Kemp Kernstine, M.D., FACS

 

Director, Department of Thoracic Surgery

City of Hope National Medical Center

 

EDUCATION AND TRAINING:
Medical School:

Duke University

Board Certification:
Thoracic Surgery

 

SUMMARY:

 Kemp H. Kernstine, MD, PhD is a recognized national expert in cardiothoracic surgery, specializing in thoracic diseases and chest malignancies. In June 2004, Dr. Kernstine joined City of Hope to lead the development of the new Department of Thoracic Surgery and the Lung Cancer Program. He has innovated and improved old procedures for minimally invasive and robotic techniques for the treatment of chest cancers. Dr. Kernstine is a Professor of Surgery at City of Hope with a second appointment as Professor at the Beckman Research Institute.
Dr. Kernstine’s research interests are in the initiation and the perpetuation of chest disease. He has assisted in the direction of several laboratories at City of Hope to create an early detection screening process to identify cancer at the earliest stages. He is an active member and leader with the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons and the Southwestern Oncology Group. Dr. Kernstine completed his undergraduate and medical studies at Duke University. His postdoctoral studies and fellowship were completed at the University of Minnesota, where he completed his internship and surgical training. He attended Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard Medical School for cardiothoracic and general thoracic surgery, and lung transplantation training. Prior to joining City of Hope, Dr. Kernstine served as Chief and Professor of Thoracic Surgery at the University of Iowa where he had been for nine years.
Dr. Kernstine has been supported through grants from the American Cancer Society, National Cancer Institute and private industry. He has written more than 150 book chapters, peer reviewed and non-peer reviewed papers, abstracts, editorials and internet presentations. He has presented locally, nationally and internationally on topics concerning benign and malignant diseases of the chest and heart. He has sat on numerous boards and committees in thoracic-related specialties to determine the care of patients with chest diseases. He also serves on the editorial review board of 16 medical journals.