Guest Editor Introduction

As the Surgical Director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Program at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dr. Pietro Bajona has been recognized for his expertise and innovation in developing new approaches towards the treatment of the wide spectrum of disease seen with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. After completing a five-year cardiac surgery residency at the University of Pisa, Dr. Bajona went on to undertake advanced training fellowships at the University of Toronto, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. In 2014, he joined the University of Texas Southwestern facility, where he is now distinguished as Assistant Professor in the Department of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and adjunct Assistant Professor of Research in the Department of Bioengineering at University of Texas at Arlington. In addition, Dr. Bajona serves as a reviewer for the European Journal of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery, the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, and Asian Cardiovascular and Thoracic Annals. We are fortunate to have Dr. Bajona contribute his wealth of academic research and clinical experience to this current issue of Annals of Cardiothoracic Surgery.