Konrad Hoetzenecker, MD, PhD, has been named professor of Surgery in the Department of Thoracic Surgery and surgical director of the Vanderbilt Lung Transplant Program, effective Oct. 15.
Hoetzenecker comes to Vanderbilt from the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, where he has been professor of Lung Transplantation and director of the Lung Transplant Program. In this capacity he was able to grow the Vienna program to the largest of its kind in Europe (100-120 annual cases) with an international reputation in research and clinical outcomes.
“The thoracic surgery team is pleased and excited that he will be adding to the group’s expertise in all aspects of pulmonary thoracic surgery care but with unique expertise in lung transplantation and tracheobronchial interventions,” said Eric Lambright, MD, associate professor and chair of the Department of Thoracic Surgery.
“I am extremely proud of the advances our lung transplant program and its leadership have made over the history of the program, but especially so in recent years. We welcome the arrival of Dr. Hoetzenecker and the experience, expertise and leadership skills he brings for the future development of lung transplantation at the Vanderbilt Transplant Center,” said C. Wright Pinson, MBA, MD, Deputy CEO and Chief Health System Officer for VUMC.
Hoetzenecker’s research interests include biology and prognostic factors of lung metastases, lung transplantation (including utilization of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or ECMO) and airway surgery.
Hoetzenecker received his medical degree and PhD from the Medical University of Vienna before completing a residency in thoracic surgery there. He then completed a clinical fellowship at the University of Toronto, Canada in the Department of Thoracic Surgery and received an MBA from MCI Management Center Innsbruck, Austria.
Hoetzenecker has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and has presented around the world in addition to receiving multiple awards, including the Evarts A. Graham Memorial Traveling Fellowship from the American Association for Thoracic Surgery.
He is a member of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery and the European Society of Thoracic Surgeons and is a section editor for the Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation. He previously served as an editorial board member for the Journal of Thoracic Disease and the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery and served as associate editor of the American Journal of Transplantation.
Hoetzenecker joins a fast-growing lung transplant program at the Vanderbilt Transplant Center. More than 500 lung transplants have been performed at Vanderbilt since the lung transplant program began in 1990, including a record 95 lungs transplanted in 2023, including two heart-lung procedures.
