Member News February 2026

Etesami Leads Organ Transplantation at CHLA

Kambiz Etesami, MD, FACS, is chief of the Division of Abdominal Organ Transplantation at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). In this role, Dr. Etesami will oversee CHLA’s liver, kidney, and pancreatic islet transplant programs. He also serves in the Abdominal Transplant Division at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Previously, Dr. Etesami was director of CHLA Abdominal Organ Transplantation and surgical director of the liver and kidney transplant programs.

Bacha Is Surgeon-in-Chief in New York

Emile A. Bacha, MD, FACS, is surgeon-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and chair of surgery at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, both in New York. Since 2010, he has served as chief of the Division of Cardiac, Thoracic, and Vascular Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and director of congenital and pediatric cardiac surgery at the NewYork-Presbyterian Congenital Heart Center. He also is an adjunct professor of cardiothoracic surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine. A leader in pediatric and adult congenital cardiac surgery, Dr. Bacha is the current president of The American Association for Thoracic Surgery.

Have you or an ACS member you know achieved a notable career highlight recently? If so, send potential contributions to Jennifer Bagley, MA, Bulletin Editor-in-Chief, at jbagley@facs.org. Submissions will be printed based on content type and available space.