Patricia A. Thistlethwaite M.D.-Ph.D. is a Professor of Surgery in the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of California, San Diego. She served as the first woman President of the Western Thoracic Surgical Association and is the first woman Program Director in Cardiothoracic Surgery in the United States. Dr. Thistlethwaite’s clinical interests span the full range of thoracic surgery, including minimally-invasive lung surgery, mediastinal surgery, heart and lung transplantation, and chest wall surgery. She is considered a leading researcher in the field of pulmonary hypertension, with her lab continuously funded by NIH grants for 25 years. She has been awarded the Honorary Knowledge and Discovery Award (top 5% of researchers in the U.S.) from the American Health Council and recently received the Research Achievement Award from the Pulmonary Vascular Research Institute. She is Managing Editor of the Journal, Pulmonary Circulation and author of over 180 publications.