Lara Oyetunji, MD, MPH is a cardiothoracic surgeon who specializes in the treatment of all adult general cardiac surgical diseases. She serves as the section chief of Cardiac Surgery at the Veterans Administration Puget Sound and also sees patients at the UW Medical Center – Montlake campus.

Oyetunji’s clinical interests include surgical and transcatheter approaches to the management of valvular heart diseases including aortic stenosis, mitral valve disease and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. She has a keen interest in global surgery and seeks to develop academic partnerships toward sustainable surgical programs in low- and middle-income countries.

Oyetunji took a moment to sit down and speak with us about her journey as a student from Nigeria to section chief of cardiac surgery at the Puget Sound VA hospital in Seattle — and how her experiences shaped her goals.

Read more here about her conversation with the UW Medicine Huddle.