Patricia Thistlethwaite, MD, PhD

Patricia A. Thistlethwaite, MD, PhD, is a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon who specializes in lung cancer, mediastinal and chest wall surgery, diseases of the thymus, minimally invasive thoracic surgery, and heart and lung transplantation. She focuses on providing patient-centered clinical care, using minimally invasive approaches to treat thoracic disease.

As a professor in the Department of Surgery at UC San Diego School of Medicine, Dr. Thistlethwaite conducts clinical research and has led major national trials to treat lung cancer. She runs an active NIH-funded molecular biology lab, which studies innovative approaches to pulmonary hypertension and coronary artery disease. She is also the director of the Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency Program.

Dr. Thistlethwaite completed residencies in surgery and cardiothoracic surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh. She earned her medical degree and doctorate from Harvard Medical School, where she graduated magna cum laude.

Her national recognition has led to elected membership in the American Association of Thoracic Surgeons, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and the International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation, among others.

She is the author of over 100 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters, as well as an editor of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery and Pulmonary Circulation.

UC San Diego Health Links
For more information, see Heart Care and Cancer Care.