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Profile

Felix Fernandez MD MSc

  • Department of Surgery
    Professor
Head shot of Felix Fernandez

Overview

Dr. Fernandez earned his MD with highest distinction from Wayne State University School of Medicine, did a research fellowship focused on translational transplant immunology at the Department of Surgery of Washington University School of Medicine, and completed his general surgery residency and cardiothoracic surgery fellowship at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. He specializes in thoracic oncology and lung transplantation, and is affiliated with both the Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University and the Emory Transplant Center. In 2010, Dr. Fernandez established a minimally invasive thoracic surgery program at the Atlanta VA Medical Center and was an essential contributor to Emory reaching its 300th lung transplant milestone in September 2010.

Dr. Fernandez's research interests include outcomes in thoracic oncology and quality improvement. In 2014, the Graham Foundation of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS) named Dr. Fernandez a Cardiothoracic Surgical Investigator for 2014-2015. The Foundation will provide support for his pilot study to integrate patient reported outcomes data (PROs) into Emory's General Thoracic Surgery Database of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS). That same year, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) awarded Dr. Fernandez an RO1 grant for a study that seeks to identify which patients are at risk for reduced long-term survival following lung cancer surgery and the most advantageous surgical strategies for these patients.

In 2015, Dr. Fernandez began co-directing an effort with Dr. Alessandro Brunelli from St. James's University Hospital in Leeds, England, to link lung cancer surgery outcomes data from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons General Thoracic Surgery Database and the European Society of Thoracic Surgery (ESTS) Database. STS and ESTS standardized the definitions and terminology used across their respective databases, and are now examining patterns of care and outcomes for lung cancer surgery. This collaborative effort could foster clinical research collaboration across the continents and disseminate important findings faster.

Academic Appointment

  • Professor, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Department of Surgery, Emory University School of Medicine

Education

Degrees

  • MD from Wayne State University School of Medicine
  • BA from Michigan State University

Research

Focus

  • My focus is clinically oriented research evaluating epidemiology, treatment outcomes, and costs associated with thoracic malignancies, particularly early stage lung cancer in high operative risk patients. I am especially interested in risk stratification and adjustment, decision making for procedural interventions, and projects that integrate clinical endpoints with cost and quality perspectives

Publications

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