Jerry Braun is Professor in Cardiothoracic Surgery, in particular Pulmonary Surgery, and acting department head of the department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC). In addition, het is president of the Dutch Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery and member of the director’s board of the Dutch Lung Cancer Audit. Since 2017 he is chairman of the central incident reporting committee of the LUMC.

More information about Jerry Braun

Cardiothoracic surgery

The domain of cardiothoracic surgery involves the surgical treatment of disease of the heart, lungs, mediastinum and the large intrathoracic vessels. Pulmonary surgery can be divided into oncologic and non-oncologic surgery. Braun’s research activities in the domain of oncologic pulmonary surgery is focused on the optimal treatment of centrally-located pulmonary tumours (parenchymal-sparing surgery using sleeve resections), the optimal treatment of early stages of adenocarcinoma (through sublobar resections), optimalisation of minimally-invasive techniques (video and robot assisted surgery) and on further improving the selection of patients who benefit the most from surgery, both in early and advances stages. This research can only be possible through cooperation with involved partners: pulmonologists, pathologists, radiation therapists, radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and specialists in the field of intraoperative imaging (Greenlight study group, department of Surgery, LUMC).

Research in the field of non-oncologic surgery is focused on the treatment of patients with end-stage emphysema, and on the optimal treatment of a very common disorder: pneumothorax.

In the Netherlands, pulmonary surgery is performed by both specialist from Cardiothoracic Surgery and from General Surgery. Both associations have the intention to develop a combined training programme. Braun will contribute to this trajectory by using his functions as professor and as president of the Dutch Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Academic career

Braun absolved Medical School and his doctoral research at Leiden University. The title of his doctoral thesis (2012) is: “Surgical Treatment of Functional Mitral Regurgitation”. In January 2020 he was appointed Professor in Cardiothoracic Surgery at Leiden University Medical Center. His inaugural lecture is yet to follow.

Braun has started working in the field of research during Medical School. In 1994 he studied the fate of donor and recipient cells in cryopreserved aortic homografts (donor heart valves) using in-situ hybridisation. For his graduation thesis he was awarded the Hippocrates Studiefonds prize. During his residency in cardiothoracic surgery at LUMC he focused on the surgical treatment of heart failure, in particular functional mitral regurgitation. These studies, in close collaboration with the department of Cardiology, resulted in leading publications that are still widely cited. The “Leiden approach” of this disease is renowned throughout the world.

During his residency, Braun was also intrigued by the possibilities, but also the drawbacks and limitations of the surgical treatment of lung cancer. In the current phase of his career, research activities are focused on this area.

Braun is very much involved in educating medical residents. Since 2008 he has been a member, and since 2015 the chairman, of the Education Committee of the Dutch Association for Cardiothoracic Surgery.

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Activities