Ralph S. Mosca, MD, a pioneering, pediatric cardiac surgeon, who serves as Chief of the Division of Pediatric and Adult Congenital Cardiac Surgery and Director of the Congenital Heart Center, has been appointed chair of the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Mosca took the reins on January 1st from Aubrey C. Galloway, MD, the Seymour Cohn Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery, who has chaired the department for the past 15 years. Galloway will remain on the faculty and continue his clinical practice and research in complex valve repair and replacement surgery, and as the Director of the Mitral Valve Repair Program.
Mosca, the Henry H. Arnhold Chair of Cardiothoracic Surgery, who has appointments in both the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery and Pediatrics, joined the faculty of NYU Grossman School of Medicine in 2009 from New York-Presbyterian Hospital. While at NYP he was as the first Director of the Pediatric Cardiac Surgery Program at the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York.
A renowned congenital heart surgeon, Mosca has performed more than 6,000 open-heart surgeries and helped define the modern-day surgical standard of care for hypoplastic left heart syndrome. He specializes in the surgical treatment of the most complex congenital heart defects in patients from neonates through adulthood.
Under his leadership, the Congenital Heart Center at Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital of NYU Langone became a national leader in pediatric and congenital cardiac surgery. The Center performs nearly 250 operations annually, and has the highest risk-adjusted survival rate of any hospital program in New York State for pediatric patients, according to statistics from the most recently validated Society of Thoracic Surgeons database, which covers the four-year period from July 2015 to June 2019.
“Dr. Mosca is a remarkable surgeon, who works with patients and families at one of the most challenging moments in their lives,” says Robert I. Grossman, MD, dean and CEO of NYU Langone. “Under his leadership, the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery will continue to provide specialized, world-class care for the most complex conditions.”
“We thank Dr. Galloway for his contributions and leadership of the department. During his time as chair, the department recruited national leaders in every subspecialty of cardiac and thoracic surgery, developed numerous new programs, and tripled the clinical volume.” says Grossman. “His commitment to patients, his faculty, and trainees embodies the exceptionalism that is required to be a remarkable physician and outstanding leader.”
After graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor of science from Davidson College, in North Carolina, Mosca graduated cum laude and with Alpha Omega Alpha Honors from SUNY Upstate Health Science Center in Syracuse, New York. He completed his general surgery residency in Syracuse, and went on to pursue cardiothoracic surgery training at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City. He then went on to become the first fellow to complete training in Pediatric Cardiac Surgery at the University of Michigan Medical Center under the tutelage of Edward Bove, MD. In December 2021, Mosca completed coursework in the Executive M.B.A. program at the NYU Stern School of Business.
A prolific researcher and clinician, Mosca has authored over 150 peer-reviewed publications and has served on numerous national scientific and educational committees. He has led and participated in dozens of clinical, animal, and basic science studies aimed at evaluating novel mechanisms, treatments, and surgical approaches for patients with congenital heart disease. He has been a member of the New York State Cardiac Advisory Committee since 2013 and is the Past-President of the 21st Century Cardiac Surgeon’s Society. In 2001, he was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his international humanitarian work for children with congenital heart disease.
“Our department has shown tremendous growth and reached new milestones under the excellent leadership of Dr. Galloway, including rising from an unranked program to 5th in U.S. News and World Report and ranking number one in the country for heart transplantation,” Mosca says. “I am honored and excited to embark on this next chapter in my professional life, and I look forward to further advancing the extraordinary clinical care, education and research for which that NYU Langone is world renowned.”
