Cardiothoracic Surgery Faculty

David Fullerton, M.D. was born in Texas and received his undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University. He then graduated magna cum laude from the University of Missouri, School of Medicine where we was a member of Alpha Omega Alpha. He completed a residency in general surgery at the University of Washington including one year of research in coronary physiology. He then moved to the University of Colorado for a residency in cardiothoracic surgery which he completed in 1990. He remained on the faculty at the University of Colorado for the next six years during which time he helped establish adult and pediatric heart and lung transplant programs. He continued his interest in research and became a NIH-funded investigator in the area of pulmonary hypertension. During this time, he was Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center. In 1996 he was recruited to Northwestern University in Chicago as Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Program Director for the thoracic surgery residency program. After seven very successful years in Chicago, he was recruited back to the University of Colorado as Head of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Dr. Fullerton has a very successful academic career. He has received funding from the NIH and has served as a member of the Surgery, Anesthesia, and Trauma Study Section of NIH. He has published over 130 papers in peer-reviewed journals. He serves on the Editorial Board of The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. He is a member of major surgical societies including the Society of University Surgeons, the American Surgical Association, the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, the Western Thoracic Surgical Association, and the Society of Clinical Surgery. He is currently a member of the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons. He has been a member of the Residency Review Committee for Thoracic Surgery since 2001 and has served as the Chair of that committee. He also currently serves as a Director of the American Board of Thoracic Surgery. His clinical expertise is recognized by his being listed on numerous “Best Doctors Lists” over the past decade.