AATS Foundation Cohn Lectureship

An Honoring Our Mentors Program

Program Overview

Supported by the Honoring our Mentors Lawrence H. Cohn Fund, the AATS Foundation Cohn Lectureship awards $5,000 to an ACGME-approved cardiothoracic residency program with a specific educational need in order to provide honorarium to a prestigious AATS lecturer for their participation in an impactful virtual presentation. This lectureship was established to honor internationally renowned cardiac surgeon, Dr. Lawrence H. Cohn, 79th President of the AATS. 

Honoring Lawrence H. Cohn

Dr. Cohn performed more than 11,500 cardiac surgical operations and was a world-renowned expert in the field of valve repair and replacement surgery. At Brigham and Women's Hospital, he pioneered the process of minimally invasive heart valve surgery along with many other innovations, including New England's first heart transplant, bioprosthetic porcine valve, and computer-assisted robot surgery. Dr. Cohn's clinical and research interests spanned the entirety of adult cardiac surgery. He published more than 550 original scientific articles, 105 book chapters, and 12 books, including four editions of Cardiac Surgery in the Adult, the most referenced textbook in adult cardiac surgery today. An excellent public speaker, Dr. Cohn delivered more than 1,000 lectures worldwide. He held office for the American Board of Thoracic Surgery, the American College of Cardiology, the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (president), the American College of Chest Physicians (president), the Thoracic Surgery Foundation for Research and Education (president), and the National Library of Medicine (chairman of the board). He was a member of 20 other professional organizations, both locally and internationally. A prolific researcher and writer, Dr. Cohn became the editor of the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, and served on the editorial board of 23 other prestigious journals.

Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements to be considered for this award:

• Application must be completed by Chair or Program Director of the cardiothoracic surgery residency program;
• The Chair or Program Director must illustrate the current educational needs of the residency, as well as outline the desired outcomes the presentation could bring to the institution (one paragraph);
• Requested lecturer must be a current AATS member and a request must be made to them ahead of the application submission to ensure their ability to participate if selected.

Application Process

In addition to an online application, candidates will be required to submit the following information and materials:

• Name of requested lecturer and lecturer’s institution;
• A letter describing why your institution should be selected and how it would benefit from the proposed lecturer;
• The topic of the presentation and how this will meet an educational need within your institution's program;
• Details on department's ability to virtually host the lectureship and how the lecture would be presented to your cardiothoracic surgery residents.
• A proposed agenda for the lecture, including time for participants to ask the presenter questions and possibly discuss cases. Proposed schedule to include the following recommendations:
  • 30 minutes: Lecturer will meet (either on zoom or via conference call) with leaders of the department to understand the needs and objectives of the department
  • 1 hour: Lecture is given on pre-determined topic outlined in letter
  • 1 hour: Lecturer to interact and participate in Q&A with attendees along with commenting on case videos

Post-Lectureship Follow-up

Upon conclusion of the lectureship, the institution must submit a final report to the AATS Foundation to include the following information:

• A letter illustrating impressions of the presentation and an overview of participation;
• Recording of lecture in MP4 file format.

The deadline for this program has passed.