Episode 132 – Dr. Robert Higgins: The Heart of Leadership

The Good Athlete Podcast

GoodAthleteProject.com For today’s episode, Jim is joined by Dr. Robert Higgins, Director of the Department of Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Higgins is the leading authority in heart and lung transplantation, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, and mechanical circulatory support. His scientific interests include the mechanisms of cell injury in failing hearts, health economics and policy, racial disparities in post-transplant outcomes, access to care and improving outcomes among heart failure and cardiac surgery patients. Before his role at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Higgins served at The Ohio State University, where he was professor and chairman of the Department of Surgery, as well as surgeon-in-chief and director of the Comprehensive Transplant Center at Wexner Medical Center. Dr. Higgins obtained his bachelor’s degree from Dartmouth College and went on to earn his medical degree from the Yale School of Medicine, followed by a master’s degree in health services administration at Virginia Commonwealth University. He completed a residency in general surgery and served as chief resident at the University Hospitals of Pittsburgh. He was a Winchester Scholar and fellow in cardiothoracic surgery at the Yale School of Medicine. Dr. Higgins served as a senior registrar in transplantation at the renowned Papworth Hospital, the U.K.’s largest cardiothoracic surgical program and its main heart-lung transplant center. He also served as a Major in the United States Army Reserve Medical Corps. The Good Athlete Project on Instagram: @GoodAthleteProject and Twitter: @Coach4Kindness Visit us at our website: GoodAthleteProject.com