Rate My Professor kalpaj parekh

Kalpaj R. Parekh, MBBS, is the Nicholas P. Rossi Professor in Cardiothoracic Surgery, Chair and Departmental Executive Officer of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. He holds appointments as Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology, and Surgical Director of the Lung Transplant Program. His clinical practice includes cardiothoracic surgery, lung transplantation, thoracic robotic surgery, thymectomy, and bronchoscopy. Parekh earned his MBBS from Seth G.S. Medical College, University of Mumbai, India, and DG from Ruparel College, University of Mumbai. He completed residencies in otolaryngology at Grant Medical College and Sir Jamshedjee Jeejeebhoy Group of Hospitals, University of Mumbai; general surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital, New York; and cardiothoracic surgery at University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics. Fellowships followed in cardiothoracic surgery and lung transplantation at Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, and thoracic surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York City.

Board certified by the American Board of Surgery and American Board of Thoracic Surgery, Parekh joined the University of Iowa faculty in 2006 and advanced to interim department chair in 2021 before his permanent appointment in 2022. His research focuses on airway stem cell depletion as a mechanism of obliterative bronchiolitis in lung transplant recipients. His NIH-funded laboratory employs a ferret orthotopic lung transplant model to investigate impaired epithelial regeneration, fibrotic pathology, and factors affecting stem cell multipotency and self-renewal. Parekh has published nearly 100 research manuscripts and book chapters, with 3,974 citations on Google Scholar, and delivered dozens of research presentations at national and international conferences. Professional memberships include the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, Society of Thoracic Surgeons, International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation, American College of Surgeons, and American College of Chest Physicians. He serves on the board of directors of the Iowa Donor Network.