Dr. Lars G. Svensson

Dr. Svensson is the 104th President of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, having served in many roles since becoming a member in 2000, on the AATS Board of Directors and Chaired the AATS Guidelines Committee and on the editorial board for the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. He is the Chairman of the Sydell and Arnold Miller Family Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute at Cleveland Clinic. He is also the Director of the Marfan Syndrome and Connective Tissue Disorder Clinic. He is also the Co-Chair of the Artivion PROACT Xa Steering Committee and a past Executive Board member of the PARTNER TAVR trial and Publication Committee.

Dr. Svensson obtained his medical degree in 1978, an MSc in 1983, and a PhD in 1986 from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. His cardiology, general, and vascular surgery training was at Johannesburg Hospital, followed by cardiovascular surgery training at Cleveland Clinic and Baylor College of Medicine, including a cardiothoracic surgery residency. He was Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery at Houston Veterans Affairs Medical Center and worked with Drs. DeBakey and Crawford at Baylor College of Medicine, where he was also Assistant Professor of Surgery. Following this academic appointment, he was then Clinical Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Tufts University, and Instructor at Harvard Medical School while working at Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Boston. He was named in 2005 the King James IV Professor of Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. He returned to Cleveland Clinic in 2001.