Dr. Tom C. Nguyen Named New Chief of the Division of Adult Cardiothoracic Surgery

We are excited to announce that Tom C. Nguyen, MD, FACS, FACC has been named the new Chief of the Division of Adult Cardiothoracic Surgery and the Helen and Charles Schwab Distinguished Professor of Surgery in the Department of Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco.  Dr. Nguyen comes to UCSF from the University of Texas Houston (UT-H), where he is Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Chief of Cardiac Surgery, Director of Minimally Invasive Valve Surgery, and Co-Director of Structural Heart Disease.   

At UT-H, Dr. Nguyen flourished in a productive practice, with more than 300 pump cases/year, including minimally invasive cardiac surgery, complex adult cardiac surgery, and mitral valve repair.  He is also an expert in TAVR, having performed more than 2,400 implants and actively involved in local and national transcatheter trials.  He has served on the Program Committee for the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS), Heart Valve Society (HVS), Southern Thoracic Surgical Association (STSA), and the International Society for Minimally Invasive Cardiothoracic Surgery (ISMICS).  He is currently the Chair of the AATS Virtual Meeting Committee, Co-Chair for the STSA and HVS Program, and President elect for 21CCSS.  Dr. Nguyen is also on the Board of Directors for ISMICS and The Cardiothoracic Surgery Network (CTSNet) and Editorial Board for the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Innovations, and CTSNet. 

Teaching is his passion, and he has received teaching awards from the American College of Surgeons, Arnold P. Gold Foundation, and the Benjy Brooks Foundation.  He is also an examiner for the American Board of Thoracic Surgery and Section Editor for SESATS.  Although he’s no longer under 40, he was the recipient of the Houston Business Journal’s Top 40 under 40 Award.  Dr. Nguyen was born in Vietnam and as an immigrant, perseverance embodies his life philosophy.  He went to college at Rice University, medical school at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, general surgery residency at Stanford University, cardiothoracic fellowship at Columbia Presbyterian, and he completed a trans-catheter fellowship at Emory University.  He is a proud first-time dad, and his wife, Dr. Gina Landinez, will join the faculty as an interventional radiologist at UCSF.  

In his spare time, Dr. Nguyen enjoys traveling and has volunteered as a surgeon in Africa, Vietnam, and China.  He is appreciative that success is not his own doing, but rather comes in large part from the support received from countless mentors and advocates.  He aspires to do the same for others.  

Please join us in congratulating Dr. Nguyen on his new leadership role! We are looking forward to his joining UCSF Surgery, starting January 1, 2021. 

We also would like to recognize and extend our deepest gratitude to Dr. Toby Deuse, the Julien I.E. Hoffman, M.D. Endowed Chair in Cardiac Surgery, for serving as the interim Chief of the Division of CT Surgery, as well as Drs. Michael Conte and Ryo Hirose for co-chairing our search committee. This international search for this position was facilitated by Spencer Stuart.