Cardiothoracic Surgery Faculty

Dr. Clarke is an internationally renowned innovator in the field of pediatric cardiothoracic surgery and holds the academic rank of Professor of Surgery at the University of Colorado.  He earned his degree in medicine from the University of Colorado School of Medicine.  Thereafter, he completed post-doctoral training in general and thoracic surgery at the University of Colorado.  Dr. Clarke then undertook specialty training in pediatric cardiothoracic surgery at the Hospital for Sick Children, Great Ormond Street in London, England.  Dr. Clarke joined the faculty of the University of Colorado in the Department of Surgery in 1975.  He served as Chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery from 1980-1991.  Dr. Clarke also served as Chief of the Section of Pediatric Cardiothoracic Surgery from 1984-2001, and served as the Surgeon-in-Chief at The Children’s Hospital from 1992 to 2002.

Dr. Clarke has an international reputation for his pioneering use of cryopreserved allograft valve conduits for the repair of right and left ventricular outflow tract anomalies in children.  Dr. Clarke is also renowned for his groundbreaking contributions to the development of surgical therapies for children with multi-level left ventricular outflow tract obstruction.  Dr. Clarke is a founding member of the Pediatric Cardiac Surgical Group.   

He is a member of 17 specialty associations including the American College of Surgeons, The American Association for Thoracic Surgery, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, and the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery.  Dr. Clarke is a nationally recognized leader in the field of cardiothoracic surgery and served as President of the Western Thoracic Surgical Association. 

Dr. Clarke has played an influential role in the surgical education of more than 20 cardiothoracic surgery residents and more than 25 pediatric cardiothoracic surgery fellows.  Many of his trainees have attained positions of prominence in their own right.  Dr. Clarke has given numerous invited lectures at national and international institutions.  He has had active research interests in the areas of blood conservation in cardiac surgery, and the development of decellularized allograft conduits and bioengineered xeno-autograft conduits, and has a major interest in the clinical outcomes of patients following right ventricular and left ventricular allograft reconstruction.  In addition, he is actively involved in developing an equitable method to evaluate performance in congenital heart surgery.  Dr. Clarke has authored or co-authored more than 100 scientific articles in peer reviewed journals. 

Dr. Clarke is responsible for introducing modern pediatric cardiothoracic surgical techniques to the Rocky Mountain region improving the lives of thousands of children during his career.