Professor, Cardiothoracic Surgery, Monash University, Australia.
Professor McGiffin graduated from the University of Queensland, trained in General Surgery at Princess Alexandra Hospital then Cardiothoracic Surgery at The Prince Charles Hospital. Professor McGiffin is a cardiothoracic surgeon who trained in Brisbane, after which he undertook a fellowship at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the United States as a Fulbright scholar in 1982. He returned to Australia in 1986 where he performed adult and paediatric cardiac surgery and commenced the Queensland Heart Transplant Program. In 1992, Professor McGiffin returned to UAB where he undertook adult cardiac surgery, heart and lung transplant and pulmonary endarterectomy for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Professor McGiffin’s research interests at UAB were surgical outcomes analysis and biomechanics of chronic mitral regurgitation. Professor McGiffin returned to the United States in 1993 to a faculty position at UAB, where he became Albert D. Pacifico Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery. Professor McGiffin perform the full range of adult cardiac surgery, heart and lung transplantation, and paediatric heart transplantation, and also commenced the UAB pulmonary endarterectomy program for chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension. Professor McGiffin returned to Australia in 2013 to be Director of Cardiothoracic Surgery at The Alfred in Melbourne. Professor McGiffin’s research while at UAB was centred on outcomes research, particularly for transplantation, and also translational research into oxidative stress in patients with chronic mitral regurgitation. On returning Australia, his research area has focused on hypothermic ex vivo perfusion of donor hearts to substantially extend the ischaemic time without the penalty of primary graft dysfunction. This research is based on a large animal model with orthotopic transplantation and has translated into a planned Australian clinical trial of hypothermic perfusion for human donor hearts, potentially providing more hearts for transplantation. Professor McGiffin is co-principal investigator on this trial. The other area of his research is understanding the mechanisms of driveline after ventricular assist device implantation and development of strategies to mitigate infection. The main areas of research for the department centre around improving outcomes in transplantation, particularly donor organ optimisation and preservation as well as innovations in cardiothoracic surgery, including sutureless valves, bidirectional ECMO cannulae and new generation VADs. Professor McGiffin’s current research includes ventricular assist device driveline infection and perfusion to extend the ischemic time of donor hearts for transplantation.

Projects:
1.In vitro study of biofilm formation on new HVAD driveline
Qu, Yue (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), McGiffin, David (Chief Investigator (CI)), Peleg, Anton (Chief Investigator (CI)), Thissen, Helmut (Chief Investigator (CI))
Infectious Diseases, Microbiology, Monash Biomedicine Discovery Institute, Surgery Alfred Hospital
27/08/20 – 27/08/21 2.Prospective Cohort Study of Pharmacokinetics of Cefazolin Prophylaxis in Cardiac Surgery with Cardiopulmonary Bypass.
Daly, David (Primary Chief Investigator (PIC)), Peel, Trisha (Chief Investigator (CI)), Udy, Andrew (Chief Investigator (CI)), McGiffin, David (Chief Investigator (CI)), Hastings, Stuart Lachlan (Chief Investigator (CI))
Anaesthesia Teaching & Research, Infectious Diseases, Critical Care Research, Surgery Alfred Hospital
1/01/18 – 1/01/20
3.HEpcidin, Reticulocyte haemoglobin and soluble transferrin Receptors in Reported OutcomEs in cardiac Surgery (HERROES)
Symons, Joel (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Myles, Paul (Chief Investigator (CI)), Richards, Toby (Chief Investigator (CI)), Klein, Andrew (Chief Investigator (CI)), Smith, Julian (Chief Investigator (CI)), McGiffin, David (Chief Investigator (CI))
Anaesthesia Teaching & Research, Surgery Monash Health, Surgery Alfred Hospital
1/01/17 – 31/12/17
4.Surface modifications prevent driveline infection
Qu, Yue (Chief Investigator (CI)), McGiffin, David (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Thissen, Helmut (Chief Investigator (CI)), Forsythe, John (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Meagher, Laurence (Chief Investigator (CI))
Infectious Diseases, Surgery Alfred Hospital, Materials Science & Engineering
1/10/16 – 1/06/17
Publications:
1.Whitford, H., Kure, C. E., Henriksen, A., Hobson, J., Snell, G. I., Levvey, B. J., Marasco, S. F., Gooi, J. H., Zimmet, A., Negri, J., Pick, A., Buckland, M., Williams, T., Westall, G., Paraskeva, M. A., Martin, C., & McGiffin, D. C. (2020). A donor PaO2/FiO2 < 300 mm Hg does not determine graft function or survival after lung transplantation. Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, 39(1), 53-61.
2.Zhu, M. Z., Levvey, B. J., McGiffin, D. C., & Snell, G. I. (2020). A Successful Strategy to Maximize Pulmonary Fibrosis (PF) Patient Access, Waiting List (WL) and Post-Lung Transplant (LTx) Survival. Journal of Heart and Lung Transplantation, 39(4), S367.
3.Qu, Y., McGiffin, D., Kure, C., Ozcelik, B., Fraser, J., Thissen, H., & Peleg, A. Y. (2020). Biofilm formation and migration on ventricular assist device drivelines. Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, 159(2), 491-502.e2.
4.Yuen, H. L. A., Williams, T. J., McGiffin, D., & Chunilal, S. (2020). Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension from synchronous idiopathic upper extremity deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. Annals of Hematology, 99(3), 667-669.
5.Dieleman, J. M., Myles, P. S., Bulfone, L., Younie, S., van Zaane, B., McGiffin, D., Moodie, M., & Gao, L. (2020). Cost-effectiveness of routine transoesophageal echocardiography during cardiac surgery: a discrete-event simulation study. British Journal of Anaesthesia, 124(2), 136-145.