Craig Smith

Dr. Smith is Chair of the Department of Surgery, the Johnson & Johnson Distinguished Professor, and the Valentine Mott Professor of Surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He is also Surgeon-in-Chief at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center and the Seymour Milstein Family Heart Hospital. Dr. Smith is former Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Columbia, specializing in conventional and percutaneous valve repair and replacement, coronary bypass procedures, and operations involving the thoracic aorta. Dr. Smith received his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University and was elected to Alpha Omega Alpha. He performed his general surgery residency with a fellowship in vascular surgery at the University of Rochester. He also completed his residency in cardiothoracic surgery at Columbia Presbyterian. Dr. Smith helped build the Columbia Presbyterian Heart Transplant Program into the most active program in the United States and later inaugurated a successful program in heart-lung and lung transplantation that remains the major program in the region. Dr. Smith is the Past President of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery and has received numerous awards including the “Heart of New York Award for Achievement in Cardiovascular Science & Medicine” from the American Heart Association.