Cardio-thoracic surgeon Samer Kanaan, M.D., of Napa Valley Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery, has joined the NorthBay Heart & Vascular Center surgical team.

Dr. Kanaan completed his undergraduate studies at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. He went on to medical school at Northwestern University in Chicago and completed his general surgery residence at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

During his residency, he was awarded a National Institute of Health research award to investigate the effects of gene transfer of cytokines on reducing rejection in a lung transplant model. The project involved two years of research, working with Dr. Alex Patterson at Washington University.

Dr. Kanaan then went on to complete his cardiothoracic surgery training at the University of Southern California and completed his fellowship at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, focusing on minimally invasive thoracic surgery and thoracic oncology. He is board-certified in general surgery and thoracic surgery.