Professor Kenneth M Taylor

Brief Biography

Professor Ken Taylor is the British Heart Foundation Professor of Cardiac Surgery at Imperial College London, and Chief of Cardiac Surgery at the Hammersmith Hospital London. He obtained his medical degree at the University of Glasgow and trained in General Surgery at the Western Infirmary, Glasgow with Sir Andrew Kay. In 1974, he moved to the Royal Infirmary Glasgow to begin specialist training in cardiothoracic surgery. In 1979, he was appointed as Consultant and Senior Lecturer in Cardiac Surgery. In 1983 he was invited to the BHF Chair of Cardiac Surgery in London - the first endowed chair of cardiac surgery in England.

Professor Taylor's research has focused on the pathophysiology of cardiopulmonary bypass, the use of the heart-lung machine during open-heart surgery. He has authored over 250 scientific papers and is the Editor of the international journal Perfusion. He has served as an editorial board member of the Annals of Thoracic Surgery, the Journal of Heart Valve Disease, the British Heart Journal and the Journal of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Anaesthesia.

He has served on numerous Royal College and Department of Health Committees. He is the Director of the UK Heart Valve Registry and was, until recently, Chairman of the European Cardiothoracic Surgery Registry and Co-chair of the International Cardiac Surgery Database Committee. He is a member of the Council and Executive Committee of the British Heart Foundation.

Professor Taylor is an Honorary Member of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery, the American Academy of Cardiovascular Perfusion, the UK Society of Perfusionists, and other international societies. He is Honorary Alumnus of the cardiothoracic surgical department of the Cleveland Clinic. In 1998, he was the Honoured Guest of the American Association for Thoracic Surgery - the premier international award in cardiothoracic surgery.

He has been Visiting Professor at numerous universities and medical schools worldwide. He is currently Visiting Professor at the Bioengineering Unit at the University of Strathclyde.