In 2021, Emerson and a team of Cedars-Sinai surgeons performed the world’s first robotic lung transplant. Since then, the medical center has completed the most robotic lung transplants in the world. The innovation uses tiny incisions to reduce pain, complications and recovery time.

Emerson, associate professor of Cardiac Surgery in the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai, will further strengthen and unify the thoracic and abdominal transplant arms of the Comprehensive Transplant Center, which ranks among the top 10 in the U.S. by volume. Emerson was also recently appointed program director of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education thoracic surgery residency and fellowship programs at Cedars-Sinai, an important role overseeing the education and training of junior surgeons. 

“Dr. Emerson’s leadership helped guide our teams to perform more transplants in 2024 than we ever have before, all while achieving exceptional patient outcomes,” said Irene Kim, MD, director of the Cedars-Sinai Comprehensive Transplant Center and the Esther and Mark Schulman Chair in Surgery and Transplantation Medicine.

Emerson will continue as associate surgical director of Heart Transplant and Mechanical Circulatory Support, director of Robotic Cardiac Surgery, and director of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education Fellowship Program. In addition, Emerson is on the editorial board of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery.

“It’s an honor to help give the opportunity for a longer life to the many people around the world who are desperate for a heart or lung transplant, as well as those patients in need of specialized cardiac surgery,” Emerson said.

Emerson’s research lab focuses on advanced machine perfusion techniques that better preserve and reduce damage to organs before they’re transplanted, which can boost success rates and improve the rates of transplants. His most notable contributions include a landmark study of lung transplantation for end-stage COVID-19 lung disease, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, and a national analysis of how devices that assist the heart called LVADs can improve outcomes in older adult patients, published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Additionally, Emerson and Cedars-Sinai colleagues are leading the creation of a multi-institutional registry to better understand the benefits of robotic lung transplant.

“Dr. Emerson has been a remarkable colleague and role model for the cardiac surgery team,” said Joanna Chikwe, MD, professor and chair of the Department of Cardiac Surgery and the Irina and George Schaeffer Distinguished Chair in Cardiac Surgery in the Smidt Heart Institute. “He also is a patient, kind and gifted teacher, training many surgeons who have gone on to lead successful transplant programs.”

Emerson’s research has been published in more than 100 peer-reviewed publications and journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Circulation, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, The Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, and Circulation: Heart Failure.

Emerson earned his undergraduate degree and medical degree from the University of Washington. He completed his general surgery residency at Georgetown University Hospital and completed fellowships in cardiothoracic surgery and thoracic transplantation at Cedars-Sinai. He joined the Cedars-Sinai faculty in 2019.

Read more on the Cedars-Sinai Blog: The Wait for a New Heart