Dr. Kazuhiro Yasufuku
MD, PhD, FRCSC
Head, Division of Thoracic Surgery, University Health Network
William Coco Chair in Surgical Innovation for Lung Cancer
Deputy Head, Division of Surgical Oncology
Director of Endoscopy, University Health Network
Director, Interventional Thoracic Surgery Program, University Health Network
Professor and Chair, Division of Thoracic Surgery, University of Toronto
Dr. Yasufuku is a Staff Thoracic Surgeon in the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Toronto General Hospital and Professor of Surgery at the University of Toronto. He graduated Chiba University School of Medicine, Japan, in 1992, and subsequently completed his training in Thoracic Surgery in 1996. He received his Doctor of Medicine (PhD) at Chiba University in 2002.
Dr. Yasufuku is a director of the Interventional Thoracic Surgery Program at University Health Network (UHN), which includes the Interventional Thoracic Surgery Animal Operating Room capable of high-end endoscopic development and the state-of-the-art Interventional Thoracic Surgery Suite at Toronto General Hospital for clinical application of new developments. He is the clinical lead of thoracic surgery within the Guided Therapeutics (GTx) program as well as the Thoracic Robotic Surgery Program at UHN. He is internationally recognized as a leader in the field of minimally invasive diagnostics and therapeutics for thoracic malignancy. He co-developed the Convex Probe Endobronchial Ultrasound in collaboration with Olympus and has successfully introduced the clinical application of EBUS-TBNA in Thoracic Oncology.
Co-development of
EBUS-TBNA
Endobronchial ultrasound-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) development in collaboration with OLYMPUS company for mediastinal lymph node staging in lung cancer patients. Since 2002, EBUS-TBNA has now been used to diagnose over 641,000 lung cancer patients in North America and Europe and is used in over 2,500 centers around the world.
Director of the Interventional Thoracic Surgery Program at UHN
Founder of the Interventional Thoracic Surgery Animal OR at the Toronto General Hospital for clinical application of new developments, allowing the creation of a highly established translational research program in the development of new technology in early diagnosis, minimally-invasive thoracic surgery, nanotechnology-enabled image-guided intervention for lung cancer, and molecular profiling of advanced-stage lung cancer.
3rd Japan Medical Research and Development Grand Prize
Awarded the most prestigious Japanese Medical Research and Development Grand Prize at a special ceremony hosted by Japanese Former Prime Minister, Shinzō Abe. This annual award honors outstanding achievements and contributions in the field of healthcare research and development by Japanese Scientists. Dr. Yasufuku was awarded for his leadership role in the development of the Endobronchial Ultrasound-guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration (EBUS-TBNA).