Introduction

Director of Research and Innovations at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, Dr. Faisal Habib Cheema graduated in medicine (MBBS) from The Aga Khan University followed by a clinical research fellowship in heart transplantation from

Dr. Faisal Habib Cheema


Professional Achievements

Director of Research and Innovations at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, Dr. Faisal Habib Cheema graduated in medicine (MBBS) from The Aga Khan University followed by a clinical research fellowship in heart transplantation from the Robert Van Kampen Heart Transplant Resource Centre at Loyola University Chicago, United States of America.

Later, he moved to Columbia University New York for additional post-doctoral research fellowships and stayed on as research faculty (Associate Research Scientist) as well as the Director of Cardio-pulmonary Tissue Repository. He was elected as University Senator from 2009-11 and served on several important senate committees during his tenure representing the entire body of researchers of Columbia University.

Dr. Faisal Habib Cheema joined Baylor College of Medicine in 2017 as Director of Research and Innovations, in the Division of Cardiothoracic Transplantation of Michael E. DeBakey Department of Surgery. He is a prolific physician-scientist who specializes in basic sciences, translational and clinical research.

Under his leadership, the Division of Cardiothoracic Transplantation and Circulatory Support has already built a great momentum in research by virtue of initiation of many research projects, abstract acceptances, presentations, development of collaborations, successful in-vivo device testing and grant submissions.

Before joining Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Cheema provided leadership to Aegis Cardiovascular Research Foundation. Prior to that, he was the Director of Clinical Research and Innovations & an Assistant Professor of Cardiac Surgery at University of Maryland where he oversaw recruitment in clinical trials.

He has been involved in a wide range of clinical trials. His research has focused on all aspects of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery with a special interest in surgical management of end-stage heart failure, in particular, heart transplantation and mechanical circulatory support devices. His additional areas of interest include stem cell research, biomedical engineering, ex-vivo organ perfusion and resuscitation, and device innovation.

Dr. Cheema has co-authored over 110 scientific manuscripts and about 200 abstracts. He has presented his research at conferences worldwide. Additionally, he has written several book chapters and secured numerous grants both from private and federal agencies surpassing $6 Million in cumulative funding. His research papers have appeared in high impact journals such as The Lancet, PNAS, JCI, Circulation, BMJ, World Journal of Surgery, JTCVS, The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, EJCTS, JHLT, Circulation Heart Failure, and Circulation Research.

He serves as a reviewer on several scholarly journals. He is also a candidate for MPH at UC Berkeley. A proven clinical researcher and academician with over 4500 citations to his published scientific work and a phenomenal h-index of 30, Dr. Faisal Cheema is also a member of numerous professional organizations and is very active in academic, philanthropic and community organizations.

Member of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, American Heart Association, The International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, Cardiothoracic Surgery Network and American Society for Artificial Internal Organs, Dr. Faisal Habib Cheema loves to mentor students and young physicians.