Higgins is a leading authority in the field of heart and lung transplantation, minimally invasive cardiac surgery, and mechanical circulatory support. His scientific interests are broad and far-ranging, including the mechanisms of cell injury in failing hearts, health economics and policy, racial disparities in post-transplant outcomes, access to care, and improving outcomes among heart failure and cardiac surgery patients.
Selected publications from PubMed
Leading Beyond the Operating Room: Reimagining Leadership Pathways in Academic Surgery.
Fackche NT, Fayanju OM, Wang TS, Nussbaum MS, Waer AL, Higgins RSD, Foretia DA
J Surg Res. 2026 Jul 13;326:273-278 doi: 10.1016/j.jss.2026.05.089.
Insurance-Based Disparities in Cardiac Allograft Vasculopathy After Heart Transplantation Are Mediated by Care at High-Volume Centers.
Sakowitz S, Bakhtiyar SS, Mallick S, Pereira S, Nelson JS, Parikh R, Higgins RSD, Shemin RJ, Benharash P
Ann Thorac Surg. 2025 Sep;120(3):551-560 doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2025.01.008.
Understanding the Persistent Impact of Social Determinants of Health on Aortic Surgery Outcomes: The Data Tell the Truth.
Higgins RSD
Ann Thorac Surg. 2024 Apr;117(4):769 doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2023.05.029.
Racial disparities among patients on venovenous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation in the pre-Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Coronavirus Disease 2019 eras: A retrospective registry review.
Enumah ZO, Etchill EW, Kim BS, Giuliano KA, Kalra A, Cho SM, Whitman GJR, Ha JS, Choi CW, Higgins RSD, Bush EL
JTCVS Open. 2024 Feb;17:162-171 doi: 10.1016/j.xjon.2023.12.008.
On Life, Leadership, and the Pursuit of Happiness: A Retrospective View Through the Looking Glass.
Higgins RSD
Ann Thorac Surg. 2024 Feb;117(2):251-259 doi: 10.1016/j.athoracsur.2023.09.048.
Help your network discover Dr. Robert S. D. Higgins's clinical expertise.
