National Leader in Cardiac Surgery Quality, Research Joins Cedars-Sinai

Michael Bowdish, MD, MS, a national leader in cardiac surgery and among a handful of cardiac surgeons continuously funded by the National Institutes of Health for a decade, has been appointed vice chair of the Department of Cardiac Surgery in the Smidt Heart Institute.

Together with the department chair, Joanna Chikwe, MD, Bowdish will spearhead systemwide quality and research programs in cardiac surgery for the Smidt Heart Institute, which is ranked among the top three programs nationally for cardiology and cardiac surgery—and #1 in California—by U.S. News & World Report.

Bowdish has a track record of successful development and collaboration with cardiac surgery programs now affiliated with Cedars-Sinai, including Huntington Health and Torrance Memorial Medical Center.

“Michael Bowdish is uniquely placed to catalyze the remarkable clinical and academic growth we are seeing in cardiac surgery at Cedars-Sinai,” said Chikwe, the Irina and George Schaeffer Distinguished Chair in Cardiac Surgery. “His deep expertise in clinical research, quality and programmatic development is already propelling this exceptional team to new heights.”  

Bowdish comes to Cedars-Sinai from the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, where his clinical focus included aortic surgery, heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support.

Bowdish has led pivotal, randomized clinical trials in cardiac surgery, with more than 80 peer-reviewed publications, including seven original research contributions in the New England Journal of Medicine. Bowdish serves on the steering committee of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute-sponsored Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network. He is also the chair of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Adult Cardiac Surgery Database Task Force, leading the premier clinical registry responsible for establishing national quality benchmarks in cardiovascular surgery.

“I’m thrilled to join this truly world-class team,” said Bowdish. “Cedars-Sinai is leading the important conversations in our specialty right now, pushing the envelope in heart and lung transplantation, structural heart, robotic surgery, pivotal trials, and ground-breaking translational research.” 

A dedicated and highly popular educator, Bowdish received the 2021 Richard J. Hurvitz Teaching Award from USC in cardiothoracic surgery and aims to have a strong impact on academic fellowship training programs at the Smidt Heart Institute.

Bowdish earned his medical degree from Washington University in St. Louis, where he was awarded the Harvey Butcher Prize in Surgery. He completed his general surgery residency at the University of Southern California, followed by cardiothoracic surgery fellowship training at Columbia Presbyterian in New York, before returning to USC in 2010, where he served on the faculty until May 2022.

Read more from the Cedars-Sinai Blog: Minimally Invasive Surgery for Aortic Valve Repair