Emily A. Farkas, MD

Bio

Dr. Emily A. Farkas is an associate professor of surgery and associate director of global health in surgery at Indiana University School of Medicine. She is the first woman to complete cardiothoracic surgery training at Yale University and has received numerous honors for her contributions to cardiac surgery and global health. These include a mayoral proclamation establishing August 3 as "Dr. Emily A. Farkas Day" in St. Louis and recognition as a Nigerian tribal chief for her role in helping reestablish heart surgery at the University of Nigeria.

Farkas was also granted honorary citizenship by the Brazilian state of Amapá for advancing cardiac surgery in the Amazon region and received the prestigious 2026 Extraordinary Women in Cardiothoracic Surgery Award from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons.

In addition to rebuilding the cardiac surgery program at the Richard L. Roudebush VA Medical Center for a critically underserved patient population, Farkas has remained focused on advancing global cardiac surgery. She has led or participated in more than 80 humanitarian initiatives aimed at improving access to cardiovascular care in Sudan, Nepal, Myanmar, Vietnam, Mongolia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other countries. Her recruitment to Indiana University was driven in part by the opportunity to help strengthen cardiac surgery at the sister institution, Moi University, in Kenya, through the Academic Model Providing Access to Healthcare (AMPATH).

Farkas serves on leadership committees for The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) and the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS). She is also a senior editor for Cardiothoracic Surgery Network (CTSNet) and serves as a faculty member for World Extreme Medicine, the University of Exeter, and Northeastern University's Graduate Certificate in Extreme Medicine program.

She serves on the boards of directors for the STS Thoracic Surgery Foundation, CardioStart International and EMERGENCY, an Italian humanitarian organization that operates the Salam Centre for Cardiac Surgery in Sudan.

Recently appointed president of the Cardiac Surgery Intersociety Alliance (CSIA), Farkas leads a transcontinental organization anchored by the World Heart Federation that brings together major cardiothoracic societies in a shared effort to improve access to cardiac surgical care worldwide.