Dr. Shaf Keshavjee is a pioneer whose work in thoracic surgery and transplantation has been recognized throughout the world. As Head of the Division of Thoracic Surgery, he and his team – including Drs. Tom Waddell, Gail Darling, Andrew Pierre, Marc de Perrot, Mingyao Liu and Kazu Yasufuku – successfully used the artificial lung to prolong patients’ lives until donor lungs became available.

More recently, they discovered unique immune cells that help control a form of lung cancer that affects the lining surrounding the lung. Sharing valuable innovations with the rest of the world is equally important and so later this year the R.J. Ginsberg Memorial Lecture Series will be initiated, to provide medical updates on the latest developments in thoracic surgery.