UPMC Recruits Acclaimed Cardiac Researcher Kamuran Kadipasaoglu

Kamuran A. Kadipasaoglu, Ph.D., a specialist in cardiac bioengineering, has been appointed executive director of cardiac surgery research for UPMC’s Heart, Lung and Esophageal Surgery Institute (HLESI), division of cardiac surgery. He also will hold dual academic appointments of visiting research professor in the departments of surgery at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering.

Dr. Kadipasaoglu specializes in the development of artificial cardiac prostheses and methods of mechanical cardiac support. In addition to continuing his research, he will teach and advise bioengineering students at the University of Pittsburgh and oversee cardiac research at HLESI.

“Dr. Kadipasaoglu’s accomplishments as a biomechanical engineer and administrator will help propel a new and exciting chapter in HLESI’s cardiac research. Under his leadership, we will be poised to become both committed and effective leaders in the field of cardiac surgical research,” says Kenton Zehr, M.D., professor of surgery, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and chief, division of cardiac surgery, HLESI.

Prior to his recent arrival at UPMC, Dr. Kadipasaoglu worked as assistant director of cardiovascular surgery research at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston, where he helped develop mechanical circulatory assist devices, heart valves and stents. He also was adjunct professor of bioengineering in the department of mechanical engineering at the University of Houston.

Dr. Kadipasaoglu has prepared and conducted hands-on training for some of the world’s leading cardiac surgeons, educating them on the latest and most innovative techniques in advanced and specialized cardiac surgery.

“My goal as director of cardiac research will be to centralize and streamline resources, experience and talent to make the research more productive and efficient. We will accomplish this by employing statisticians, scientific editors, clinical and experimental research coordinators and other supportive personnel, who will work closely with the clinical investigators. This way, novel research ideas and concepts will be expeditiously translated into clinical or experimental protocols, peer-reviewed publications and grant proposals,” said Dr. Kadipasaoglu. “I look forward to a myriad of collaborations with the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and the affiliated Schools of the Health Sciences, including the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine. It is a gift to have such a wealth of extraordinary talent here in Pittsburgh and that is what attracted me the most to this wonderful city,” he added.

A native of Istanbul, Turkey, Dr. Kadipasaoglu received both his bachelor’s and master’s in mechanical engineering at Bosphorus University, Istanbul. In 1989, he received his Ph.D. in bioengineering at Clemson University, Clemson, S.C.

Dr. Kadipasaoglu is a member of many professional organizations, including the Cardiothoracic Surgery Network, the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs and the Turkish Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgical Society. His papers have appeared in The Journal of Thoracic Cardiovascular Surgery; Lasers in Surgery and Medicine; Chest; Circulation; and the American Society for Artificial Internal Organs Journal.

Dr. Kadipasaoglu also is a scholar of Turkish art and Anatolian history, and occasionally lectures on the topic.