Jennifer S. Lawton

Jennifer Sue Lawton (born 1966) is an American cardiothoracic surgeon who specializes in adult cardiac surgery. She is the Richard Bennett Darnall Professor of Surgery and chief of the Johns Hopkins Division of Cardiac Surgery.

Early life and education Lawton was born to a single mother as the middle child of three children. Growing up, Lawton wished to become a paediatrician but the death of a grandparent caused her to begin studying heart disease. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree from Allegheny College before enrolling at Drexel University College of Medicine, formally affiliated with the Hahnemann University Hospital, for her medical degree. Following medical school, Lawton attended the Medical College of Virginia for her general surgery residency and became a research fellow in Ralph J. Damiano Jr's laboratory.

Career Upon the completion of her medical residency and fellowship, Lawton married surgeon Mark Grimm in 1996 and joined the faculty at the Washington University School of Medicine as an assistant professor. and named to the "Best Doctors In America" list. Two years later, she received a five-year, $1.33 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to fund her research project "Exploitation of the KATP Channel Opener Diazoxide during Cardiac Surgery."

During her tenure at the Washington University School of Medicine, Lawton studied the responses of isolated heart cells in response to stress. She specifically discovered that using drugs meant to stop the heart or preserve it for a transplant worked effectively to stop postoperative stunning (swelling of heart cells).

After 15 years at Washington University School of Medicine, Lawton was hired as associate chief of cardiac surgery at Johns Hopkins University for the 2016–17 academic year. Lawton also sits on the editorial board for The Annals of Thoracic Surgery and The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

Personal life Lawton and her husband Mark Grimm have two children together.