Shanda Blackmon, MD, MPH, FACS

Dr. Blackmon completed her Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, followed by a Clinical Instructorship in Thoracic Surgical Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. She was recruited as the founder and leader of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Houston Methodist Hospital, serving as Chief of Thoracic Surgery for eight years. She then became a Tenured Professor of Thoracic Surgery at Mayo Clinic, where she served as Director of Consumer Digital Platform and later User Experience within the Center for Digital Health. There, she helped build and lead four platforms (public, patient, employee, & knowledge) created of the first virtual survivorship programs, developed the UDD App for foregut surgery patients, initiated Mayo’s first decentralized digital clinical trial, and pioneered minimally invasive surgical techniques and tools. She became a champion for 3D anatomic modeling. She also led an IIT for ctDNA monitoring, cryotherapy for mesothelioma, and led several TSOG & Alliance cooperative trials. She holds multiple U.S. patents and has published over 200 manuscripts, has given 500 oral presentations, and 100+ instructional videos (YouTube: ShandaBlackmon), with an H-index of 50 and 7,289 citations. She is dual board-certified (ABS & ABTS), a 10-year ABTS examiner, and is the current Director of the Baylor College of Medicine Lung Institute. A former Deputy Editor of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, she has held leadership roles across STS, TSF, STSA, and WTS. (Former President of WTS, she is the current VP of STSA). She is the author of The Support Group (Mayo Clinic Press) and enjoys writing, oil painting, hiking, traveling, and pickleball. Dr. Blackmon is especially proud of her family—husband Matt with children Jake, Sam, and Grace.

Minimal Access Surgery

Skin & Soft Tissue Disorders/Procedures

Diagnostic Imaging/procedures

Minimally Invasive Procedures

• cryotherapy
• endoscopic surgery
• fine needle aspiration/biopsy
• laparoscopic surgery
• laser surgery
• tumor ablation
• video assisted thoracic surgery

Surgical Oncology (Cancer/Tumors)

• bone and soft tissue cancer/tumors
• chest tumors
• esophagus cancer/tumors
• gastrointestinal cancer/tumors

Thoracic

• achalasia
• Barrett's esophagus
• empyema
• esophageal surgery
• hemothorax
• hiatal hernia
• lobectomy
• myotomy
• pleural effusion
• pneumothorax
• pulmonary disorders
• respiratory failure

Thoracic

• achalasia
• Barrett's esophagus
• empyema
• esophageal surgery
• hemothorax
• hiatal hernia
• lobectomy
• myotomy
• pleural effusion
• pneumothorax
• pulmonary disorders
• respiratory failure

Thoracic

• achalasia
• Barrett's esophagus
• empyema
• esophageal surgery
• hemothorax
• hiatal hernia
• lobectomy
• myotomy
• pleural effusion
• pneumothorax
• pulmonary disorders
• respiratory failure

Thoracic

• achalasia
• Barrett's esophagus
• empyema
• esophageal surgery
• hemothorax
• hiatal hernia
• lobectomy
• myotomy
• pleural effusion
• pneumothorax
• pulmonary disorders
• respiratory failure

Trauma/Injury Procedures

• chest injuries

BSLMC

Houston, TX

Cardiothoracic Surgeon

04/2024—Present

Harris County Ben Taub Hospital

Houston, TX

Cardiothoracic Surgeon

02/2026—Present

Texas Children's Women's Pavillion

Houston, TX

Cardiothoracic Surgeon

03/2026—Present

Baylor College of Medicine

Houston, TX

Professor

04/2024—Present