UAB Synopsis, Vol. 25, No. 26, October 23, 2006

James K. Kirklin, MD, professor and director, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, announces the appointment of Octavio E. Pajaro, MD, PhD, as associate professor of surgery. Dr. Pajaro's areas of expertise include heart and lung transplantation and adult heart surgery.

Dr. Pajaro received his AB degree from Harvard University. He received his MD degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, as well as a PhD in physiology and biophysics. He completed a surgical internship and 1 year of surgical residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, followed by a 2-year research fellowship, funded partly by a Fulbright scholarship, at Oxford University, Nuffield Department of Surgery, John Radcliffe Hospital, England. He returned to Johns Hopkins as senior resident in surgery, serving subsequently as chief resident and remained at Johns Hopkins for his cardiac surgery fellowship. During this 3-year fellowship, he completed 6 months as senior registrar, cardiothoracic surgery, at Harefield Hospital, Harefield, England, returning to Hopkins to complete his fellowship with 6 months as chief fellow of thoracic surgery and a final year as chief fellow of cardiac surgery.

In 2000, Dr. Pajaro joined the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota, as assistant professor of surgery. He also was consultant in cardiothoracic surgery, Mayo Clinic Jacksonville, Florida, surgical director, lung transplantation, and chair of the transplant research committee in Jacksonville.

He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, International Society of Heart and Lung Transplantation, among others and the author of numerous scientific articles, book chapters, and abstracts.