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Thomas Varghese Jr., MD, Thoracic Surgery, Salt Lake City, UT, University of Utah Health

ThomasKVargheseJr.MDMS, MBA, FACS

Thoracic Surgery • Salt Lake City, UT

Adult General Thoracic Surgery, Cardiovascular Surgery

Chief, Section of Thoracic Surgery, University of Utah; Assoc. Chief Medical Quality Officer - Huntsman Cancer Institute; Chief Value Officer - Huntsman Cancer Institute; Professor (Tenure Track), Department of Surgery, University of Utah School of Medicine

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Summary

  • Dr. Thomas Varghese Jr. is the Chief Value Officer (Ambulatory and Inpatient) and Associate Chief Medical Quality Officer at Huntsman Cancer Institute; Chief, Section of General Thoracic Surgery at the University of Utah; and a Professor (Tenure-track) in the department of Surgery at the University of Utah School of Medicine. Dr. Varghese holds national leadership positions in the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), Thoracic Surgery Directors Association (TSDA), American College of Surgeons (ACS), and Society of University Surgeons. He serves as the Deputy Editor for Digital Media and Digital Scholarship for the Annals of Thoracic Surgery. He is a health services researcher whose clinical, research and operational experience are on the optimization of patient health before surgery, surgeon performance and health system outcomes. He helped create the American College of Surgeons Strong for Surgery program (https://www.facs.org/quality-programs/strong-for-surgery ) and is a co-PI on the National Cancer Institute RO1-funded clinical trial on the role of Precision Exercise Prescription (PEP) for elective lung cancer surgical resection (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03306992 ).
    His other passion, in addition to his academic work, is the quest to build a better world through diversity, equity, inclusion and justice efforts. Dr. Varghese had the honor of serving as the co-chair of the Association of Women Surgeons #HeForShe TaskForce from 2017 to 2019, and currently serves as the inaugural Chair of the Society of University Surgeons Justice.Equity.Diversity.Inclusion (J.E.D.I) Committee (Taskforce Chair 2019-2020; Committee Chair 2020-2023). In this role for SUS, he leads the SUS Promising Leaders program for mid-career under-represented in medicine (URM) faculty who are the surgical leaders of tomorrow, and is a co-PI of an ACS Board of Regents Innovative DEI and Anti-Racism grant that expands the Promising Leaders Program to Junior URM Faculty

Education & Training

  • University of Michigan Health System
    University of Michigan Health SystemFellowship, Thoracic Surgery, 2005 - 2007
  • McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University
    McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern UniversityResidency, Surgery, 1998 - 2005
  • University of Kerala Medical College
    University of Kerala Medical CollegeClass of 1996

Certifications & Licensure

  • UT State Medical License
    UT State Medical License 2015 - 2026
  • WA State Medical License
    WA State Medical License 2007 - 2020
  • MI State Medical License
    MI State Medical License 2005 - 2009
  • IL State Medical License
    IL State Medical License 2001 - 2008
  • American Board of Thoracic Surgery Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

  • Top Doctors Award Seattle Met Magazine, 2012, 2014
  • Fellow (FACS) American College of Surgeons

Publications & Presentations

PubMed

Press Mentions

  • Utah’s Cancer Docs Urge People to Get Screenings Despite the COVID-19 Spike
    Utah’s Cancer Docs Urge People to Get Screenings Despite the COVID-19 SpikeNovember 9th, 2020
  • Physician Calls Lung Cancer a 'Silent Epidemic' in Utah
    Physician Calls Lung Cancer a 'Silent Epidemic' in UtahAugust 6th, 2018
  • Clinical Education: Is Coaching the New Way?
    Clinical Education: Is Coaching the New Way?November 26th, 2017
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Grant Support

  • Strong for Surgery - Development of an Opioid Minimization Quality InitiativePacira Pharmaceuticals2014–2015
  • Strong for Surgery - CERTAIN: Expanding the Strong for Surgery Nutrition Checklist across Surgical Practices - an Education and Process Improvement Project and Public Health CampaignNestle Healthcare Institute2013–2015
  • Strong for Surgery - CERTAIn Clinician Network: Optimizing Patient Health Prior to Spine SurgeryLife Sciences Discovery Fund2013–2015
  • Strong for Surgery: An Innovative Approach to Comprehensive Standardization of the Pre-Surgical PatientUW Medicine Patient Safety Innovation Program2013–2014
  • Strong for Surgery - Development of an innovative electronic health platform to improve preoperative patient preparationUW Department of Surgery Research Reinvestment Fund2013–2014
  • Chest Drainage Procedures Simulation Program for Distributive Learning, Individual Healthcare and Team TrainingDepartment of Defense/US Army Medical Research and Material Command2011–2014
  • Surgical Disparities in Lung, Prostate, Breast and Colorectal Cancer in American Indians (AI) and Alaska Natives (AN)National Cancer Institute2010–2014

Committees

  • Member, STS Council on Education and Member Services Operating Board 2014 - Present
  • Member, STS University Program Taskforce 2014 - Present
  • Member, STS Workforce on Evidence-Based Surgery 2013 - 2015
  • Member, STS Workforce on Clinical Education 2013 - 2015
  • Member, General Thoracic Surgery Subcommittee, Western Thoracic Surgical Association Annual Meeting Workforce 2013 - 2015
  • Member, Washington State Department of Health, Public Health-Healthcare Delivery Partnership Workgroup 2013 - 2015
  • Member, Washington State Choosing Wisely Implementation Taskforce 2013 - 2015
  • Chair, Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) Workforce on Annual Meeting 2013 - 2014
  • Member, Joint Council on Thoracic Surgery Education (JCTSE) Integrated 6-year (I-6) Program Assessment of Resident Training Committee 2012 - 2015
  • Member, STS Annual Meeting Workforce 2012 - 2014
  • Member, Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) Thoracic Surgery Milestones Committee 2011 - 2015
  • Chair, JCTSE I-6 American College of Surgeons (ACS) Fundamentals of Surgery Committee 2011 - 2014
  • Member, STS Workforce on Research and Clinical Trials 2010 - 2011
  • Member, JCTSE Simulation Committee 2009 - 2015
  • Member, STS Workforce on Esophageal Cancer 2009 - 2013
  • Chair, General Thoracic Surgery Subcommittee, Thoracic Surgery Directors Association (TSDA) In-Training Exam Committee

Research History

  • InvestigatorUniversity of Utah - Health Services Research Group2015 - Present
  • InvestigatorUniversity of Washington - Surgical Outcomes Research Center2007 - 2015
  • Core Faculty MemberUniversity of Washington - Institute for Simulation & Interprofessional Studies2007 - 2015
  • Research FellowDivision of Organ Transplantation, Northwestern University2001 - 2003
  • Research AssociateDivision of Organ Transplantation, Northwestern University1997 - 1998

Professional Memberships

Hospital Affiliations

Dr. Thomas Varghese, Dr. Thomas Varghese, MD, Dr. T Varghese, Dr. Thomas K Varghese