Joseph E. Bavaria

Joseph E. Bavaria, M.D., FACS, FRCS (Edin) ad hom, (born 1957) is an American cardiothoracic surgeon a professor of surgery at the University of Pennsylvania and Director of its Thoracic Aortic Surgery Program. (a comprehensive program that addresses all aspects of aortic disease, covering thoracic aortic reconstruction and Marfan's Syndrome across multiple disciplines.) Bavaria is known as a leading figure in clinical trials for catheter-based aortic valve replacement (TAVR), thoracic aortic surgery, and aortic endograft procedures (TEVAR). He wrote more than 600 research papers and founded the Penn Aortic Center. Bavaria served as the 52nd president of the Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) from 2016 to 2017, the 3rd President of the Thoracic Surgery Foundation (TSF) (2019-2022), the Chairman of The Society of Thoracic Surgeons/ACC TVT Registry Steering Committee (2017-2020) and an International Councilor of the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) (2021-2024)

Early life and education Bavaria was born in 1957 to Elizabeth "Janee" Swank and Edward Bavaria in Little Rock, Arkansas. His father worked as a pilot for the United States Airforce until he started working for General Electric in 1962. Bavaria attended a Cincinnati kindergarten school until third grade. Then, his family moved first to Dallas, Texas and then to Bonn, Germany where they lived from 1967 to 1970. In Germany, his father worked with the embassy thanks to a public-private partnership between General Electric and the German Airforce. Bavaria attended the American School on the Rhine. In 1970, his father was promoted to Head of Engine Division in Europe at General Electric and the family moved to Paris before returning to Cincinnati four years later in 1974. Bavaria graduated from the Indian Hill High School. (Bavaria played golf for his high school in the state championships at Ohio State University.)

During his years teaching at Penn, Bavaria has written more than 600 research paper overseeing the continuous transcatheter aortic valve trials. He plays a prominent role in a dynamic cardio-aortic clinical research group, serving as the main investigator for more than 40 industry-sponsored FDA IDE phase I, II, and III trials. He is also actively involved in ongoing NIH-funded research projects.