Johannes Kratz, MD
Director of Advanced Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery and Van Auken Endowed Chair in Thoracic Oncology
Dr. Johannes Kratz is a general thoracic surgeon who specializes in disorders of the trachea, chest wall, lung, esophagus and mediastinum. He is director of Advanced Minimally Invasive Thoracic Surgery and the Van Auken Endowed Chair in Thoracic Oncology. Kratz's research interests include robotic surgery outcomes, lung and esophageal cancers, biomarkers to personalize lung cancer treatment and immunotherapies for thoracic tumors. His research focuses on understanding the molecular and genetic profiles of high-risk early-stage tumors and developing targeted therapies to treat them. While a surgical research fellow at the UCSF Thoracic Oncology Laboratory, he developed a test that more accurately predicts outcomes for patients with early-stage lung cancer. The test is now available to patients and has improved outcomes in those with high-risk early-stage lung cancer. Kratz earned his medical degree at Harvard Medical School and did a general surgery residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. He completed his fellowship in cardiothoracic surgery at UCSF and advanced fellowships in robotic thoracic surgery as an American Association for Thoracic Surgery Graham Foundation Robotics Fellow as well as at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
