Dr. Richard J. Shemin, the Robert and Kelly Day professor and chief of cardiothoracic surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, was recently elected as vice chair of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery (ABTS).
He will serve as vice chair from 2011-2013, and then become Chair for an additional 2 years.
The ABTS is the board that certifies thoracic surgeons in the United States. The ABTS is one of 24 medical specialty boards that make up the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS). Through ABMS, the boards work together to establish common standards for physicians to achieve and maintain board certification. The boards were founded by their respective specialties to protect the public by assessing and certifying doctors who meet specific educational, training and professional requirements.
At Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, Shemin also serves as executive vice-chairman of surgery, co-director of the cardiovascular center and director of cardiovascular quality. He is regarded as one of the country's leading cardiothoracic surgeons with a national reputation performing valvular repair and minimally invasive robotic surgery.
Prior to joining UCLA in 2007, Shemin served as professor and chairman of cardiothoracic surgery and vice-chairman of surgery at the Boston University School of Medicine. He also served as co-director of the Cardiovascular Center at Boston Medical Center.
Shemin received his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine and completed his general surgery residency at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, where he led the team performing the first cardiac transplant in New England in 1984. Shemin received the distinguished alumni award from Boston University in 2007 and from Boston University School of Medicine in 2002. He was a clinical associate in cardiac surgery at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health and completed training in cardiothoracic surgery at New York University Medical Center.
