The Cardiothoracic Surgery Center for Clinical Research (CCR) of the Emory University School of Medicine conducts high-impact clinical and translational research and develops and investigates new techniques and technologies in cardiothoracic surgery to inform evidence-based practice.
Cardiothoracic surgeon scientist Dr. John Puskas founded the Emory CCR in 2005. Dr. Puskas was an early advocate of off-pump CT surgery, and had an important role in validating such procedures as off-pump coronary artery bypass surgery. With an impressive cadre of faculty investigators and robust staff support, he developed the CCR into a highly active research center. Dr. Puskas left Emory in March 2014 to join Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital, and Dr. Michael Halkos took over as the CCR's scientific director.
As a member of the Cardiothoracic Surgical Trials Network (CTSN), a consortium of adult cardiac surgery centers supported by the NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the CCR participates in multi-institutional prospective randomized trials that evaluate new surgical methods, technologies, devices, and innovative pharmaceutical and bioengineered products.
The CCR has served as the national or international PI site for several FDA IDE trials, ranging from innovative transcatheter aortic valve replacements to reduced anticoagulation for mechanical heart valves. CCR scientists have also conducted landmark, investigator-initiated, randomized controlled trials in stroke prevention, endoscopic vein harvest, and off-pump coronary artery bypass grafting, and have enrolled patients in many multicenter clinical trials in cardiac and thoracic surgery.
Division Chief
Michael E. Halkos, MD, MSc
Dr. Halkos is the current chief of the Emory Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and serves as the program director for the Cardiothoracic Surgery residency program at Emory University. He is a highly experienced and productive academic cardiac surgeon-scientist with expertise in minimally invasive cardiac surgery, particularly robotic mitral valve surgery, robotic-assisted coronary artery bypass surgery, hybrid coronary revascularization, hybrid atrial fibrillation ablation, and mitral valve repair techniques.
Dr. Halkos is a professor of surgery and chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Emory University, overseeing 32 faculty surgeons and scientists at 8 Emory-owned or affiliated hospitals. He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Emory Heart and Vascular Center and he is Director of the Cardiothoracic Center for Clinical Research. Together with Douglas Murphy, MD, at Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital, he leads one of the largest and most successful robotic cardiac surgical programs in the world.
As an accomplished researcher, Dr. Halkos is considered one of the world's leading experts in robotic cardiac surgery, and has published extensively on robotic approaches to mitral valve surgery, mitral valve repair, coronary artery bypass grafting, and hybrid coronary revascularization. He was the Department of Surgery's first faculty member to receive an NHLBI K-23 Award, received his Master's Degree in Clinical Research in 2012, and currently serves as principal investigator for multiple industry and NIH-sponsored trials. Dr. Halkos has published over 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals and given over 200 invited lectures and abstract presentations at international and national meetings.