Department Introduction Department Overview The Department of Cardiac Surgery at Shanghai Ruijin Hospital is one of the first batch of cardiothoracic surgery departments established in New China. In 1978, it successfully performed Asia's first allogeneic heart transplantation, holding high academic status and influence both domestically and internationally. It has now become one of the top cardiac centers in China, featuring comprehensive surgical treatment of complex coronary heart disease, heart valve disease, great vessel disease, surgical treatment of heart failure, minimally invasive surgery, robot-assisted cardiac surgery, minimally invasive interventional hybrid techniques, and minimally invasive interventional valve disease. It was ranked 9th in cardiac surgery in the "2019 Peking University China Best Clinical Discipline Evaluation," 9th nationally in cardiovascular surgery in the "2021 China Hospital Science and Technology Measurable Value (STEM) Ranking," and was nominated among the top 10 hospitals in cardiac surgery reputation in the "2021 Fudan University China Hospital and Specialty Reputation Rankings." The discipline leader, renowned cardiac surgery expert Professor Zhao Qiang, is a "Shanghai Craftsman," "Shanghai Leading Talent," and "Shanghai Outstanding Discipline Leader," and has performed over 25,000 cardiac surgeries as chief surgeon. The department performs nearly 2,000 surgeries annually, of which difficult and critical/emergency cases account for over 50%, and minimally invasive surgical procedures account for approximately 30%. Various rare and critical surgeries are successfully carried out, ranging from "coronary artery bypass grafting" in preschool children to "total thoracoabdominal aortic replacement" involving opening half of the body, with an overall mortality rate below 2%. In addition, the department actively participates in basic research projects and randomized controlled clinical trials, promoting the translation of basic research findings into applications, and has published high-quality clinical and translational research results in top medical journals including JAMA and Nature Medicine. It has also led/co-led the drafting of 10 expert consensus documents in the field of coronary surgery in China and has repeatedly received awards including the Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award and the Shanghai Science and Technology Progress Award. Currently, the department has 1 National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars project, 1 major project of the Ministry of Science and Technology, 2 General Program projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and 1 Youth Program project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China. It has 2 doctoral supervisors and 10 doctoral and master's students in training. In the past 5 years, it has published multiple high-quality academic articles, including 25 SCI papers, with the highest single impact factor of 54 and a cumulative impact factor exceeding 500. The total funding for ongoing research projects is approximately 23 million yuan.