Education News Stories

Pearson Fellow Joins Thoracic Surgery Section

Mario Cafaro, MD, begins a two-month visiting fellowship with Washington University thoracic surgery after receiving the 2022 F. Griffith Pearson Fellowship from the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS).

The fellowship provides an education experience for general thoracic surgeons who have recently completed residency or fellowship training to spend a focused period studying clinical techniques at a host institution in North America. This named fellowship honors the legacy of the late Dr. F. Griffith Pearson from the University of Toronto.

“Dr Pearson was a luminary in thoracic surgery,” says Section Chief of Thoracic Surgery Bryan Meyers, MD, MPH. Meyers, the Patrick and Joy Williamson Professor of Surgery, also notes that Pearson was a devoted mentor to his trainees, including two previous division chiefs of cardiothoracic surgery at Washington University: G. Alexander Patterson, MD, and Joel Cooper, MD.

Cafaro joins the section for February and March to observe, learn, share and otherwise add to the education and training that he has received in medical school, surgery residency and thoracic surgery training in Cordoba, Argentina. He hopes to learn approaches to lung transplantation and benign esophageal disease during his visit.

The lung transplant program at the Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Transplant Center is among the most experienced in the world and is ranked among the best in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

“Washington University is among the top lung transplant programs in the world today,” Cafaro says. “To train here, with recognized leaders in the field, has been an incredible opportunity.”

Cafaro, who excitedly celebrated the recent World Cup results, loves soccer and says he is on the lookout for opportunities to play while in St. Louis.

“It is an honor for us to host Dr. Cafaro for these two months,” says Meyers, who is the Patrick and Joy Williamson Professor of Surgery.