Dr. Chikwe is Chairman of the Department of Cardiac Surgery, and the Irina and George Schaeffer Distinguished Chair in Cardiac Surgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, leading a cardiac surgery program ranked by U.S News and World Report among the top nationally, encompassing 4 cardiac surgery programs across the Cedars-Sinai Health System. The heart and lung transplant programs, the structural heart program and the robotic cardiac surgery program are among the most successful in the US. The department’s research is supported by four NIH R01 awards, and encompasses translational science, comparative outcomes, device development and multi-center clinical trials. Dr. Chikwe’s research includes over 300 peer reviewed publications and book chapters including contributions in the NEJM, Lancet and JAMA. She is the national PI of the NIH-sponsored pivotal randomized PRIMARY trial, Editor-in-Chief of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, and Co-Chair of AHA Scientific Sessions.