M. Van Haren, MD, MsPH

2020 Thomas B. Ferguson Lecture
Domenico Pagano, MD, FRCS(C-Th), FETSC

The Thomas B. Ferguson Lecture at The Society of Thoracic Surgeons 56th Annual Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, was delivered by Dr. Domenico Pagano, Secretary General of the European Association of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery.

In his lecture, M.E.G.A.: Make Evidence Great Again, Dr. Pagano explored how cardiothoracic surgeons can challenge the soundness of data that support the practice of evidence-based medicine.

Despite mandates that determinants of health and differences in sex be incorporated into clinical trials, some groups—such as minorities, women, and those of lower socioeconomic status—are still underrepresented. Drs. David T. Cooke, Loretta Erhunmwunsee, and Linda W. Martin discuss why diverse groups are important, how to improve clinical trial design, and strategies to enroll more broadly representative groups into clinical trials.

Despite mandates that determinants of health and differences in sex be incorporated into clinical trials, some groups—such as minorities, women, and those of lower socioeconomic status—are still underrepresented.
20 min.
On average, it takes 17 years before new innovation is disseminated into clinical practice. How can cardiothoracic surgery change that statistic and speed up the process?
12 min.