Name: Christina L. Greene, MD
Title: Director of cardiac surgery and co-director of the Heart Institute at Rady Children’s Hospital Orange County
Background: Previous positions include congenital heart surgeon at Seattle Children’s Hospital, principal investigator at Seattle Children’s Research Institute, assistant professor of surgery at University of Washington, and adjunct assistant professor of mechanical engineering at University of Washington. Education includes undergraduate at MIT, medical school at Keck School of Medicine of USC, general surgery at LAC-USC Medical Center, cardiac surgery at Stanford, and congenital cardiac surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Clinical interests: Neonatal and infant heart surgery, congenital valve repair, single ventricle palliation and biventricular repair, minimally invasive congenital repairs, heart transplant, Ventricular Assist Devices, ECMO support and blood-conserving congenital cardiac surgery.
Research interests: I have two main arms to my research; one focuses on the genetics of congenital heart disease and one on applying mechanical engineering principles and fluid dynamics to optimize cardiopulmonary bypass. Research will be carried out on the Rady Children’s and UCLA campuses. I run a translational lab investigating the mechanisms causing coarctation of the aorta using multi-omics techniques, and I run an engineering lab focused on optimizing cardiopulmonary bypass.
Describe your role here and some of your goals.
My role is to help build and lead a world-class congenital cardiac surgery program. Leveraging our partnership with UCLA Health, my goal is to offer excellent cardiac care and lead innovative research which will improve the outcomes of babies, children and adults throughout Southern California and the West Coast.
What do you hope to offer for patients, families and referring physicians in the community?
I hope to offer excellent congenital cardiac surgical care in Orange County so patients and families do not have to travel far from home to get the care they need. I hope to offer a consistent and accessible surgical presence in the region so referring physicians know their patients are in good hands and will be well cared for.
What got you interested in medicine/healthcare and what led to your decision to join Rady Children’s Health?
I have always wanted to be a surgeon. I saw open heart surgery in college and instantly knew this is what I was going to do. Specializing in congenital surgery was similar. I saw my first case as a medical student and never looked back. I love what I do. This is my calling, and every day is such a gift and privilege to care for these patients.
Name some key mentors and describe your philosophy as a physician and leader.
My early mentors were Winfield Wells, Craig Baker, Vaughn Starnes and really the entire cardiac faculty at USC. I was definitely encouraged and included as a medical student and resident, which made all the difference in being able to pursue my passion. Training at Stanford with Joe Woo, Michael Fischbein and Craig Miller was game changing in honing my cardiac operative techniques and in my development as a surgeon scientist. Pedro del Nido and Ram Emani at Boston Children’s Hospital really shaped who I am as a congenital heart surgeon. They are definitely the voices in my head when I operate and taught me how to think critically when treating congenital heart disease.
It’s only been a month, but I can tell Glen Van Arsdell, my current chief, is going to be incredibly important in the next chapter of my development as a surgeon. I am so excited to continue to learn and grow from his guidance.
My philosophy as a physician is to always put the patient first. It is the same as a leader/manager. My success is the success of the team, so building a strong team that can achieve its goals, function at a high level and is happy is paramount.
Any personal details you’d like to share?
I am a SoCal native and am so thrilled to be back home with my two young girls and husband. We are enjoying the proximity to family and friends and spending all our time outside in the sun!
CHOC and UCLA Health together have been ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the nation for Cardiology & Heart Surgery by U.S. News & World Report.
