Gorav Ailawadi, M.D.

Director, Frankel Cardiovascular Center

Helen F. and Marvin M. Kirsh Professor of Cardiac Surgery

Dr. Gorav Ailawadi is the Chairman and Helen F. and Marvin M. Kirsh Professor of Cardiac Surgery at the University of Michigan. Born in Germany, Dr. Ailawadi was raised in Maryland and New Jersey. He attended an accelerated honors program in medical education (HPME) at Northwestern University where he received the awards for best overall student and top surgical student and was elected to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society.

Dr. Ailawadi completed his general surgery residency at the University of Michigan. During this time, Dr. Ailawadi spent two research years investigating and understanding the development of aortic aneurysms. His work was recognized by the NIH/Lifeline Association and was chosen as the top research project in 2003. While at Michigan, he received the Top Resident and Young Investigator Awards. Dr. Ailawadi completed a Thoracic Surgery residency at the University of Virginia and joined the faculty there.

At Virginia, Dr. Ailawadi was the first surgeon in the U.S. to perform hybrid atrial fibrillation ablation, the first surgeon in the U.S. to perform the MitraClip procedure, and the world’s first transcaval TEVAR procedure. He has been a principal investigator for a novel left atrial appendage clip to prevent strokes in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Dr. Ailawadi served as one of five core principal investigators leading the CTSN linked research consortium (NIH) developing new trials in cardiac surgery. Currently, Dr. Ailawadi is on executive steering committees for numerous transcatheter and surgical trials in valvular disease.

Dr. Ailawadi is the surgical national principal investigator for the Summit Trial investigating TENDYNE, a transcatheter mitral valve replacement. In 2019, Dr. Ailawadi completed his MBA from the Darden School of Business. He served as the Chief of Cardiac Surgery, Co-Director of the Cardiac Valve Center, and Director of the Medical Device Innovation Center at the University of Virginia. There, he had a keen focus on resident recruitment and education mentoring the future of the specialty.

Dr. Ailawadi has internationally recognized expertise in mitral and aortic valve disease with vast experience in minimally invasive cardiac surgery, and percutaneous/transcatheter valve therapies having performed over 600 minimally invasive procedures and over 3,000 heart operations. He has been invited to national and international conferences to share his expertise with novel minimally invasive approaches, valve disease, reoperative and atrial fibrillation surgery.

Dr. Ailawadi has been funded by the NIH, AHA, among other grants. His research lab studies novel mechanisms and new treatments for aortic aneurysms. He has published over 350 peer-reviewed manuscripts in journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine, Circulation, and JACC.

Dr. Ailawadi is member of the American Association for Thoracic Surgeons, the American Surgical Association, and the Cardiac Surgery Biology Club. He is one of three surgeons who serve on executive committee of the FDA-sponsored Heart Valve Collaboratory.

View Dr. Ailawadi's physician profile.