Browsing by Author "Koniaris, Leonidas G"

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    Characteristics of cardiothoracic surgeons practicing at the top-ranked US institutions
    (AME, 2016-11) Rosati, Carlo Maria; Koniaris, Leonidas G; Molena, Daniela; Blitzer, David; Su, Katherine W.; Tahboub, Mohammad; Vardas, Panos N.; Girardi, Leonard N.; Gaudino, Mario; Department of Surgery, IU School of Medicine
    BACKGROUND: We aimed to determine which factors distinguish cardiothoracic (CT) surgeons practicing at the top-ranked US institutions from their peers. METHODS: Using online resources, we collected demographics, training information and academic metrics of 694 cardiac (n=489; 70%) and thoracic (n=205; 30%) surgeons practicing at 57 preeminent US institutions, including those with the highest US News & World Report ranking ("top CT centers"). RESULTS: Two hundred and ninety-nine (43.1%) CT surgeons were practicing at the 18 "top CT centers" and had higher academic productivity (publications, citations) than their peers. While there was no difference in the proportion of international medical graduates (IMGs) (21.4% overall) or of surgeons with a PhD degree (9.4% overall) across institutions, the "top CT centers" had a higher proportion of faculty who received their entire CT training abroad (10.4% vs. 5.8%; P=0.038) or at highly-ranked US institutions. Those who published more during their early career years (residency, fellowship and first 5 years as faculty) were more likely to attain academic (professorship) and institutional leadership (division/department chair) positions and to practice at the "top CT centers". Women represented a minority (7.3% overall; 5.1% of cardiac vs. 12.7% of thoracic surgeons, P<0.001), but with growing prevalence among younger faculty and without differences across institutions. CONCLUSIONS: CT surgeons of the best US centers have a more international background and received their training at highly-ranked institutions. Early academic productivity is associated with life-long career achievements, with special importance of the first 5 years as faculty. Women represent a growing proportion of the CT surgical workforce.
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    Impact of Body Mass Index on Prognosis for Breast Cancer Patients
    (JScholar, 2017) Tan, Fei; Xiao, Hong; Gummadi, Sriharsha; Koniaris, Leonidas G; Feldman, Jason David; Ali, Ayalew; Adunlin, George; Huang, Youjie; Mathematical Sciences, School of Science
    This study investigates the impact of body mass index (BMI) on the prognosis for patients with breast cancer within the context of race (African-American versus Caucasian) and ethnicity (Hispanic versus Non-Hispanic). Overall, this study included 1,368 female breast cancer patients diagnosed between 2007 and 2010 with electronic medical record data accrued from a large Florida hospital network. Non-Hispanic black patients comprised 8.77% of the cohort and Hispanic patients made up 7.56%. Multivariate analysis revealed that breast cancer death rate was increased over 2.6-fold for underweight patients ubiquitously, regardless of race or ethnicity. Patients overweight or obese did not have an increased hazard rate compared to those of normal weight. Importantly, the mechanism for the poorer prognosis for underweight patients needs to be defined. We suggest the use of a low BMI as a high-risk factor for breast-cancer mortality in all racial and ethnic populations.